From Kant to Husserl

“By exhibiting the continuity from Kant to classic debates of the early twentieth century and his own investigation of structuralism, Parsons shows how modern developments do not just give rise to new questions, but illuminate issues whose interest and importance is not localized to a formal setting. This is what I find most exciting about his work.”—Katherine Dunlop, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

“Parsons’s penetrating and careful exploration of fundamental issues in the philosophy of mathematics has led him to study in depth key figures in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century philosophy, notably Kant, Frege, Brentano, and Husserl. These essays combine subtle and original insights with a unified view on key topics beyond the philosophy of mathematics. Even those of us who without delay read everything that Parsons writes appreciate having these essays collected between two covers and provided with postscripts on recent developments.”—Dagfinn Føllesdal, Stanford University

“Charles Parsons is the master of historically oriented philosophy of mathematics, and his writings have done much to illuminate the historical figures he treats—especially Kant—well beyond their views on mathematics in particular. This volume brings together Parsons’s later writings on Kant (appearing after 1980), and includes essays on Frege, Brentano, and Husserl as well. The result is a deeply insightful contribution to our understanding of one central strand in the development of philosophy from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century.”—Michael Friedman, Stanford University

“This welcome collection includes valuable essays that have been neglected or are difficult to find elsewhere; it is a great service to bring them together. As always, Parsons’s reflections are careful, incisive, rich in insight, and worthy of multiple readings. A wide range of philosophers will reach for this volume repeatedly.”—Daniel Sutherland, University of Illinois