John B. Cobb

John B. Cobb Jr.
Cobb in 2013
Born	John Boswell Cobb, Jr. (1925-02-09) February 9, 1925 (age 99) Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan
Nationality	American
Spouse	Jean L. Cobb ​ (m. 1947)​ [3]
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Chicago
Thesis	The Independence of Christian Faith from Speculative Beliefs[1] (1952)
Doctoral advisor	Charles Hartshorne
Influences	Richard McKeon Alfred North Whitehead Daniel Day Williams
Academic work
Discipline	Theology philosophy
School or tradition	Process philosophy process theology
Institutions	Emory University Claremont School of Theology
Doctoral students	Rita Nakashima Brock Nancy R. Howell[2] Catherine Keller
Main interests	Metaphysics environmental ethics
Notable ideas	Christocentric pluralism Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare
Influenced	Monica Coleman Bruce Epperly Roland Faber David Ray Griffin C. Robert Mesle Michel Weber

John Boswell Cobb Jr. (born February 9, 1925) is an American theologian, philosopher, and environmentalist. He is often regarded as the preeminent scholar in the field of process philosophy and process theology, the school of thought associated with the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead.^[4] Cobb is the author of more than fifty books.^[5] In 2014, Cobb was elected to the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences.^[6]

A unifying theme of Cobb's work is his emphasis on ecological interdependence—the idea that every part of the ecosystem is reliant on all the other parts. Cobb has argued that humanity's most urgent task is to preserve the world on which it lives and depends,^[7] an idea which his primary influence, Whitehead, described as "world-loyalty".^[8]

Cobb is well known for his transdisciplinary approach, integrating insights from many different areas of study and bringing different specialized disciplines into fruitful communication. Because of his broad-minded interest and approach, Cobb has been influential in a wide range of disciplines, including theology, ecology, economics, biology, and social ethics.

In 1971, he wrote the first single-author book in environmental ethics, Is It Too Late? A Theology of Ecology, which argued for the relevance of religious thought in approaching the ecological crisis.^[9] In 1989, he co-authored the book For the Common Good: Redirecting the Economy Toward Community, Environment, and a Sustainable Future, which critiqued global economics and advocated for a sustainable, ecology-based economics. He has written extensively on religious pluralism and interfaith dialogue, particularly between Buddhism and Christianity, as well as the need to reconcile religion and science.

Cobb is the co-founder and co-director of the Center for Process Studies in Claremont, California.^[10] The Center for Process Studies remains the leading Whitehead-related institute, and has witnessed the launch of more than thirty related centers at academic institutions throughout the world, including twenty-three centers in China.^[11][12]