The Truthmaking Account of Ontological Dependence

Abstract

Abstract This paper explores a new account of ontological dependence based on exact truthmaker semantics, which I call the truthmaking account. The account holds that states verifying existential propositions and the parthood relation between states can characterize the relation of ontological dependence. After presenting the truthmaking account, I compare it with the modal and grounding accounts. In particular, I show that the truthmaking account is better than the modal one, and I explore its advantages and disadvantages with respect to the grounding account.