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.
Career
editAs 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 at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Kaube, Jürgen (8 April 2023). "Zu wissen ist, wie wir leben sollen". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ 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) - ^ a b Knoppe, Thomas (1 April 1996). "Heinrich Meier: Die Lehre Carl Schmitts". Philosophischer Literaturanzeiger (in German). 49 (2): 147. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ a b Linker, Damon (31 July 2006). "The Philosopher and Everyone Else". The New Republic. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Benhabib, Seyla (2017). "Book Review: Leo Strauss: Man of Peace, by Robert Howse". Political Theory. 45 (2): 273–277. doi:10.1177/0090591715627317.