Derek Parfit's reductionism holds that persons exist as real but non-fundamental entities constituted by physical and mental events, making the dichotomy between 'strict existence' and 'non-existence' a false one.

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Derek Parfit(as a philosopher being cited for his theory on personal identity): A highly influential philosopher who argued that personal identity (what makes you 'you' over time) is less important than we think, and that we're not the unified, continuous selves we assume we are.
Non-fundamental entities(explaining what persons are made of): Things that exist but only because more basic things exist—like how a song exists, but only because individual notes exist; the song isn't a basic building block of reality.
Ontology(Carnap argues this enterprise is based on a mistake): The philosophical discipline that tries to answer hard questions about what there really is.
Physical and mental events(the basic elements that constitute a person): Concrete, specific happenings in your body (like neurons firing) and in your mind (like having a thought), as opposed to abstract ideas about what you are.

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