Making sense of the truth
Mark Richard has the look of a distinguished hipster, with spiky salt-and-pepper hair, edgy, green-framed spectacles, and an earring. Peeking over the top of his black leather boots are socks covered with little white martini glasses. On a bookcase in his office, nestled between portraits of renowned logicians and philosophers Gottlob Frege and Kurt Gödel, is a handwritten set list from the American post-punk band Mission of Burma. Aside from being a scholar on the philosophy of language, the New York native and Harvard professor of philosophy is an avid music fan. “I care a lot about music,” said Richard, fresh off a trip to see a movie about the band Magnetic Fields with his teenage daughter the previous evening. Fittingly, one of Richard’s favorite songs by the indie pop group captures his take on the complexity of his work. With a brooding voice, the band’s lead vocalist tells of a short-term relationship in...