Sidney Hook
American philosopher (1902-1989) · United States · On the map · Academics · Died at 86
Sidney Hook was an American philosopher of pragmatism known for his contributions to the philosophy of history, the philosophy of education, political theory, and ethics. After embracing communism in his youth, Hook was later known for his criticisms of totalitarianism, both fascism and communism.
Sidney Hook is read about 57 times a day, in 16 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 21 June 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 60 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?A life in dates
People around Sidney
Close ties
Media & music
![Albert Einstein, Sidney Hook et al. signed a 4 December 1948 letter published in the New York Times[1]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Albert_Einstein_and_others_letter.jpg/500px-Albert_Einstein_and_others_letter.jpg)
Awards
About this person
A social democrat, Hook sometimes cooperated with conservatives, particularly in opposing Marxism-Leninism. After World War II, he argued that members of such groups as the Communist Party USA and Leninists like democratic centralists could ethically be barred from holding the offices of public trust because they called for the violent overthrow of democratic governments.
