Arthur A. Cohen
Arthur A. Cohen was a multifaceted American writer, philosopher, and publisher, known for his unique blend of philosophical inquiry and literary expression. Born in New York City in 1928, he studied at the University of Chicago, where he experienced a significant "crisis of faith" that prompted him to explore both Judaism and Christianity. His works often reflect a deep engagement with Jewish thought and history, as seen in his influential writings such as "Martin Buber" and "The Natural and the Supernatural Jew," which examine the philosophical and theological underpinnings of Jewish identity.
Cohen's novels, including "The Carpenter Years" and "In the Days of Simon Stern," often grapple with themes like conversion, messianism, and the implications of the Holocaust, employing a style reminiscent of Platonic dialogue. His essays, which tackle complex subjects such as the nature of God and the intersections of faith and suffering, have generally received more acclaim than his fiction. Additionally, Cohen contributed to the literary world by founding Noonday Press and Meridian Books and establishing an antiquarian bookstore focused on twentieth-century art. He passed away in 1986 at the age of fifty-eight, leaving behind a legacy of thoughtful exploration of Jewish philosophy and culture.
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Arthur A. Cohen
Author
- Born: June 25, 1928
- Birthplace: New York, New York
- Died: October 31, 1986
- Place of death: New York, New York
Biography
One finds it difficult to explain the genre, style, and thinking used by novelist, philosopher, and publisher Arthur Allen Cohen, given that he combined philosophy with the novel and essay forms of his writing. His writing style, although easy to read, contains ideas that take considerable time to digest. Born in New York City in 1928, Cohen attended the University of Chicago in 1946, taking a master’s degree in 1949. While an undergraduate, he underwent a “crisis of faith,” which caused the non-observant Jew to consider Christianity. Through additional study, however, Cohen reflected on his Jewish past and the roots of his faith, settling upon a lifetime’s study of Judaism and its history.
In 1958, Cohen published Martin Buber, homage to perhaps the most revered and respected of recent Jewish thinkers. The work preceded Cohen’s own reflections on the philosophy and history of the Jews in his The Natural and the Supernatural Jew (1962), a study that begins in the fifteenth century and ends with Jewish life in America. Cohen’s thinking reveals a difference between “religion” and “theology,” the latter more scholarly, posing questions regarding the nature of God, the travails and ramifications of suffering, or how the messianic vision of Christianity differs from that of the Jews. The protagonists of his novels, for example, argue philosophic eschatology—the study of final things, of endings—or consider how psychology explains God in light of the Jewish race and its inherent faith, as opposed to the explanations of science. Thus, Cohen delves into matters most often too deep or complicated for the average nonprofessional, which may explain why his essays remain far more successful than his fiction.
The style of many of Cohen’s novels takes the form of Platonic dialogue—a dialectic of two stated views attempting to arrive at one truth. Cohen’s first novel, The Carpenter Years (1967), deals with the protagonist’s conversion from Judaism to Christianity for business reasons, in order to take advantage of the “American Dream,” most often reserved for people of the Christian faith. In the Days of Simon Stern, which followed in 1973, presents a young man born into poverty in Manhattan, who may or may not be the expected Messiah of the Jews, especially in a post-Holocaust world. While most readers find the plot and the novel’s organization difficult, the theme of resurrection and its significance becomes far more interesting than the characters or their problems. In 1976, Cohen published A Hero in His Time, which deals with an ever- increasing interest in the state of Jews today, from Israel to Soviet or Russian Jewry and oppression. Among Cohen’s more notable nonfiction works, mention should be made of The Myth of the Judeo-Christian Tradition (1970) and The Tremendum: A Theological Interpretation of the Holocaust (1988).
In addition to his skills as an essayist and novelist, Cohen collected and published books. He founded the remarkable Noonday Press and Meridian Books. In 1973, he and his wife established Ex Libris, an antiquarian bookstore devoted to twentieth century art. Cohen died in 1986 at the age of fifty-eight.