Susan Neiman

Leaving high school in Atlanta before graduation to participate in anti-Vietnam War activism marked the beginning of an intellectual path defined by moral inquiry. Susan Neiman later transitioned from these grassroots movements to the formal rigor of Harvard University, establishing a career that bridges the gap between Enlightenment philosophy and contemporary political discourse while residing in Berlin.

Academic Foundation and Early Work

Neiman earned her Doctor of Philosophy at Harvard University, where she studied under John Rawls and Stanley Cavell. Her academic training included significant periods of research at the Freie Universität Berlin during the 1980s. This early exposure to German intellectual life informed her 1992 memoir, Slow Fire, which documented her experiences living in Berlin as a Jewish woman during that decade. Her professional trajectory led to appointments at Yale University from 1989 to 1996 and subsequently at Tel Aviv University, where she served as an associate professor of philosophy until 2000.

The Problem of Evil

In her scholarly exploration of the history of philosophy, Neiman re-centered the problem of evil as the primary engine of metaphysical and ethical thought. Her book, Evil in Modern Thought, tracks how philosophers from Leibniz and Kant to Arendt and Camus have grappled with the reality of suffering. She maintains that evil functions as an intelligible challenge to the structure of the world, rather than merely an epistemological puzzle. This work received extensive critical attention for its effort to define a framework that reconciles human action and intent with universal suffering.

Moral Clarity and Societal Maturity

Neiman shifted her focus toward the decline of moral articulation in secular political culture with the publication of Moral Clarity. She posited that the contemporary political left has ceded moral authority by failing to address universal human needs, thereby leaving a vacuum for conservative and religious narratives. Following this, she turned her attention to the concept of societal infantilism in Why Grow Up? Here, she argued that modern life encourages passivity through consumerism and the dismissal of critical judgment. She proposed an alternative ideal of adulthood characterized by active societal participation and the courage to uphold ideals against cynicism.

Institutional Leadership and Recognition

From 2000 until 2026, Neiman served as the Director of the Einstein Forum in Potsdam. Her contributions to philosophy and cultural critique have been recognized by numerous international organizations. She is a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities and has held fellowships at the Institute for Advanced Study and the Rockefeller Foundation Study Center. Her writing has garnered several honors, including the Margherita von Brentano prize, the International Spinoza Prize, the August Bebel Prize, and the Bruno Kreisky Prize for the Political Book.

Fast facts

• Born: 1955, Atlanta
• Citizenship: United States, Germany, Israel
• Education: Harvard University, Freie Universität Berlin
• Director, Einstein Forum: 2000-2026
• Key works: Evil in Modern Thought, Moral Clarity, Why Grow Up?
• Languages: English, German

Questions readers ask

What is the central argument of Evil in Modern Thought?

Neiman argues that the problem of evil is the foundational issue of philosophy, as it links metaphysics to ethics and challenges our understanding of the world's intelligibility.

How does Neiman define adulthood in her work?

She defines adulthood as the active exercise of judgment and the refusal to succumb to cynicism, consumerism, or resignation, contrasting this with a societal trend toward infantilism.

Achievements

• Margherita von Brentano prize — 2009
• International Spinoza Prize — 2014
• Bruno Kreisky Prize for the Political Book — 2023
• August Bebel Prize — 2021
• Held posts at Yale University, Tel Aviv University and Einstein Forum
• Fields: philosophy, creative and professional writing and journalism