John B. Cobb, Jr.

John Boswell Cobb, Jr. (born 9 February 1925) is an American theologian, philosopher, and environmentalist. Cobb is often regarded as the preeminent scholar in the field of process philosophy and process theology, the school of thought associated with the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. Cobb is the author of more than fifty books.Process and Faith, "John B. Cobb Jr." http://processandfaith.org/misc/john-b-cobb-jr In 2014, Cobb was elected to the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

A unifying theme of Cobb's work is his emphasis on ecological interdependence—the idea that every part of the ecosystem is reliant on all the other parts. Cobb has argued that humanity's most urgent task is to preserve the world on which it lives and depends,John B. Cobb, "Intellectual Autobiography", ''Religious Studies Review'' 19 (1993): 10. an idea which his primary influence, Whitehead, described as "world-loyalty".

Cobb is well known for his transdisciplinary approach, integrating insights from many different areas of study and bringing different specialized disciplines into fruitful communication. Because of his broad-minded interest and approach, Cobb has been influential in a wide range of disciplines, including theology, ecology, economics, biology, and social ethics.

In 1971, he wrote the first single-author book in environmental ethics, ''Is It Too Late? A Theology of Ecology'', which argued for the relevance of religious thought in approaching the ecological crisis. In 1989, he co-authored the book ''For the Common Good: Redirecting the Economy Toward Community, Environment, and a Sustainable Future'', which critiqued current global economic practice and advocated for a sustainable, ecology-based economics. He has written extensively on religious pluralism and interfaith dialogue, particularly between Buddhism and Christianity, as well as the need to reconcile religion and science.

Cobb is the co-founder and current co-director of the Center for Process Studies in Claremont, California. The Center for Process Studies remains the leading Whitehead-related institute, and has witnessed the launch of more than thirty related centers at academic institutions throughout the world, including twenty-three centers in China.Institute for the Postmodern Development of China, "Collaborative Centers," "China embraces Alfred North Whitehead," last modified 10 December 2008, Douglas Todd, ''The Vancouver Sun'', retrieved 5 December 2013, http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2008/12/10/china-embraces-alfred-north-whitehead/.

Biography

John Cobb was born in Kobe, Japan, on 9 February 1925, to parents who were Methodist missionaries.David Ray Griffin, "John B. Cobb Jr.: A Theological Biography," in ''Theology and the University: Essays in Honor of John B. Cobb Jr.'', ed. David Ray Griffin and Joseph C. Hough Jr. (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991), 225. Until age 15, he lived primarily in Kobe and Hiroshima and received most of his early education in the multi-ethnic Canadian Academy in Kobe, to which he attributes the beginnings of his pluralistic outlook.

In 1940, Cobb moved to Georgia, US, to finish high school. He found himself both bewildered and disgusted by the pervasive racism in the region, particularly the demonization of the Japanese. Seeing how the same events could be presented in such different ways based on the country in which he was living, Cobb became ever-more counter-cultural and critical of the dominant views in churches, media, universities, and government.

After his graduation from high school, Cobb attended Emory College in Oxford, Georgia, before joining the US Army in 1943. He was chosen for the Japanese language program, which was filled mainly with Jewish and Catholic intellectuals who helped make him aware of the narrow, parochial nature of his Georgia Protestantism.

Cobb served in the occupation of Japan, then returned to the United States and left the army soon afterward. He then entered an interdepartmental program at the University of Chicago