Max Müller (Catholic intellectual)
Encyclopedia
Max Müller was a German philosopher and influential post-World War II
Catholic intellectual. Müller was Professor at the University of Freiburg
and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
, he established himself in 1937 with a work on Thomas Aquinas
("Reality and Rationality"'). At this time was active in the Catholic Youth Movement who were inflenced by their study with Martin Heidegger
, generating their own thinking in engagement with his philosophy. During the Third Reich they were opponents of Nazism. Falling foul of Nazi educational policies, Müller was dismissed by Heidegger from research positions.
He became active as a lecturer at the Catholic Collegium Borromaeum in Freiburg. After the war he succeeded the late Martin Honecker in his academic positions at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg.
In addition to his activity at the university Müller was active in addressing social problems in Freiburg. In 1960 he moved to Ludwig Maximilians university in Munich
. After his retirement he returned to Freiburg for research activity in philosophy and theology.
Müller's main influences were Honecker, Edmund Husserl
and Heidegger. He was also influenced by the historian Friedrich Meinecke
, the theologian Romano Guardini
.
with phenomenology of Husserl and the existentialism
of Heidegger. He developed from it a theory of “metahistory” as a philosophy of historical liberty. For Müller, the sense of history is distinctive in each epoch. The "transcendental experience" of humans is created in personal engagement through communal achievement in the world as work. Politics, religion, art and science, along with the personal relationships between people, carry material and symbolic means to attempt answers and achieve effective representations.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Catholic intellectual. Müller was Professor at the University of Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...
and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
Life
After his graduation in 1930 with the philosopher Martin HoneckerMartin Honecker
Martin Honecker was a German philosopher and psychologist.The son of a businessman, he studied at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University in Bonn and the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, with, among others, Adolf Dyroff. In 1914 Honecker graduated with a doctorate in the legal...
, he established himself in 1937 with a work on Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
("Reality and Rationality"'). At this time was active in the Catholic Youth Movement who were inflenced by their study with Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher known for his existential and phenomenological explorations of the "question of Being."...
, generating their own thinking in engagement with his philosophy. During the Third Reich they were opponents of Nazism. Falling foul of Nazi educational policies, Müller was dismissed by Heidegger from research positions.
He became active as a lecturer at the Catholic Collegium Borromaeum in Freiburg. After the war he succeeded the late Martin Honecker in his academic positions at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg.
In addition to his activity at the university Müller was active in addressing social problems in Freiburg. In 1960 he moved to Ludwig Maximilians university in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. After his retirement he returned to Freiburg for research activity in philosophy and theology.
Müller's main influences were Honecker, Edmund Husserl
Edmund Husserl
Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl was a philosopher and mathematician and the founder of the 20th century philosophical school of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day, yet he elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic...
and Heidegger. He was also influenced by the historian Friedrich Meinecke
Friedrich Meinecke
Friedrich Meinecke was a liberal German historian, probably the most famous German historian of his generation. As a representative of an older tradition still writing after World War II, he was an important figure to the end of his life.-Life:Meinecke was born in Salzwedel in the Province of Saxony...
, the theologian Romano Guardini
Romano Guardini
Romano Guardini was a Catholic priest, author, and academic. He was one of the most important figures in Catholic intellectual life in 20th-century.- Life and work:...
.
Müller's philosophy
Müller linked classical metaphysicsMetaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
with phenomenology of Husserl and the existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
of Heidegger. He developed from it a theory of “metahistory” as a philosophy of historical liberty. For Müller, the sense of history is distinctive in each epoch. The "transcendental experience" of humans is created in personal engagement through communal achievement in the world as work. Politics, religion, art and science, along with the personal relationships between people, carry material and symbolic means to attempt answers and achieve effective representations.
See also
- Heidegger and NazismHeidegger and NazismThe relation between the philosopher Martin Heidegger and the Nazi Party is a controversial subject.Martin Heidegger joined the Nazi Party on May 1, 1933, nearly three weeks after being appointed Rector of the University of Freiburg. Heidegger resigned the Rectorship about one year later, in April...