Rodney K.B.

Parker, PhD
rodney.parker@upb.de; rodney.k.b.parker@gmail.com
+49 5251 60-3995 | Office: TP21.2.3
Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists | Department of Philosophy
Universität Paderborn
Warburger Str. 100 | 33098 Paderborn | GERMANY

Academic Positions
Postdoctoral Researcher (Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter) 2017-present
Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists/
Institut für Humanwissenschaften - Fach Philosophie
Universität Paderborn
Assistant Professor (Adjunct) 2012-2016
Department of Philosophy
Western University

Education
Ph.D., Philosophy 2007-2013
Western University
Dissertation Title: Husserl’s Transcendental Idealism & the Problem of Solipsism
Abstract: My dissertation presents an interpretation of Husserl’s transcendental
idealism, that is, his view that the objects of ordinary experience are empirically real
but beyond that they are nothing. I argue that Husserl’s analysis of how
consciousness constitutes an Objective external world saves transcendental idealism
from the threat of solipsism. Commentators past and present have misunderstood
Husserl’s position, claiming that he cannot give a satisfactory account of the
existence of the external world or other subjects. On the one hand, this
misunderstanding is due to the realist attitude that permeates our ordinary way of
thinking about and engaging with the world. On the other, it confuses the
epistemological claims of Husserlian phenomenology – which concern the a priori
conditions of the possibility of experience – with metaphysical claims.
Co-supervisors: Helen Fielding and Antonio Calcagno
Visiting Scholar, Husserl-Archives Leuven Fall 2011
The Institute of Philosophy, KU Leuven
Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Philosophy 2001-2006
University of New Brunswick, Fredericton
Bachelor of Science (Honours), Mathematics 2001-2006
University of New Brunswick, Fredericton

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Languages
English (native), German (reading), French (reading)

Areas of Specialization
Phenomenology & Existentialism (esp. Husserl), 19th and 20th Century Philosophy

Areas of Competence
Early Modern Philosophy (esp. Berkeley and Kant), Political Philosophy, Feminism, Logic

Publications
Peer reviewed articles
Does Husserl’s Phenomenology lead to Pluralistic Solipsism? Reassessing the Criticism of
Theodor Celms. The Subject(s) of Phenomenology: New Approaches to Husserl, ed. Apostolescu,
Grahovac, and Haensler. Dordrecht, Springer. (Forthcoming)
A Pragmatist’s Impression of Phenomenology: Dewey’s Bulldog meets Husserl’s Terrier. The
Reception of Husserlian Phenomenology in North America, ed. M. Ferri and C. Ierna. Dordrecht,
Springer. (Forthcoming)
Gerda Walther and the Phenomenological Community. Acta Mexicana de Fenomenología 2
(2017), 45-66.
Heinrich Maier. The Sources of Husserl’s ‘Ideas I’, ed. A. Staiti and E. Clarke. Berlin: De
Gruyter (2017): 215-216.
Paul F. Linke. The Sources of Husserl’s ‘Ideas I’, ed. A. Staiti and E. Clarke. Berlin: De Gruyter
(2017): 369-370.
The History between Koyré and Husserl. Hypotheses and Perspectives within History and
Philosophy of Science. Homage to Alexandre Koyré 1892-1964, ed. Agassi, Drozdova, and
Pisano. Dordrecht: Springer (2017, in press).
Theodor Elsenhans. The Sources of Husserl’s ‘Ideas I’, ed. A. Staiti and E. Clarke. Berlin: De
Gruyter (2017): 13-15.
Theodor Ziehen. The Sources of Husserl’s ‘Ideas I’, ed. A. Staiti and E. Clarke. Berlin: De
Gruyter (2017): 147-148.
Editors’ Introduction. Resurrecting the Phenomenological Movement (with Dermot Moran).
Studia Phaenomenologica 15 (2015): 11-24.
Edited volumes
Parker, Rodney K.B. and Ignacio Quepons (eds). The New Yearbook for Phenomenology and
Phenomenological Philosophy 15: Phenomenology of Emotions. Systematic and Historical
Perspectives (2017).
Moran, Dermot and Rodney K.B. Parker (eds). Studia Phaenomenologica 15: Early
Phenomenology (2015).

