Eric Todd Olson is an

American philosopher American philosophy is the activity, corpus, and tradition of philosophers affiliated with the United States. The ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' notes that while it lacks a "core of defining features, American Philosophy can neverthe ...

who specializes in

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

and

philosophy of mind Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of the mind and its relation to the Body (biology), body and the Reality, external world. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a ...

. Olson is best known for his research in the field of

personal identity Personal identity is the unique numerical identity of a person over time. Discussions regarding personal identity typically aim to determine the necessary and sufficient conditions under which a person at one time and a person at another time ...

, and for advocating animalism, the theory that persons are animals. Olson received a BA from

Reed College Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...

and a PhD from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. Olson is currently a professor of philosophy at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

Bibliography

*''The Human Animal: Personal Identity Without Psychology''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. *''What Are We? A Study in Personal Ontology''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.Reviews of ''What Are We?'': * * * * * * * *''Do We Have a Soul?: A Debate''. With Aaron Segal. New York: Routledge, 2023.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Eric T. 20th-century American philosophers 21st-century American philosophers Academics of the University of Sheffield Academics of the University of Cambridge American philosophers of mind Reed College alumni Syracuse University alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people)