My primary research interests include the metaphysics of ordinary objects, parts and wholes, composition, modality, and fictionalism.
My monograph, Parts and Wholes, is forthcoming in Cambridge Elements in Metaphysics (Cambridge University Press).
Abstract. The Odd Universe argument aims to show that from four intuitive assumptions about parts and wholes, we can conclude a priori that there is an odd number of things in the universe. Parts and Wholes is an opinionated survey of philosophical issues involving parthood, composition, identity, and counting, guided by an investigation into where this argument has gone awry.
Two of my papers – “Mental Fictionalism” and “Mental Fictionalism: a foothold amid deflationary collapse” – recently came out in T. Demeter, T. Parent, and A. Toon (eds.), Mental Fictionalism: Philosophical Explorations (Routledge), an anthology on the topic of mental fictionalism (April 2022).
Published – Professional Philosophy
forth. – Parts and Wholes – Cambridge Elements in Metaphysics. Cambridge University Press.
2022 – “Mental Fictionalism” (draft; original paper written in 2007); T. Demeter, T. Parent, and A. Toon (eds.), Mental Fictionalism: Philosophical Explorations (Routledge) 2022
2022 – “Mental fictionalism – a foothold amid deflationary collapse ” (draft); T. Demeter, T. Parent, and A. Toon (eds.), Mental Fictionalism: Philosophical Explorations (Routledge) 2022
2021 – “The Polysemy of ‘part’” Synthese 198, 4331–4354 (2021); online 2019
2020 – “Counterexamples and Commonsense: When (Not) to Tollens a Ponens” Analysis 80(3): 544-558 (2020)
2019 – “The Lump Sum: A Theory of Modal Parts” Philosophical Papers (2019)
2018 – “The Haecceitic Euthyphro problem” co-authored with Jason Bowers, Analysis 78(1): 13-22 (2018)
2016 – “Saving Mental Fictionalism from Cognitive Collapse” in Res Philosophica 93(2): 405-424 (2016)
2015 – “Rearming the Slingshot?” Acta Analytica 30(3): 283-292 (2015)
2014 – “Composition as Identity, Mereological Essentialism, and Modal Parts” in Composition as Identity, eds. Donald Baxter and Aaron Cotnoir, OUP (2014)
2014 – “The Argument from Vagueness for Modal Parts” in dialectica vol. 68 (3): 355-373 (2014)
2013 – “Counterparts and Compositional Nihilism: A Reply to A. J. Cotnoir” in Thought: A Journal of Philosophy vol. 2 (3): 242-247 (2013)
2011 – “Composition as Identity: Part 1” in Philosophy Compass vol. 6(11): 804-816 (2011)
2011 – “Composition as Identity: Part 2 ” in Philosophy Compass vol. 6(11): 817-827 (2011)
Published – Public Philosophy & Pedagogy
2022 – “Circus and Philosophy: Teaching Aristotle Through Juggling” revised reprint in CircusTalk
2021 – “Circus and Philosophy: Teaching Aristotle Through Juggling” in Aesthetics for Birds
Under Contract – In Progress:
Transworld Objects: A Theory of Modal Parts – manuscript in progress
“Transworld Persons” – in progress
“Choose Your Own Essentia!” – in progress
“In Defense of the Spectacle” – in progress