Isaiah Lin successfully defended his dissertation, “On the Plurality of Existences”, on Oct 30, 2020. Here is a brief dissertation abstract:

Abstract: Many philosophers aim to develop a theory of reality—to answer the question: what does reality consist in? For the last half-century, the majority of philosophers in the analytic tradition have engaged this project having embraced two commitments: First, there is no substantive difference between the questions “what is there?” and “what exists?” Second, there is only one kind of existence. These commitments are problematic because they pressure us into making implausible metaphysical claims. For example, some have concluded that ‘Pegasus can fly’ is not about anything, when surely it is about Pegasus, and that there are no holes in donuts, even though we can locate them. In my dissertation, I develop and defend the view that there are entities that do not exist, and that of the entities that exist, not all exist in the same way. I argue that this view not only dissolves the aforementioned pressures, but it also provides solutions to puzzles about truth, parthood, and time.

Lin also started a tenure-track job in fall 2020 as Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Providence Christian College.

Double Congratulations!!