“Only the clown calls the circus into question”
Heiner Müller –
I am Professor of Philosophy at Michigan State University, working in Post-Kantian European Philosophy; i.e, phenomenology, existentialism, German Idealism, Marxist theory, philosophical anthropology, post-structuralism, and critical theory. I have also done some work in aesthetics (which, for me, is part of philosophy of culture). I have taught PhD seminars on major figures and issues in 20th and 21st century European philosophy, and written papers on a broad list of topics, including the lived body, affectivity, images, society, class, social theory, and social categories. Finally, I have taught general education lecture classes on existential aspects of human life, capitalism and globalization, as well as contemporary political theory and political issues.
My current interests lay in four areas: [1] Synthesizing Marx inspired critical theory of society with phenomenology. In order to develop basic social theories, we need to have better ideas about concept formation. I read Marx as a philosopher and theorist, not as a Marxist. I am working currently on a book entitled The Logic of Annihilation. Reification and De-Reification in 20th Century German Philosophy. This work marks a return to phenomenology and broader intellectual themes that run through post-Kantian German philosophy. In this vein, the relation between Marx and Heidegger still occupies me. In my mind, Kapital and Gestell are two sides of the same coin. Without a proper understanding of “capital”, we cannot properly understand social reality. Similarly, in Heidegger’s words, technology is the only way of grasping what is. [2] Political philosophy, especially Arendt’s defense of the primacy of the political. In this vein, I try to understand better the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of political positions on the left and right (and their breakdown during the last decades). [3] I am interested in the phenomenology and theory of modernist architecture and design. Finally, [4], I remain committed to the existentialist tradition in philosophy (broadly construed), as I believe that philosophical reflection itself is rooted in how we experience and relate to ourselves as existing beings. For this, basic experiences, such as faith, anxiety, or thankfulness, are central. Thinking through these basic human concepts helped me see the limits and narrowness of materialist social theory and its attempt to eliminate the concept of the existing self.
My essays on US culture and politics have been published in Frankfurter Rundschau since 2021. These can be found here.
The details of my overall academic work and life can be found in “Bio“. Almost all of my publications can be downloaded via “Articles” (check the menu on top of this page). My academia.edu profile can be found here; my CV is available on top of this page via “CV.”
This web page is my only online presence. I am not on social media.
I served between 2016 and 2019 as a member-at-large on the executive board of the US society for European Philosophy, SPEP, and edit with Antonio Calcagno the Continental Philosophy and the History of Thought series published by Bloomsbury.
In addition, I serve as Associate Chair and Director of the Graduate Program in MSU’s philosophy department. I am currently accepting PhD students.