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

political philosopher Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from de ...

who held the positions of Quain Professor of Jurisprudence,

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

and Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory,

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) 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 me ...

. He was known for his work on

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

, and later,

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

and

distributive justice Distributive justice concerns the Social justice, socially just Resource allocation, allocation of resources, goods, opportunity in a society. It is concerned with how to allocate resources fairly among members of a society, taking into account fa ...

in normative political philosophy.

Background

Born into an ethnically

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

but "militantly anti-religious" and

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

family in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec, on 14 April 1941, Cohen was educated at the Morris Winchevsky School, Strathcona Academy, and Outremont High School. He then attended

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, obtaining a BA in philosophy and political science, and the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, 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". Some of Ryle's ideas in philosophy of mind have been ca ...

(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 ...

) and obtained a BPhil in philosophy.

Academic career

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

, before being appointed to the Chichele chair at Oxford in 1985. Several of his students, such as Christopher Bertram, Simon Caney, Alan Carter, Cécile Fabre, Will Kymlicka, John McMurtry, David Leopold, Michael Otsuka, Seana Shiffrin, and Jonathan Wolff went on to be important moral and political philosophers. He retired from the Chichele chair in 2008. At the time of his death, he was a visiting Quain Professor of Jurisprudence at

UCL Faculty of Laws The UCL Faculty of Laws is the law school of University College London (UCL), a member institution of the federal University of London. It is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties and is based in London, United Kingdom. With a history dating ...

. Cohen was a proponent of

analytical Marxism Analytical Marxism is an academic school of Marxist theory which emerged in the late 1970s, largely prompted by G. A. Cohen's '' Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defence'' (1978). In this book, Cohen drew on the Anglo–American tradition of an ...

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

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

historical materialism Historical materialism is Karl Marx's theory of history. Marx located historical change in the rise of Class society, class societies and the way humans labor together to make their livelihoods. Karl Marx stated that Productive forces, techno ...

its critics often call

technological determinism Technological determinism is a reductionist theory in assuming 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 ...

. 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 philosophy, moral, legal philosophy, legal and Political philosophy, political philosopher in the Modern liberalism in the United States, modern liberal tradit ...

and

Robert Nozick Robert Nozick (; November 16, 1938 – January 23, 2002) was an American philosopher. He held the Joseph Pellegrino Harvard University Professor, University Professorship at Harvard University,Lockean John Locke (; 29 August 1632 ( O.S.) – 28 October 1704 ( O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Con ...

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 controlle ...

as well as the use of that principle to defend

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...

as well as

left-libertarianism Left-libertarianism, also known as left-wing libertarianism, is a political philosophy and type of libertarianism that stresses both individual freedom and social equality. Left-libertarianism represents several related yet distinct approaches to ...

. In ''If You're an Egalitarian, How Come You're So Rich?'' (which covers the topic of his Gifford Lectures), Cohen addresses the question of what

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

political principles imply for the personal behaviour of those who hold them. Cohen was known for his flamboyant style during philosophical debates. According to his best friend, the philosopher Gerald Dworkin, "Nothing was too inappropriate, private, bizarre, or embarrassing to be suddenly brought into the conversation".

Personal life and death

In 1965, Cohen married Margaret Pearce; they had three children and divorced in 1996. Three years later, he married Michèle Jacottet. He personally abjured technology, a stance he called "technological conservatism"; Michèle answered all his email. Cohen was close friends with Marxist political philosopher Marshall Berman. On 5 August 2009, Cohen died from a stroke at

John Radcliffe Hospital John Radcliffe Hospital (informally known as the JR or the John Radcliffe) is a large tertiary teaching hospital in Oxford, England. It forms part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is named after John Radcliffe (physician) ...

in Oxford, aged 68.

Select works

"Marx and Locke on Land and Labour"
''Proceedings of the British Academy 71, 1985'' (1986) *''Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defence'' (1978, 2000) *'' History, Labour, and Freedom'' (1988)
"Incentives, Inequality, and Community"
The Tanner Lectures On Human Values, Delivered at Stanford University May 21, 23, 1991 * *''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 legal 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 ...

and his Critics, with replies by Dworkin'' (2004) *''Rescuing Justice and Equality'' (2008) *''Why Not Socialism?'' (2009) *''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

"Self-Ownership, History and Socialism: An Interview with G.A. Cohen"
originally in ''Imprints'': vol. 1 no.1 (June 1996).

'' Philosophy Bites'' audio interview (2007) * Cohen , episode of ''Opinions'' (1986) *
2010 All Souls College Commemoration of Gerald (Jerry) Allan Cohen
' with addresses from Professors Philippe Van Parijs, 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 re ...

and Timothy Scanlon, and a family tribute from Jerry's son Gideon Cohen. {{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 emigrants to England Canadian political philosophers Chichele Professors of Social and Political Theory Critics of dialectical materialism Deutscher Memorial Prize winners Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Jewish Canadian writers Jewish philosophers Jewish socialists Locke scholars Marxist theorists McGill University alumni Scholars of Marxism Writers from Montreal