Hermann Cohen

Hermann Cohen (1842–1918) was a German philosopher and a key figure in the Marburg school of neo-Kantianism. He is widely regarded as one of the most important Jewish philosophers of the 19th century. Cohen's work centered on a critical reinterpretation of Immanuel Kant's philosophy, aiming to establish a system of critical idealism. He made substantial contributions to epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, and the philosophy of religion. His major systematic works include 'Kant's Theory of Experience', 'Kant's Foundations of Ethics', and 'Kant's Foundations of Aesthetics', followed by his own systematic trilogy: 'Logik der reinen Erkenntnis' (1902), 'Ethik des reinen Willens' (1904), and 'Ästhetik des reinen Gefühls' (1912). Cohen also engaged deeply with Jewish thought and philosophy, seeking to derive a universal ethical and religious system from the sources of Judaism, as exemplified in his posthumously published 'Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism'. Despite his intellectual prominence, he was a critic of Zionism, viewing Judaism's mission as spiritual and moral rather than national. He taught at the University of Marburg and influenced a generation of thinkers.