Morris Raphael Cohen
Morris Raphael Cohen
Morris Raphael Cohenwas an American philosopher, lawyer, and legal scholar who united pragmatism with logical positivism and linguistic analysis. He was father to Felix S. Cohen and Leonora Cohen Rosenfield...
NationalityRussian
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth25 July 1880
CountryRussian Federation
law history firsts
Inertia is the first law of history, as it is of physics.
inquiry philosopher logical
The method of exposition which philosophers have adopted leads many to suppose that they are simply inquiries, that they have no interest in the conclusions at which they arrive, and that their primary concern is to follow their premises to their logical conclusions.
thinking views mind
It is not impossible to think that the minds of philosophers sometimes act like those of other mortals, and that, having once been determined by diverse circumstances to adopt certain views, they then look for and naturally find reasons to justify these views.
freedom men cities
Small groups or communities may be far more oppressive to the individual than larger ones. Men are in many ways freer in large cities than in small villages.
philosophy idols literature
Again, both literature and philosophy work by appealing to certain reigning idols.
doubt done succeed
The business of the philosopher is well done if he succeeds in raising genuine doubt.
wisdom flames textbooks
Wisdom is not to be obtained from textbooks, but must be coined out of human experience in the flame of life.
belief value-of-life conservatism
Conservatism clings to what has been established, fearing that, once we begin to question the beliefs that we have inherited, all the values of life will be destroyed.
law decision mass
Law is a formless mass of isolated decisions.
attitude self support
Liberalism is an attitude rather than a set of dogmas - an attitude that insists upon questioning all plausible and self-evident propositions, seeking not to reject them but to find out what evidence there is to support them rather than their possible alternatives.
essence religion intolerance
Cruel persecutions and intolerance are not accidents, but grow out of the very essence of religion, namely, its absolute claims.
attitude philosophy creative
A creative element is surely present in all great systems, and it does not seem possible that all sympathy or fundamental attitudes of will can be entirely eliminated from any human philosophy.
strong philosophy literature
Let philosophy resolutely aim to be as scientific as possible, but let her not forget her strong kinship with literature.