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• Faculty, North Carolina State University
• PhD, University of Rochester, 1974.

• General Philosophy of Science
• Logic and Philosophy of Logic
• Philosophy of Language

• Metaphysics

Out of graduate school, I taught about ten years as an academic philosopher at Loyola University. I then morphed into a software engineer (primarily compilers and software tools) and engineering manager for about fifteen years working at Bell Labs, Lattice, Inc., and SAS Institute. Next I moved into the pharmaceutical industry, working initially as a software engineer (information retrieval, computational linguistics, knowledge based systems, and data mining) on the IT side and then on to more in the areas of information extraction, knowledge exploration, and formal ontologies in biomedicine. I spent about four years with GlaxoWellcome, a year with Novartis, and eight years with GlaxoSmithKline (from which I took early retirement in early 2010). I have now returned to university teaching in philosophy to some degree, and more details can be found on my web site at NC State.

22 items found. Sort by: publication yearfirst authorviewingsaddition date Gary H. Merrill (2011). Ontology, Ontologies, and Science. Topoi. Philosophers frequently struggle with the relation of metaphysics to the everyday world, with its practical value, and with its relation to empirical science. This paper distinguishes several different models of the relation between philosophical ontology and applied (scientific) ontology that have been advanced in the history of philosopy. Adoption of a strong participation model for the philosophical ontologist in science is urged, and requirements and consequences of the participation model are explored. This approach provides both a principled view and justification (...) of the role of the philosophical ontologist in contemporary empirical science as well as guidelines for integrating philosophers and philosophical contributions into the practice of science. (shrink) Scientific Practice, Misc in General Philosophy of Science The Nature of Analytic Philosophy in Metaphilosophy The Nature of Philosophy in Metaphilosophy The Role of Philosophy in Metaphilosophy The Value of Philosophy in Metaphilosophy Direct download     My bibliography     Export citation   Gary H. Merrill (2010). Ontological Realism: Methodology or Misdirection? Applied Ontology 5 (2):79-108. In a series of papers over a period of several years Barry Smith andWerner Ceusters have offered a number of cogent criticisms of historical approaches to creating, maintaining, and applying biomedical terminologies and ontologies. And they have urged the adoption of what they refer to as a “realism-based” approach. Indeed, at times they insist that the realism-based approach not only offers clear advantages and a well-founded methodological basis for ontology development and evaluation, but that such a realist perspective is in (...) fact necessary for understanding and using terminologies and ontologies in science. -/- This paper explores a number of questions surrounding such claims, provides a careful characterization of the type of realism recommended by Smith and Ceusters, and evaluates the role that realism plays in the critiques and recommendations that they offer. The conclusion reached is that while Smith’s and Ceusters’ criticisms of prior practice in the treatment of ontologies and terminologies in medical informatics are often both perceptive and well founded, and while at least some of their own proposals demonstrate obvious merit and promise, none of this either follows from or requires the brand of realism that they propose. (shrink) Metaphysical Realism in Metaphysics Ontological Realism in Metaphysics Philosophy of Biology Realism and Anti-Realism, Misc in Metaphysics Direct download     My bibliography     Export citation   Gary H. Merrill (2010). Realism and Reference Ontologies: Considerations, Reflections, and Problems. Applied Ontology 5 (3-4):189-221. In “Ontological realism: Methodology or misdirection?” I offered a detailed critique of the position referred to as “realism” taken by Barry Smith and Werner Ceusters. This position is claimed to serve as the basis for a “realist methodology” that they seek to impose on the development of scientific ontologies, particularly within the biomedical sciences. Here, in part responding to a reply to those criticisms by Smith and Ceusters, I return the focus to an examination of fundamental incoherencies in this realist (...) approach and propose an alternative that is amenable to much of what Smith and Ceusters hope to accomplish. And I sketch what I believe is needed to advance ontology theory and practice in the sciences. (shrink) Ontological Realism in Metaphysics Philosophy of Science, Miscellaneous in Philosophy of Science, Misc Direct download     My bibliography     Export citation   Gary H. Merrill (2009). Concepts and Synonymy in the UMLS Metathesaurus. Journal of Biomedical Discovery and Collaboration 4 (7). This paper advances a detailed exploration of the complex relationships among terms, concepts, and synonymy in the UMLS Metathesaurus, and proposes the study and understanding of the Metathesaurus from a model-theoretic perspective. Initial sections provide the background and motivation for such an approach, and a careful informal treatment of these notions is offered as a context and basis for the formal analysis. What emerges from this is a set of puzzles and confusions in the Metathesaurus and its literature pertaining to (...) synonymy and its relation to terms and concepts. A model theory for a segment of the Metathesaurus is then constructed, and its adequacy relative to the informal treatment is demonstrated. Finally, it is shown how this approach clarifies and addresses the puzzles educed from the informal discussion, and how the model-theoretic perspective may be employed to evaluate some fundamental criticisms of the Metathesaurus. (shrink) Ambiguity and Polysemy in Philosophy of Language Ontology in Metaphysics Synonymy in Philosophy of Language Direct download     My bibliography     Export citation   Gary H. Merrill (2008). The MedDRA Paradox. Amia Annu Symp Proc:470-474. No categories   My bibliography     Export citation   Gary H. Merrill, Patrick B. Ryan & Jeffery L. Painter (2008). Using SNOMED to Normalize and Aggregate Drug References in the SafetyWorks Observational Pharmacovigilance Project. Idamap (Intelligent Data Analysis in Medicine and Pharmacology. No categories   