Priscilla Cohn | |
|---|---|
 Priscilla Cohn in 2012 | |
| Born | Priscilla T. Neuman (1933-12-14)December 14, 1933 |
| Died | June 27, 2019(2019-06-27) (aged 85) Villanova, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | Bryn Mawr College (Philosophy BA, MA, PhD) |
| Spouses | |
| Era | Contemporary philosophy |
| Thesis | The Idea of Nothing in the Philosophy of Martin Heidegger (1969) |
| Doctoral advisor | José Ferrater Mora |
| Language | English, Spanish |
Main interests | Animal ethics,environmental ethics,history of philosophy |
Priscilla T. Neuman Cohn Ferrater Mora (née Neuman; December 14, 1933 – June 27, 2019) was an American philosopher andanimal rights activist. She was Emerita Professor of Philosophy at Pennsylvania State University, associate director of theOxford Centre for Animal Ethics, and co-editor of the centre'sJournal of Animal Ethics.
Cohn was born to Simon and Helen Neuman, one of five children, inRadnor Township, Pennsylvania, in 1933. She studied at Haverford Friends School, leaving early to study atBaldwin School in Bryn Mawr. In 1951, she eloped with Willard Cohn. Cohn then enrolled inBryn Mawr College, earning a bachelor's, a master's, and a PhD in philosophy, between 1956 and 1969.[1] She wrote her thesis on the work ofHeidegger; her doctoral advisor was the Spanish philosopherJosé Ferrater Mora.[2] She separated with Willard Cohn in 1969 (they divorced in 1980); Cohn married Ferrater Mora the same year.[3]
She taught philosophy for more than 35 years atPennsylvania State University, writing on a variety of topics including animals, environmental issues, and ethical problems, as well as on contemporary philosophers and the history of philosophy, publishing in both English and Spanish.[3]
Cohn was made full Professor in Philosophy at Pennsylvania State University in 1982, and was made Professor Emerita at Pennsylvania State University Abington in 2001. She pioneered courses inanimal ethics and lectured on five continents. From 1990 to 1993, she was Director of the Summer School Course in animal rights atComplutense University (Madrid) at El Escorial[4] — which were the first courses of their kind in Spain. She also taught the Graduate School Course on Applied Ethics at theUniversity of Santiago de Compostela, in 1991.[5]
Her interest in wildlife was reflected in her work as the founder and director of P.N.C. Corp, a nonprofit animal rights foundation that organised the first international conference oncontraception in wildlife in the United States and initiated and funded the firstPZP fertility control study on white-tailed deer. She was also a board member of The Fund for Animals and Humane USA.[5]
Cohn died at her home inVillanova, Pennsylvania, on 27 June 2019, due to complications relating to Parkinson's disease.[3]