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Book Reviews
Angela Ales Bello. The Sense of Things: Toward a Phenomenological Realism. New York:
Springer, 2015. Symposium (Online 11 August 2016): http://www.c-scp.org/2016/08/11/angela-
ales-bello-the-sense-of-things
Translations
Maier, Heinrich. Psychology and Philosophy. The Sources of Husserl’s ‘Ideas I’, ed. A. Staiti and
E. Clarke. Berlin: De Gruyter (2017): 217-224.

Work in Progress
Hedwig Conrad-Martius unveröffentlichte Manuskript auf Husserls Ideen I., “Über Ontologie”
(Article/transcription)
Phenomenology in Canada (Article)
Gustav Hübener’s notes on Phenomenological Psychology (Article)
The New Monadology. Dietrich Mahnke’s Contributions to Phenomenology (Article)
The Reception of Husserl’s Idealism (Edited volume)
Husserl’s Phenomenological Idealism and related texts. (Translation and critical edition of
Theodor Celms, by Rodney K.B. Parker and Uldis Vēgners)

Conference Presentations and Invited Lectures

Commentary on A. Staiti, “Husserl’s Anti-Naturalistic (and Anti-Metaphysical) Account of
Action.” Husserl Circle, University of Crete, Rethymno, July 2017.
Theodor Celms and the Spectre of Solipsism in Husserl’s Idealism. Husserl Circle, University of
Crete, Rethymno, July 2017.
Stein’s Second Conversion. From Realism to Idealism (or something near enough). Edith Stein
Circle (IASPES), University of Portland, June 2017.
Real reality? Hedwig Conrad-Martius versus Husserl’s Ideas I. North American Society for Early
Phenomenology (NASEP), Seattle University, June 2017.
Studying the History of Women in Phenomenology. Challenges and Barriers. Center HWPS
Forschungskolloquium, January, 2017.
Gerda Walther and the Question of Reality. Natur und Kosmos. Entwürfe der frühen
Phänomenologie, Karls-Universität Prag, October 2016.
Aristotle, Husserl, and Levinas on First Philosophy. Aristotle in Phenomenology, Indiana
University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, April 2016.
The Bulldog meets a Terrier – On the confrontation between Sidney Hook and Dorion Cairns.
Pragmatism and Phenomenology, King’s University College, Western University, April 2015.
Blood, Iron, and Ink – Dietrich Mahnke’s place in the Phenomenological Movement. The Great
War and Phenomenology, Husserl Archives, KU Leuven, December 2014.
Commentary on J. Heller, “Genetic Phenomenology and Monadic Genesis: Husserl’s Response to
the Heideggerian Critique of Consciousness as Object.” The Society for Existential and
Phenomenological Theory and Culture (EPTC), Brock University, May 2014.

