Trenton Merricks is a contemporary analytic metaphysician and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Virginia. He is best known for his eliminativist arguments about ordinary inanimate objects in 'Objects and Persons' (2001) and his influential work on truthmakers and the ontology of truth in 'Truth and Ontology' (2007). His research spans personal identity, composition, causation, and the metaphysics of truth.
Defended eliminativism about ordinary composite inanimate objects while preserving persons in 'Objects and Persons' (2001)
Developed an influential account of truthmakers and truth ontology in 'Truth and Ontology' (2007)
Argued against the causal redundancy of mental properties (epiphenomenalism critique)
Contributed to debates on composition, mereology, and what it means for objects to exist
Advanced discussion of negative truths and optimalism in the metaphysics of truth
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