Staff profile

About Me

My research is primarily on topics in metaphysics and formal ontology, the philosophy of language and linguistics, and metaphilosophy. I am also interested in the history of analytic philosophy, in particular the work of Rudolf Carnap, and have written a number of pieces outlining and examining the philosophy of EJ Lowe.

At the moment, I'm working on some issues in the metaphysics of language (especially the ontology of words), and in metametaphysics. I have recently published a monograph on metaphysical realism and anti-realism as part of the Cambridge Elements in Metaphysics series.

I have also edited two books: The Routledge Handbook of Metametaphysics (2020, Routledge), and The Language of Ontology (2021, Oxford University Press).

Previously, I worked at Nottingham University and Trinity College Dublin in teaching-focused roles.

Research Supervision

I would welcome enquiries from students wanting to carry out research on topics in metaphysics and/or ontology (including metametaphysics), philosophy of language (including the metaphysics/ontology of language), and philosophy of linguistics.

• History of Analytic Philosophy
• Metaphysics
• Philosophy of Language
• Philosophy of Linguistics

Authored book

• Miller, J. (2022). Metaphysical Realism and Anti-realism. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009006927

Chapter in book

• Miller, J. (2023). Who’s Afraid of Conceptual Analysis?. In M. Garcia-Godinez (Ed.), Thomasson on Ontology (85-108). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23672-3_5
• Miller, J. (2022). Does Linguistics Need (Weak) Emergence?. In S. Wuppuluri, & I. Steward (Eds.), From Electrons to Elephants and Elections (23-38). (1). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92192-7_3
• Miller, J. (2021). What Counts as a 'Good Metaphysical Language'?. In J. Miller (Ed.), The Language of Ontology (102-118). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192895332.003.0007
• Miller, J. (2020). Metaphysics as the Science of the Possible. In R. Bliss, & J. Miller (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Metametaphysics (480-491). Routledge
• Miller, J. (2012). The Unavoidable Dream Problem. In D. Johnson, & W. Irwin (Eds.), Inception and Philosophy: Because It's Never Just a Dream. Wiley

Edited book

• Miller, J. (Ed.). (2021). The Language of Ontology. Oxford University Press
• Bliss, R., & Miller, J. (Eds.). (2020). The Routledge Handbook of Metametaphysics. Routledge

Journal Article

• Miller, J. (in press). How to Misspell 'Paris'. Philosophy,
• Miller, J. (2024). The metaphysics of puns. Synthese, 203(5), Article 130. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-024-04583-2
• Miller, J. (2023). Easy Ontology, Regress, and Holism. Erkenntnis, 88, 1855–1868. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-021-00432-7
• Miller, J. (2023). Merely Verbal Disputes and Common Ground. Theoria, 89(1), 114-123. https://doi.org/10.1111/theo.12449
• Miller, J. (2022). Hyperintensionality and Ontological Categories. Erkenntnis, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-022-00646-3
• Miller, J. (2022). There Are No Uninstantiated Words. Inquiry, https://doi.org/10.1080/0020174x.2022.2078405
• Miller, J. (2022). Sameness of Word. European Journal of Analytic Philosophy, 18(2), Article A2. https://doi.org/10.31820/ejap.18.2.2
• Miller, J. (2021). A bundle theory of words. Synthese, 198, 5731-5748. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-019-02430-3
• Miller, J. (2021). Words, Species, and Kinds. Metaphysics, 4(1), 18-31. https://doi.org/10.5334/met.70
• Miller, J. (2020). The ontology of words: Realism, nominalism, and eliminativism. Philosophy Compass, 15(7), Article e12691. https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12691
• Miller, J. (2020). On the individuation of words. Inquiry, 63(8), 875-884. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020174x.2018.1562378
• Miller, J. (2019). Natural Name Theory and Linguistic Kinds. Journal of Philosophy, 116(9), 494-508. https://doi.org/10.5840/jphil2019116930
• Miller, J. (2018). Are All Primitives Created Equal?. The Southern Journal of Philosophy, 56(2), 273-292. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjp.12279
• Miller, J. (2017). Language and ontological emergence. Philosophica (Gent. Printed), 91, 105-143
• Miller, J. (2016). The Non-existence of Ontological Categories: A defence of Lowe. Metaphysica, 17(2), 163-176. https://doi.org/10.1515/mp-2016-0012
• Miller, J. (2016). Can an Ontological Pluralist Really be a Realist?. Metaphilosophy, 47(3), 425-430. https://doi.org/10.1111/meta.12185
• Hughes, T. J., & Miller, J. (2014). Lexicalisation and the Origin of the Human Mind. Biosemiotics, 7(1), 11-27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12304-013-9189-1