Thomas William Charles Stoneham is a British philosopher. He has published on a range of topics 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 ...

epistemology Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowle ...

philosophical logic Understood in a narrow sense, philosophical logic is the area of logic that studies the application of logical methods to philosophical problems, often in the form of extended logical systems like modal logic. Some theorists conceive philosophic ...

, and the philosophy of

George Berkeley George Berkeley ( ; 12 March 168514 January 1753), known as Bishop Berkeley (Bishop of Cloyne of the Anglican Church of Ireland), was an Anglo-Irish philosopher, writer, and clergyman who is regarded as the founder of "immaterialism", a philos ...

. As of 2023, Stoneham is Professor of Philosophy at the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

since August 2008 and Head of the Department of Philosophy at York since September 2020. He is Honorary Treasurer of the UK Council for Graduate Education (July 2018–present), an Editorial Board member of White Rose University Press, and a member of the AHRC Peer Review College (June 2014–present).

Early life and education

Stoneham was privately educated at St Edmund's Preparatory School (1977–80) and

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

(1980–85), before going up to

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...

to read PPE (1986–89). Stoneham graduated from

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

with a BA (MA) in 1989 and went on to complete an M.Phil (1991) and Ph.D (1995) at

Birkbeck College, London Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

. At Birkbeck, Stoneham's doctoral thesis ('On Knowing What I am Thinking') was supervised by

Barry C. Smith Barry C. Smith is a British philosopher and director of the Institute of Philosophy at the School of Advanced Study at University of London. He also co-directs the Centre for the Study of the Senses. He has previously been a visiting professor at ...

Career

Stoneham has held academic appointments at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

(1994–2000) and the

(2000–present), as well as visiting posts at the

Catholic University of Lublin John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (, , abbreviation KUL) is a university established in 1918. History Father Idzi Benedykt Radziszewski founded the university in 1918. Lenin allowed the priest to take the library and equipment of ...

(1999),

Rhodes University Rhodes University () is a public research university located in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the prov ...

(2001), th
Centre for the Study of Mind in Nature
(CSMN) at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

(2010), and the

Shanghai University of Finance and Economics The Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE) is a public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, finance and economics university located in Shanghai, China. The university is affiliated with the ...

(2014). Stoneham started as a Junior Lecturer in the sub-faculty of Philosophy at Oxford in 1994. From 1996, he was a Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor ...

. In 2000, Stoneham moved to the University of York as a Lecturer. He was promoted to Reader in 2004 and to Professor in 2008. At York, Stoneham has served as Head of the Department of Philosophy (2006–14) and, in January 2015, he was appointed the Inaugural

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the Graduate Research School. In 2020, Stoneham stepped down as Dean of the Graduate School and has been appointed to another term as Head of the Department of Philosophy. Stoneham has published on a variety of philosophical topics, including self-knowledge, metaphysical nihilism, and issues in the philosophy of logic and language. He is primarily known for his work on the philosophy of George Berkeley. He is the author of ''Berkeley's World: An Examination of the Three Dialogues'' (

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2002), as well as several journal articles and book chapters on Berkeley.

Selected publications

Books

* (edited with Paul Lodge) '' Locke and Leibniz on Substance''. Routledge, 2015. * (edited with Keith Allen) '' Causation and Modern Philosophy''. Routledge, 2011. * ''Berkeley's World: An Examination of the Three Dialogues''.

, 2002.

Articles and book chapters

* 2019. Dreaming, Phenomenal Character, and Acquaintance. In: ''Acquaintance: New Essays'', eds. Knowles & Raleigh, OUP. * 2018. Some Issues in Berkeley’s Account of Sense Perception. In: ''Berkeley's Three Dialogues: New Essays'', ed. Storrie, OUP. * 2017. Berkeley on Abstraction, Universals, and Universal Knowledge. In: ''The Problem of Universals in Early Modern Philosophy'', eds. Di Bella & Schmaltz, OUP. * 2010. (with David Efird) The Subtraction Argument for Free Mass. ''Philosophy and Phenomenological Research'', 80, 50–7. * 2009. Time and Truth: The Presentism-Eternalism Debate. ''Philosophy'', 84, 201–18. * 2006. (with David Efird) Combinatorialism and the Possibility of Nothing. ''Australasian Journal of Philosophy'', 84, 269–80. * 2005. (with David Efird) The Subtraction Argument for Metaphysical Nihilism. ''The Journal of Philosophy'', 102, 303–325. * 1998. On Believing that I am Thinking. ''Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society'', 98, 125–44.

References

External links

Philosophy at the University of York
*

Philosophy Bites ''Philosophy Bites'' is a podcast series featuring philosophers being interviewed for 15–20 minutes on a specific topic. The series, which has been running since 2007, is hosted by Nigel Warburton, freelance lecturer, and David Edmonds, and ha ...

interview
On George Berkeley's ImmaterialismProject on Dreams, Nightmares and Complex Trauma
British philosophers Academics of the University of York Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Living people George Berkeley scholars People educated at Rugby School People educated at St Edmund's School, Hindhead Year of birth missing (living people) Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts {{UK-philosopher-stub