All People

Joshua Spencer

  • Professor, Philosophy

Education

PhD, University of Rochester

Teaching Interests

  • Metaphysics
  • Philosophy of language
  • Logic

Research Interests

  • Metaphysics
  • Philosophy of language.

Biographical Sketch

Joshua Spencer is currently a Professor of Philosophy at The University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.

Before moving to Milwaukee, he was the Sutton Post-Doctoral Fellow at Syracuse University. And before that he held a one-year position at Auburn University.

Joshua received my PhD from the University of Rochester in 2008. His dissertation was called Material Objects in Tile Space-Time. He work primarily in metaphysics and philosophy of language and he is particularly interested in the metaphysics of material objects, space, time, fundamentality, modality, and meaning. However, he has a wide range of interests and he loves to talk about most philosophical topics. He also likes cats. 

Selected Publications

Spencer, J. (2024) Moral Responsibility and Time Travel in an Indeterministic World. Philosophies: Time Travel 2nd Edition.
Spencer, J. (2024) Rethinking Grounding: From Necessitation to Metaphysical Probability. Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia.
Tillman, C. & Spencer, J. (2023) Creature Features: Character Production and Failed Explanations in Fiction, Folklore, and Theorizing. Canadian Journal of Philosophy.
Spencer, J. (2023) Plenitudinous Russellianism. Tillman, C. (Ed). The Routledge Handbook of Propositions .
Spencer, J. (2023) A Special Composition Puzzle. Oxford Studies in Metaphysics. 
Spencer, J. (2021) On the Explanatory Demands of the Special Composition Question. Synthese .
Tillman, C. & Spencer, J. (2020) Advanced D&D (Dan Korman and Debunking). Analysis.  
Spencer, J. (2020) The Limits of Neo-Aristotelian Plenitude. Pacific Philosophical Quarterly .
Spencer, J. , & Tillman, C. (2018) Necessity of Orgins and Multi-Origin Art. Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy , 52(7), 741-754.
Spencer, J. (2018) Conceivability and Possibility. Oppy, G. (Ed). Ontological Arguments .
Spencer, J. (2017) Counting on Composition as Identity to Settle the Special Composition Question. Erkenntnis , 82(4), 857-872.
Spencer, J. (2016) The Problem of Empty Names and Russellian Plenitude. Canadian Journal of Philosophy , 46(3), 387-404.
Spencer, J. (2014) Two Thoughts on 'A Tale of Two Parts'. Res Philosophica , 91(3), 485-490.
Spencer, J. (2014) Unnecessary existents. Canadian Journal of Philosophy , 43(5-6), 766-775.
Spencer, J. (2013) Strong Composition as Identity and Simplicity. 'Erkenntnis' , 78(5), 1177-1184.
Spencer, J. (2013) “What Time Travelers Cannot Not Do (But are Responsible for Anyway)”. 'Philosophical Studies' , 166(1), 149-162.
Tillman, C. & Spencer, J. (2012) Semantic Stipulation and Knowledge De Re. Kabasenche, W. P., O’Rourke, M. , & Slater, M. H. (Eds). Topics in Contemporary Philosophy . The MIT Press.
Spencer, J. (2012) Ways of Being. Philosophical Compass , 7(12), 910-918.
Spencer, J. (2012) All Things Must Pass Away. Bennett, K. , & Zimmerman, D. (Eds). Oxford Studies in Metaphysics , 7(67). Oxford University Press.
Tillman, C. & Spencer, J. (2012) Musical materialism and the Inheritance Problem. Clark, M. (Ed). Analysis, Oxford University Press , 72(2), 252-259.