Martin Cohen is a British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 philosopher, an editor and reviewer who writes on philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, philosophy of science

Philosophy of science

The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. It is also concerned with the use and merit of science and sometimes overlaps metaphysics and epistemology by exploring whether scientific results are actually a study of truth...

 and political philosophy

Political philosophy

Political philosophy is the study of such topics as liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it...

.

He studied philosophy and social science at Sussex University where his tutors included some of the early group of philosophers who launched the University’s pioneering language and values programme, including Terry Diffey and Bernard Harrison. He obtained a teaching qualification at Keele University

Keele University

Keele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...

 and his PhD in philosophy of education

Philosophy of education

Philosophy of education can refer to either the academic field of applied philosophy or to one of any educational philosophies that promote a specific type or vision of education, and/or which examine the definition, goals and meaning of education....

 from the University of Exeter

University of Exeter

The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....

. After research posts at universities in Britain and Australia, Cohen moved to France to concentrate on his writing, which typically blend "psychological and social studies with philosophical theory ... eschewing technical jargon and using easily understood scenarios to demonstrate the theme". The first of these, 101 Philosophical Problems has been published in a dozen languages and is now in its third edition. His book on thought experiment

Thought experiment

A thought experiment or Gedankenexperiment considers some hypothesis, theory, or principle for the purpose of thinking through its consequences...

s, Wittgenstein’s Beetle (and other classic thought experiments) was selected by The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

as one of its 'books of the week’ and the Times Literary Supplement said that ‘With its sense of history, Wittgenstein's Beetle provides the opportunity to consider which thought experiments last.’
Cohen has been a frequent contributor and reviewer for the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES), the New Statesman (on environmental issues) and the Guardian (London) (on the role of computers in education).

Select bibliography

• 101 Philosophy Problems
• 101 Ethical Dilemmas
• Wittgenstein's Beetle (and other classic thought experiments)
• Political Philosophy from Plato to Mao
• Philosophical Tales
• Philosophy for Dummies (UK edition)
• Mind Games: 31 Days to Rediscover Your Mind