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Cohen's Socialist Reconstruction Of Kant's Ethics, Harry Van Der Linden

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

The neo-Kantian Hermann Cohen (1842-1918) famously wrote that Kant “is the true and real originator of German socialism.” This paper seeks to explicate Cohen’s socialist reconstruction of Kant’s ethics and show that this reconstruction overcomes some weaknesses of Kant’s ethics. In conclusion, the paper discusses the contemporary relevance of Cohen’s cooperative socialism.