David Cockburn (born 12 October 1949) studied philosophy at St Andrews and Oxford, and has taught at Swansea, the Open University, and, until 2010, has spent over 30 years at the University of Wales, Lampeter, where he teaches courses on the philosophy of mind, Spinoza, Wittgenstein among others. He held a British Academy Readership in 1994–96, during which he wrote Other Times. He also holds a deep interest and involvement in the human rights group Amnesty International.