Charles Parsons (philosopher)


Charles Dacre Parsons is an American philosopher best known for his work in the philosophy of mathematics and the study of the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. He is professor emeritus at Harvard University.

Education and career

Parsons is a son of the famous Harvard sociologist Talcott Parsons. He earned his Ph.D. in philosophy at Harvard University in 1961, under the direction of Burton Dreben and Willard Van Orman Quine. He taught for many years at Columbia University before moving to Harvard University in 1989. He retired in 2005 as the Edgar Pierce professor of philosophy, a position formerly held by Quine.
He is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.
Among his former doctoral students are Michael Levin, James Higginbotham, Peter Ludlow, Gila Sher and Øystein Linnebo.

Philosophical work

In addition to his work in logic and the philosophy of mathematics, Parsons was an editor, with Solomon Feferman and others, of the posthumous works of Kurt Gödel. He has also written on historical figures, especially Immanuel Kant, Gottlob Frege, Kurt Gödel, and Willard Van Orman Quine.

Works

Books