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Husserl’s Refutation of (Psychologistic) Idealism. Husserl and the Phenomenological Tradition,
University of Guelph, April 2014.
Edith Stein - Phenomenologist and Feminist. Women in Phenomenology, UWO Department of
Philosophy London Public Library Lecture series, October 2013.
Intentionality and the Other: Levinas on Phenomenological Idealism and Einfühlung. Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Phänomenologische Forschung (DGPF), Husserl-Archiv, Universität zu Köln,
September 2013.
Commentary on G. Shpet, “Consciousness and Its Owner,” translated by T. Nemeth. NASEP,
King’s University College, Western University, June 2013.
History of Philosophy is Contemporary Philosophy. Confronting the past with Mahnke & Koyré.
Homeward Spun Lecture, University of New Brunswick, February 2013.
Husserl’s Early Critics and their Contemporary Counterparts. A Response to Celms and Stumpf.
The Nordic Society for Phenomenology (NoSP), University of Oslo, June, 2012.
Husserl’s Monadology and its ‘metaphysical conclusions’. NASEP, Toronto, May 2012.
The Promise and Problem of Intersubjectivity in Husserl’s Formal and Transcendental Logic.
EPTC, in conjunction with the Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities of Canada,
University of New Brunswick, May 2011.
Commentary on C. Cohoon, “Levinas Naturally.” EPTC, University of New Brunswick, May
2011.
Commentary on S. Stankovic, “Things in Themselves as Human Faculties.” Canadian
Philosophical Association (CPA), University of New Brunswick, May 2011.
Empathy Theories from Lotze to Husserl. The Early Phenomenology: Munich and Göttingen,
Franciscan University of Steubenville, April 2011.
Berkeley’s Nonsensical Ideas or What I can Remember About Them. UWO-Trinity Workshop in
Honour of the 300th Anniversary of the ‘Principles Concerning Human Knowledge’, Western
University, September 2010.
The History Between Koyré and Husserl. Symposium in Honour of the 100th Anniversary of the
Göttingen Circle, CPA, Concordia University, May 2010.
Husserl and the Logic of Contents (Inhaltslogik). Logic, Mathematics and Physics Graduate
Philosophy Conference, Western University, April 2009.

Teaching Experience
Women Phenomenologists of the Early 20th Century (L.127.15310) Summer 2017
Institut für Humanwissenschaften, Universität Paderborn
Business Ethics (PHIL 2074) Fall 2016, Fall 2014; Fall 2013
Department of Philosophy, King’s University College
Death (PHIL 2073) Winter 2016; Winter 2014; Winter 2010
Department of Philosophy, Western University
Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (PHIL 2555) Fall 2014; Winter 2013
Department of Philosophy, Huron University College
Evil (PHIL 2065) Fall 2014
Department of Philosophy, Western University

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Modern and Postmodern Philosophy (PHIL 2206) Winter 2013
Department of Philosophy, King’s University College
Women, Law, and Social Change (WSFR 2260) Fall 2012
Department of Women’s Studies and Feminist Research, Western University

Scholarships and Awards

Ontario Graduate Scholarship (Province-wide competition): $15,000 2011-2012
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (Province-wide competition): $15,000 2007-2008
Faculty of Arts & Humanities scholarship, Western (Faculty-wide competition): $4000 2007
Sir Howard Douglas Award, UNB (University-wide competition) 2005

Professional Activities
Conferences Organized
Women in Phenomenology and Phenomenological Psychology. Center HWPS, Paderborn
University, 23-24 November, 2017.
At the Origins of Phenomenology. Logic, Psychology, Ontology. NASEP, Seattle University, 1-3
June, 2017.
Feeling, Valuing, and Judging: Phenomenological Investigations in Axiology. NASEP, St. John’s
University, 19-21 May, 2016.
The Great Phenomenological Schism: Reactions to Husserl’s Transcendental Idealism. NASEP,
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 3-6 June, 2015.
Early Influences of Phenomenology: Neo-Kantianism, American Pragmatism, Experimental
Psychology, et al. NASEP, Boston College, 4-6 April, 2014.
Describing and Exploring Early Phenomenology, NASEP, King’s University College, Western
University, 12-14 June, 2013.
Service
Vice President – The North American Society for Early Phenomenology (NASEP), 2012-present.
Co-Founder & Executive Board Member – The Open Commons of Phenomenology, 2015-
present.
Series Editor and Project Coordinator – Early Phenomenology, sdvig press, 2015-present.
Contributor – Рустик: The Early Russian and Baltic Phenomenology Working Group, 2015-
present.
Editorial board – Ad Fontes. Studies in Early Phenomenology, 2015-present.
Scientific Committee/Referee – Acta Mexicana de Fenomenología, 2015-present.
Reviewer – The Society for Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture (EPTC), 2013-
present.

