Gerald Allan Cohen, ( ; 14 April 1941 – 5 August 2009) was a Canadian

political philosopher Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

who held the positions of Quain Professor of Jurisprudence,

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

and

Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory Chichele is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Henry Chichele ( 1364–1443), English religious leader **Chichele Professorship *Thomas Chichele Sir Thomas Chicheley (25 March 1614 – 1 February 1699) of Wimpole Hall, Cambridg ...

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

. He was known for his work on

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

, and later,

egalitarianism Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hu ...

and

distributive justice Distributive justice concerns the socially just allocation of resources. Often contrasted with just process, which is concerned with the administration of law, distributive justice concentrates on outcomes. This subject has been given considera ...

in normative political philosophy.

Life and career

Born into a communist

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish family in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, on 14 April 1941, Cohen was educated at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

(BA, philosophy and political science) in his hometown and the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

(

BPhil Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's d ...

, philosophy), where he studied under

Gilbert Ryle Gilbert Ryle (19 August 1900 – 6 October 1976) was a British philosopher, principally known for his critique of Cartesian dualism, for which he coined the phrase "ghost in the machine." He was a representative of the generation of British ord ...

(and was also taught by

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

). Cohen was assistant lecturer (1963–1964), lecturer (1964–1979), then reader (1979–1984) in the Department of Philosophy at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, before being appointed to the Chichele chair at Oxford in 1985. Several of his students, such as Christopher Bertram,

Simon Caney Simon Caney (born 1966) is Professor of Political Theory at the University of Warwick and a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. Caney studied philosophy, politics, and economics at Merton College, Oxford, and was a postgraduate student ...

, Alan Carter,

Cécile Fabre Cécile Fabre (born 1971) is a French philosopher, serving as professor of philosophy at the University of Oxford. Since 2014 she has been a senior research fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. Her research focuses on political philosophy, the ...

Will Kymlicka William Kymlicka (; born 1962) is a Canadian political philosopher best known for his work on multiculturalism and animal ethics. He is currently Professor of Philosophy and Canada Research Chair in Political Philosophy at Queen's University ...

, John McMurtry, David Leopold,

Michael Otsuka Michael H. Otsuka (born 1964) is an American left-libertarian political philosopher and Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Rutgers University. Career Otsuka earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree in politics from Balliol College, Oxf ...

Seana Shiffrin Seana Valentine Shiffrin is Professor of Philosophy and Pete Kameron Professor of Law and Social Justice at the University of California, Los Angeles. Shiffrin's work spans issues in moral, political and legal philosophy, as well as matters of l ...

, and Jonathan Wolff went on to be important moral and political philosophers, while another,

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

, has a successful career in comedy. Known as a proponent of

analytical Marxism Analytical Marxism is an approach to Marxist theory that was prominent amongst English-speaking philosophers and social scientists during the 1980s. Described by G. A. Cohen as "non-bullshit Marxism", members of this school seek to apply the ...

and a founding member of the September Group, Cohen's 1978 work '' Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defence'' defends an interpretation of

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

historical materialism Historical materialism is the term used to describe Karl Marx's theory of history. Marx locates historical change in the rise of class societies and the way humans labor together to make their livelihoods. For Marx and his lifetime collaborat ...

often called

technological determinism Technological determinism is a reductionist theory that assumes that a society's technology progresses by following its own internal logic of efficiency, while determining the development of the social structure and cultural values. The term is ...

by its critics. In ''Self-Ownership, Freedom, and Equality'', Cohen offers an extensive moral argument in favour of socialism, contrasting his views with those of

John Rawls John Bordley Rawls (; February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American moral, legal and political philosopher in the liberal tradition. Rawls received both the Schock Prize for Logic and Philosophy and the National Humanities Medal in 1 ...

and

Robert Nozick Robert Nozick (; November 16, 1938 – January 23, 2002) was an American philosopher. He held the Joseph Pellegrino University Professorship at Harvard University,

, by articulating an extensive critique of the

Lockean John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...

principle of

self-ownership Self-ownership, also known as sovereignty of the individual or individual sovereignty, is the concept of property in one's own person, expressed as the moral or natural right of a person to have bodily integrity and be the exclusive controller ...

as well as the use of that principle to defend

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...

as well as

left-libertarianism Left-libertarianism,Bookchin, Murray; Biehl, Janet (1997). ''The Murray Bookchin Reader''. New York: Cassell. p. 170.Goodway, David (2006). '' Anarchist Seeds Beneath the Snow: Left-Libertarian Thought and British Writers from William Morris to ...

