Heinrich Meier

Last updated

Heinrich Meier (born 8 April 1953) is a German philosopher. He has published on subjects including political theology, Leo Strauss and Carl Schmitt. He led the Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation from 1985 to 2022.

Contents

Career

As a young man, Meier was engaged in radical politics as a nationalist and as a socialist, but became disillusioned with both ideologies. He began his academic career with studies of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He then came to focus on political theology, Friedrich Nietzsche and Leo Strauss. [1]

Meier's book Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss: The Hidden Dialogue (1988) is about the both open and private intellectual exchange between Carl Schmitt and Strauss. [2] Meier argues that political theology is at the centre of Schmitt's work and that his influence on Strauss was considerable. [3]

In The Lesson of Carl Schmitt: Four Chapters on the Distinction between Political Theology and Political Philosophy (1994), Meier further analyses Schmitt as a political theologian. [3]

Meier was the editor of Strauss' collected works in German. [4] Meier's book Leo Strauss and the Theologico-Political Problem (2003) evaluates Strauss and his critics, with the aim of encouraging self-criticism among philosophers. [5] The book argues that Strauss' main concern was never politics, but the conflict between reason and revelation. [4]

Robert Howse is critical of Meier's interpretation of the Schmitt–Strauss connection, arguing that Meier both exaggerates Schmitt's influence on Strauss and gives it an unfounded political dimension. Howse argues that the relationship between them was merely professional. [6]

From 1985 to 2022, Meier was the managing director of the Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation. Since 1999, he has taught as Honorarprofessor  [ de ] at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leo Strauss</span> American political philosopher (1899–1973)

Leo Strauss was an American scholar of political philosophy. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Strauss later emigrated from Germany to the United States. He spent much of his career as a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, where he taught several generations of students and published fifteen books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich</span> Public university in Munich, Germany

The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke Ludwig IX of Bavaria-Landshut, it is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Schmitt</span> German jurist and political theorist (1888–1985)

Carl Schmitt was a German jurist, political theorist, and prominent member of the Nazi Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Marburg</span> Public university in Hesse, Germany

The Philipps University of Marburg is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the world. It is now a public university of the state of Hesse, without religious affiliation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandre Kojève</span> Russian-born French philosopher and statesman (1902–1968)

Alexandre Kojève was a Russian-born French philosopher and statesman whose philosophical seminars had an immense influence on 20th-century French philosophy, particularly via his integration of Hegelian concepts into twentieth-century continental philosophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Müller</span> German publicist, literary critic, political economist, and theorist of the state

Adam Heinrich Müller was a German-Austrian conservative philosopher, literary critic, and political economist, working within the romantic tradition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right Hegelians</span> Group of followers of Hegel

The Right Hegelians, Old Hegelians (Althegelianer), or the Hegelian Right were those followers of German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel in the early 19th century who took his philosophy in a politically and religiously conservative direction. They are typically contrasted with the Young Hegelians, who interpreted Hegel's political philosophy as supportive of left-wing and progressive politics or views on religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Pangle</span> American philosopher (born 1944)

Thomas Lee Pangle, is an American political scientist. He holds the Joe R. Long Chair in Democratic Studies in the Department of Government and is Co-Director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for Core Texts and Ideas at the University of Texas at Austin. He has also taught at the University of Toronto and Yale University. He was a student of Leo Strauss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armin Mohler</span> Swiss far-right political philosopher (1920–2003)

Armin Mohler was a Swiss far-right political philosopher and journalist, known for his works on the Conservative Revolution. He is widely seen as the father of the Neue Rechte, the German branch of the European New Right.

Political theology is a term which has been used in discussion of the ways in which theological concepts or ways of thinking relate to politics. The term is often used to denote religious thought about political principled questions. Scholars such as Carl Schmitt, a prominent Nazi jurist and political theorist, who wrote extensively on how to effectively wield political power, used it to denote religious concepts that were secularized and thus became key political concepts. It has often been affiliated with Christianity, but since the 21st century, it has more recently been discussed with relation to other religions.

<i>The Concept of the Political</i> 1932 book by Carl Schmitt

The Concept of the Political is a 1932 book by the German philosopher and jurist Carl Schmitt, in which the author examines the fundamental nature of the "political" and its place in the modern world.

Events in the year 1899 in Germany.

Members of the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art, awarded to acknowledge and reward excellent and outstanding achievements in the fields of science and art. It is based in Bavaria, Germany.

Events in the year 1906 in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation</span>

The Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation aims to promote science. The foundation was established in 1958 on the initiative of entrepreneur Ernst von Siemens. The managing director was the philosopher Heinrich Meier until March 2022. In the summer semester of 2022, the literary scholar Marcel Lepper took over the management. Since February 22, 2023, the foundation has been temporarily managed by Carola Schütt, who previously held the commercial management. Armin Mohler, who popularized the concept of the conservative revolution, chaired the foundation for many years from 1964 to 1985, making the foundation a central place for the “New Right” of the time.

"In Praise of Polytheism (On Monomythical and Polymythical Thinking)" (German: Lob des Polytheismus. Über Monomythie und Polymythie) is an essay by the German philosopher Odo Marquard, which was held as a lecture at Technische Universität Berlin in 1978. It was first published in 1979 in an anthology, and was published again in 1981 in Marquard's book Farewell to Matters of Principle (German: Abschied vom Prinzipiellen).

Events from the year 1831 in Germany

References

  1. 1 2 Kaube, Jürgen (8 April 2023). "Zu wissen ist, wie wir leben sollen". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  2. Statham, E. Robert, Jr (1998). "Carl Schmitt, Leo Strauss, and Heinrich Meier: A dialogue within The Hidden Dialogue". Political Science Reviewer . 27: 209. Retrieved 22 April 2024.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 Knoppe, Thomas (1 April 1996). "Heinrich Meier: Die Lehre Carl Schmitts". Philosophischer Literaturanzeiger (in German). 49 (2): 147. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 Linker, Damon (31 July 2006). "The Philosopher and Everyone Else". The New Republic . Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  5. Plax, Martin J. (2007). "Reviewed Work: Leo Strauss and the Theologico-Political Problem by Heinrich Meier, Marcus Brainard". History of Political Thought . 28 (3): 558–562. JSTOR   26222658 .
  6. Benhabib, Seyla (2017). "Book Review: Leo Strauss: Man of Peace, by Robert Howse". Political Theory . 45 (2): 273–277. doi:10.1177/0090591715627317.