Cohen, Hermann

Cohen, Hermann

▪ German philosopher
born July 4, 1842, Coswig, Anhalt
died April 4, 1918, Berlin

      German-Jewish philosopher and founder of the Marburg school of neo-Kantian philosophy, which emphasized “pure” thought and ethics rather than metaphysics.

      Cohen was the son of a cantor, and he studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau and at the University of Berlin before receiving his Ph.D. at the University of Halle in 1865. In 1873 he was appointed a Privatdozent (lecturer) at the University of Marburg, where he found favour and was made professor within three years. There he taught until 1912, developing the principles of his Marburg, or logistic, neo-Kantian philosophy.

      Upon his retirement from Marburg at the age of 70, Cohen went to Berlin, where he taught Jewish philosophy in the liberal environment of the Institute for the Science of Judaism. At Berlin he went through a substantial change in his thinking about the relationship between God and man and came to believe that reality is rooted in God rather than in human reason. This worked a radical effect on Cohen, and he turned to religion and to his ancestral Jewish faith.

      Between 1902 and 1912 he published the three parts of his Marburg philosophical system: Logik der reinen Erkenntnis (1902; “The Logic of Pure Intelligence”), Die Ethik des reinen Willens (1904; “The Ethics of Pure Will”), and Ästhetik des reinen Gefühls (1912; “The Aesthetics of Pure Feeling”). A work that expresses the shift in his thinking from man-centred to God-centred is Die Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums (1919; Religion of Reason: Out of the Sources of Judaism).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • COHEN, HERMANN — (1842–1918), German Jewish philosopher. Born in Cowsig, the son of a cantor, Cohen studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary at Breslau, but gave up his initial plans to become a rabbi. He turned to philosophy, studying first at the University… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Cohen, Hermann — • A Discalced Carmelite (Augustin Marie of the Blessed Sacrament, generally known as Father Hermann), born at Hamburg, Germany, 10 November, 1820; died at Spandau, 20 January, 1871 Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Cohen, Hermann — (1842–1918)    German philosopher. Cohen was professor of philosophy at Marburg University (1876–1912) and evolved a system of ideas based on a re interpretation of Kant. He made an important contribution to the understanding of the Jewish… …   Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament

  • Cohen, Hermann — (1842 1918)    German philos opher. He was born in Coswig. He was professor of philosophy at the University of Marburg until 1912 and later taught at the Hochschule für Wissenschaft des Judentums. In 1880 he began to resume his hitherto lapsed… …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • Hermann Cohen — (Lithographie von Karl Doerbecker) Hermann Cohen (* 4. Juli 1842 in Coswig; † 4. April 1918 in Berlin) war ein deutscher Philosoph. Er war – gemeinsam mit Paul Natorp – Schulhaupt des Marburger Neukantianismus, gilt aber zugleich auch als einer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Hermann Cohen —     Hermann Cohen     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Hermann Cohen     A Discalced Carmelite (Augustin Marie of the Blessed Sacrament, generally known as Father Hermann), born at Hamburg, Germany, 10 November, 1820; died at Spandau, 20 January, 1871.… …   Catholic encyclopedia

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