. In ''If You're an Egalitarian, How Come You're So Rich?'' (which covers the topic of his

Gifford Lectures The Gifford Lectures () are an annual series of lectures which were established in 1887 by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford. Their purpose is to "promote and diffuse the study of natural theology in the widest sense of the term – in o ...

), Cohen addresses the question of what

egalitarian Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hum ...

political principles imply for the personal behaviour of those who hold them. Cohen was close friends with Marxist political philosopher

Marshall Berman Marshall Howard Berman (November 23, 1940–September 11, 2013) was an American philosopher and Marxist humanist writer. He was a Distinguished Professor of Political Science at The City College of New York and at the Graduate Center of the City U ...

. Cohen died on 5 August 2009.

Works

*'' Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defence'' (1978, 2000) *'' History, Labour, and Freedom'' (1988) * *''If You're an Egalitarian, How Come You're So Rich?'' (2000) *"Expensive Taste Rides Again," in: ''

Ronald Dworkin Ronald Myles Dworkin (; December 11, 1931 – February 14, 2013) was an American philosopher, jurist, and scholar of United States constitutional law. At the time of his death, he was Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at New Yo ...

and his Critics, with replies by Dworkin'' (2004) *''Rescuing Justice and Equality'' (2008) *''Why Not Socialism?'' (2009) rad. esp.: ''¿Por qué no el socialismo?'', Buenos Aires/Madrid, Katz editores, 2011, *''On the Currency of Egalitarian Justice, and Other Essays in Political Philosophy'' (2011) *''Finding Oneself in the Other'' (2012) *''Lectures on the History of Moral and Political Philosophy'' (2013)

References

External links

Socialist Studies Special Edition on the Life and Work of G.A. Cohen

Cohen's Tanner Lectures: "Incentives, Inequality, and Community"

Obituary to Gerald Cohen at ''The Third Estate''

Obituary in ''The Times''
Archived by

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

Obituary in ''The Guardian''

''Remembering Jerry Cohen: A Tribute'' in ''Socialist Worker''

Review of ''Why Not Socialism?'' in ''The Oxonian Review''

''Journal of Ethics'' volume for Jerry Cohen
* *
Jerry Cohen – an Appreciation
'' by

Michael Rosen Michael Wayne Rosen (born 7 May 1946) is a British children's author, poet, presenter, political columnist, broadcaster and activist who has written 140 books. He served as Children's Laureate from 2007 to 2009. Early life Michael Wayne Ros ...

*
2010 All Souls College Commemoration of Gerald (Jerry) Allan Cohen
' with addresses from Professors

Philippe Van Parijs Philippe Van Parijs (; born 1951) is a Belgian political philosopher and political economist, best known as a proponent and main defender of the concept of an unconditional basic income and for the first systematic treatment of linguistic jus ...

, John Roemer,

Myles Burnyeat Myles Fredric Burnyeat (1 January 1939 – 20 September 2019) was an English scholar of ancient philosophy. Early life and education Myles Burnyeat was born on 1 January 1939 to Peter James Anthony Burnyeat and Cynthia Cherry Warburg. He rece ...

and Timothy Scanlon, and a family tribute from Jerry's son Gideon Cohen. * UCL New
Obituary: Professor Jerry Cohen
Professor Stephen Guest of UCL Laws writes in memory. *''

’
remarks at Jerry Cohen’s funeral All Souls College Chapel, 11 August 2009
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, G. A. 1941 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Canadian philosophers 21st-century Canadian philosophers Academics of University College London Alumni of New College, Oxford Anglophone Quebec people British Jews British Marxists British political philosophers Canadian Marxists Canadian political philosophers Chichele Professors of Social and Political Theory Critics of dialectical materialism Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Jewish Canadian writers Jewish philosophers Jewish socialists Marxist theorists McGill University alumni Scholars of Marxism Deutscher Memorial Prize winners Writers from Montreal Locke scholars

Life and career

Works

See also

References

Further reading

External links