Why I Am Not a Strict Monist

Journal article

In The Parmenidean Ascent, Michael Della Rocca presents a fascinating case for what he calls Strict Monism, which is the thesis that there are no distinctions. In this paper I shall explain why I do not believe in Strict Monism. I shall first explain Strict Monism in detail, and then I shall explain why it is false. If a thesis is false, whatever arguments have been provided for it must fail in one way or another, and so I shall also explain why and how the arguments provided for Strict Monism fail. Finally, I shall comment on the significance of my conclusions and I shall point out, among other things, that we do not have any reason, at least at the moment, to think that any version of the Principle of Sufficient Reason entails Strict Monism.

Authors: Rodriguez-Pereyra, G

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Journal: The Monist
• Volume: 109
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 326-338
• Publication date: 2026-05-30
• Acceptance date: 2026-04-07
• DOI: 10.1093/monist/onag015
• EISSN: 2153-3601
• ISSN: 0026-9662
• Language: English