Abstract:A minimal truthmaker for a given proposition is the smallest portion of reality which makes this proposition true. Minimal truthmakers are frequently mentioned in the literature, but there has been no systematic account of what they are or of their importance. In this article we shall clarify the notion of a minimal truthmaker and argue that there is reason to think that at least some propositions have minimal truthmakers. We shall then argue that the notion can play a useful role in truthmaker theory, by helping to explain the truth of certain propositions as precisely as possible.Minimal truthmakers are frequently mentioned in the literature, and have been referred to as being 'of quite special importance for metaphysics ' (Armstrong, 2004, p. 19). However, there has been no systematic account of what minimal truthmakers are, or a specification of why they are so important. In this article we make a start on a systematic treatment of these issues. We shall provide an overview of the rather fragmentary literature on minimal truthmakers and suggest a number of improvements to the definition and application of this notion. After sketching a general account of truthmaking (Section I), we shall consider how minimal truthmakers might be defined (Section II). We shall then argue that at least some propositions, for instance those which concern fundamental particles such as electrons, plausibly have minimal truthmakers (Section III). In Section IV we shall briefly assess the reasons Armstrong gives for regarding minimal truthmakers as important for metaphysics, and suggest that they are not convincing. In Sections V and VI, we shall show how minimal truthmakers can explain the truth of specific propositions in as precise a manner as possible, and so meet an important desideratum of truthmaker theory. In Section VII we shall consider some possible objections to our position.
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