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References
Helen Fielding Corey W. Dyck
Associate Professor Associate Professor
Department of Philosophy, and Department of Philosophy
Department of Women’s Studies and Western University
Feminist Research (519) 661-2111 ext. 85749
Western University cdyck5@uwo.ca
(519) 661-2111 ext. 84548
Sebastian Luft
hfieldin@uwo.ca
Professor
Antonio Calcagno Department of Philosophy
Professor Marquette University
Department of Philosophy and Religious (414) 288-5960
Studies sebastian.luft@marquette.edu
King’s University College, Western
David Carr
University
Professor Emeritus
(519) 433-3491 ext. 4533
Department of Philosophy
acalcagn@uwo.ca
Emory University/New School for Social
Research
(404) 272-5574
dcarr@emory.edu; carrd@newschool.edu

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Husserl’s Transcendental Idealism & the Problem of Solipsism
Abstract
When Husserl began to characterize his phenomenology as transcendental philosophy
and a form of transcendental idealism, he anticipated some possible criticisms. Among
them, Husserl identified the threat of solipsism as the most pressing, since it typically
paralyzes any attempt to formulate a consistent transcendental philosophy. Rather than
attempt to conceal potentially troubling aspects of his philosophy, Husserl unabashedly
endorses the view that everything that exists, including the external world and other
subjects, are constituted by consciousness and beyond this they are nothing. He insists
that the concept of mind-independent things-in-themselves is nonsense. But if this is true,
is Husserl not forced to conclude that the external world and other subjects are merely
mental phenomena, and that I alone exist? Is this not the very definition of solipsism?
This dissertation defends Husserl against the threat of solipsism. First, I show that
Husserl’s transcendental idealism is not a metaphysical theory. Transcendental
phenomenology brackets all metaphysical presuppositions and argues from experience to
the conditions of the possibility of experience. Husserl’s transcendental idealism should
therefore be interpreted as a transcendental theory of knowledge. Far from entailing a
commitment to metaphysical solipsism, Husserl argues that the world is necessarily
correlated to an intersubjective community of embodied subjects. His transcendental
idealism – like Kant’s – does not deny the existence of mind-independent objects in the
uncontroversial sense of empirical realism, but only in the controversial sense of
metaphysical realism. Second, it follows from the above interpretation of Husserl’s
transcendental idealism that the responses he gives to the problem of solipsism are in no
way meant to prove the existence in-itself of an external world or other transcendental
egos. The purpose of Husserl’s engagement with the problem of the solus ipse is to
explain how it is that transcendental phenomenology can account for the constitution of
both the Objectivity of the world of experience and other psycho-physical subjects. The
result is a set of transcendental arguments that explain the necessary conditions of the
cognition of a shared external world and of other persons. The argument derives from
three results of transcendental phenomenological analysis: 1) Possible other subjects are
a necessary condition of the constitution of a world of the Non-ego; 2) Actual other
subjects are a necessary condition of the constitution of an Objective world; 3) Empathy
is a necessary condition of the constitution of other subjects. I conclude that the problem
of solipsism is a transcendental illusion, and that Husserl’s transcendental idealism does
not lead to any traditional or problematic form of solipsism.
Husserl lamented that his students and peers misunderstood the nature of his
transcendental idealism. This misunderstanding, on Husserl’s diagnosis, was primarily
due to the realist attitude that permeates our ordinary way of thinking about and engaging
with the world. Furthermore, this leads critics to conflate the epistemological claims of
phenomenology with metaphysical claims. Husserl’s concern is not proving the existence
of the external world, but with explaining the a priori conditions of the possibility of
experiencing such a world. The interpretive framework I develop demonstrates that this
transcendental-epistemological issue is the motivation for Husserl’s work on
intersubjectivity and his analysis of the co-constitution of the world.