Heinrich Meier (born 8 April 1953) is a German philosopher. He has published on subjects including

political theology Political theology is a term which has been used in discussion of the ways in which Theology, theological concepts or ways of thinking relate to politics. The term is often used to denote religious thought about political principled questions. Scho ...

Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was an American scholar of political philosophy. He spent much of his career as a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, where he taught several generations of students an ...

and

Carl Schmitt Carl Schmitt (11 July 1888 – 7 April 1985) was a German jurist, author, and political theorist. Schmitt wrote extensively about the effective wielding of political power. An authoritarian conservative theorist, he was noted as a critic of ...

. He led the

Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation 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 summe ...

from 1985 to 2022.

Career

As a young man, Meier was engaged in radical politics as a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

and as a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, but became disillusioned with both ideologies. He began his academic career with studies of

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...

. He then came to focus on

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

and

. Meier's book ''Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss: The Hidden Dialogue'' (1988) is about the both open and private intellectual exchange between

and Strauss. Meier argues that political theology is at the centre of Schmitt's work and that his influence on Strauss was considerable. 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. Meier was the editor of Strauss' collected works in German. 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. The book argues that Strauss' main concern was never politics, but the conflict between

reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...

and

revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

. 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. From 1985 to 2022, Meier was the managing director of the

. Since 1999, he has taught as ' at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

References

External links

Faculty page – Ludwig Maximilian University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meier, Heinrich 1953 births Living people 20th-century German philosophers 21st-century German philosophers Carl Schmitt scholars Political theologians Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Leo Strauss scholars