Trevor Cohen

I was at Rhodes from 1965 to 1969 when I graduated with an Honours degree in Philosophy.  I have been living in Australia since 1970 and completed a PhD in Philosophy at the University of NSW in 1975.  Your father made an enormous impression on me and it is probably not too extravagant to say that my desire to continue with philosophical studies was in large part due to him.  He taught me the Socratic method of testing philosophical points of view via the use of dialogue, and also fostered my ongoing interest in the Philosophy of Language and Philosophical Psychology via his tutorials on Ryle’s Concept of Mind and Merleau-Ponty’s  Phenomenology of Perception.  After his sad and unexpected passing, I built on what he had taught me through my studies of Wittgenstein’s works and my PhD thesis on Wittgenstein was a direct result of the thinking he had induced in me at Rhodes. 

I’m sure you have been told by many that your father was not only an acute and incisive philosopher but also a humble man who displayed none of the hubris one sometimes finds in academics.  This, coupled with his keen sense of humour, enabled him to be an  outstanding leader.