Joseph Margolis was a leading American philosopher, famous especially for his contributions to aesthetics and pragmatism. A veteran of the Second World War, he taught at numerous universities in the United States and Canada and was invited to lecture throughout Europe, in Japan, New ZealandĀ and South Africa. Since 1991, he held the Laura H. Carnell Chair of Philosophy at Temple University. He was the author of more than 30 books in philosophy.