My bibliography     Export citation   Gary H. Merrill (2006). Engineering a Development Platform for Ontology-Enhanced Knowledge Applications. In Raj Sharman, Rajiv Kishore & Ram Ramesh (eds.), Ontologies: A Handbook of Principles, Concepts and Applications in Information Systems. Springer. No categories   My bibliography     Export citation   G. H. Merrill (1980). Book Review:Theory of Science George Gale. [REVIEW] Philosophy of Science 47 (4):667-. Science, Logic, and Mathematics Direct download (2 more)     My bibliography     Export citation   G. H. Merrill (1980). Moderate Historicism and the Empirical Sense of 'Good Science'. PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1980:223 - 235. Unlike the radical historicist and the radical logicist, the moderate historicist in the philosophy of science adopts the position that neither purely a priori (i.e., logical or philosophical) nor purely historical considerations alone determine the acceptability of a philosophical analysis of science. A dilemma arising from the nature of this position is first described and then it is argued that what is perhaps the most plausible way of avoiding this dilemma is doomed to failure. A particular example of this attempt (...) at escaping the dilemma is considered in some detail, and along the way evidence is amassed in support of the view that no non-trivial statement of moderate historicism will be coherent. (shrink) No categories Direct download     My bibliography     Export citation   G. H. Merrill (1980). Three Forms of Realism. American Philosophical Quarterly 17 (3):229 - 235. No categories Direct download     My bibliography     Export citation   G. H. Merrill (1980). The Model-Theoretic Argument Against Realism. Philosophy of Science 47 (1):69-81. In "Realism and Reason" Hilary Putnam has offered an apparently strong argument that the position of metaphysical realism provides an incoherent model of the relation of a correct scientific theory to the world. However, although Putnam's attack upon the notion of the "intended" interpretation of a scientific theory is sound, it is shown here that realism may be formulated in such a way that the realist need make no appeal to any "intended" interpretation of such a theory. Consequently, it can (...) be shown that realism is immune to Putnam's criticism and that attempts at reformulating this criticism are not likely to meet with success. (shrink) The Model-Theoretic Argument in Metaphysics Direct download (5 more)     My bibliography     Export citation   G. H. Merrill (1979). A Note on Proxies. Erkenntnis 14 (3):371 - 372. No categories Direct download (4 more)     My bibliography     Export citation   G. H. Merrill (1979). Confirmation and Prediction. Philosophy of Science 46 (1):98-117. It is argued that Hempel's original rejection of the prediction criterion of confirmation in [8] (on the grounds that it leads to a circular definition of confirmation) was ill-conceived, and that his own approach exhibits undesirable consequences to the degree that it deviates from this criterion. A version of the prediction criterion is formulated which, in addition to being-non circular, escapes the criticisms advanced against Hempel's satisfaction criterion, offers certain clear advantages over alternative approaches, and may serve as the basis (...) for a theory of qualitative confirmation. The definition of confirmation developed here violates two of Hempel's three criteria of adequacy, and in showing why it should do so some light is shed on various issues in the debate concerning the acceptability of these criteria. (shrink) Confirmation in General Philosophy of Science Direct download (5 more)     My bibliography     Export citation   G. H. Merrill (1979). On the Uniqueness of the Identity Relation. Analysis 39 (3):133 - 136. No categories Direct download (3 more)     My bibliography     Export citation   G. H. Merrill (1979). What a Sentence Says. Philosophical Studies 35 (4):405 - 412. Meaning in Philosophy of Language Direct download (4 more)     My bibliography     Export citation   Gary H. Merrill (1979). Marginal Notes on the Theory of Reference. Grazer Philosophische Studien 9:35-50. In 'Notes on the Theory of Reference' Quine offers a brief argument, based on Tarski's Convention T and semantic definition of truth, that the theory of meaning is 'in a worse state' than is the theory of reference and that the concepts of the theory of meaning are inherently more 'foggy and mysterious' than those of thetheory of reference. A careful reconstruction of Quine's argument, however, is sufficient to show both that he covertly imposes a double standard of clarity on (...) the two theories in question and that in so far as Tarski's contributions clarify or explicate the notion of truth they do likewise for the notion of analyticity. Consequently, the appeal which Quine makes to Tarski's definition of truth cannot be used in the manner he wishes, to draw a clear boundary between the theories of meaning and reference. (shrink) Philosophy of Language Direct download     My bibliography     Export citation   G. H. Merrill (1978). Formalization, Possible Worlds and the Foundations of Modal Logic. Erkenntnis 12 (3):305 - 327. Possible World Semantics in Philosophy of Language Semantics for Modal Logic in Logic and Philosophy of Logic Direct download (4 more)     My bibliography     Export citation   Gary H. Merrill (1977). On an Enduring Non Sequitur of Quine's. Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 18 (4):613-615. Logic and Philosophy of Logic W. V. O. Quine in 20th Century Philosophy Direct download (2 more)     My bibliography     Export citation   G. H. Merrill (1976). "Aspects of the Problem of Universals," by Donald Brownstein. The Modern Schoolman 53 (3):291-292. No categories Direct download     My bibliography     Export citation   G. H. Merrill (1975). A Free Logic with Intensions as Possible Values of Terms. Journal of Philosophical Logic 4 (4):293 - 326. Logic and Philosophy of Logic Direct download (4 more)     My bibliography     Export citation   G. H. Merrill (1975). Peirce on Probability and Induction. Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 11 (2):90 - 109. No categories Direct download     My bibliography     Export citation   G. H. Merrill (1975). "Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Language," by James Bogen. The Modern Schoolman 52 (2):207-211. 20th Century Philosophy Direct download     My bibliography     Export citation

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