Ulrich Steinvorth (born 1941) is a German political philosopher. He earned his doctorate with in 1967. His dissertation was on private language and sensation in Wittgenstein. He habilitated in 1975 at the University of Mannheim with a thesis that advanced an analytic interpretation of Marx's Dialectic ("An Analytic Interpretation of Marx's Dialectic"). His primary field of research is political philosophy. Additionally, he has published on topics in moral philosophy and applied philosophy, as well as the history of philosophy and metaphysics. He has also been an active supporter of the German branch of the Creative Commons movement. Until his retirement in 2006, he held posts at various German universities. From 1968 to 1977, he was assistant professor at the University of Mannheim; from 1977 to 1980, he was professor of philosophy at the University of Osnabrueck; from 1980 to 1982, he was professor of philosophy at the University of Düsseldorf; from 1982 to 2006, he was a professor of philosophy at the University of Hamburg. From 2006 to 2011, he was a visiting professor at Bilkent University (Ankara), from 2011 to 2012 at the University of Tokyo and from 2012 to 2013 at George Mason University. Books 1975 Eine analytische Interpretation der Marxschen Dialektik. Hain, Meisenheim am Glan 1981 Stationen der politischen Theorie: Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Weber. Reclam, Stuttgart 1987 Freiheitstheorien in der Philosophie der Neuzeit. WBG, Darmstadt. 1990 Klassische und moderne Ethik. Grundlinien einer materialen Moraltheorie. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1994 Warum überhaupt etwas ist. Kleine demiurgische Metaphysik. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1999 Gleiche Freiheit. Politische Philosophie und Verteilungsgerechtigkeit. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2002 Was ist Vernunft? Eine philosophische Einführung. Beck, München 2004 Éthique classique et éthique moderne. Ed. L'Harmattan, Paris 2006 Docklosigkeit. Oder zur Metaphysik der Moderne. mentis, Paderborn 2009 Rethinking the Western Understanding of the Self. Cambridge University Press, New York 2013 The Metaphysics of Modernity. What Makes Societies Thrive. Marquette University Press, Milwaukee 2016 Pride and Authenticity. Palgrave Macmillan, New York 2017 Secularization. An Essay in Normative Metaphysics. Palgrave Macmillan, New York 2020 A Secular Absolute. How Modern Philosophy Discovered Authenticity. Palgrave Macmillan, New York 2021 A Plea for Naturalistic Metaphysics. Why Analytic Metaphysics is Not Enough. Palgrave Macmillan, New York Edited works and translations 1968 Über Ludwig Wittgenstein. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt 1971 Russell, Bertrand: Philosophische und politische Aufsätze. Reclam, Stuttgart 1998 with Margit E. Oswald: Die offene Gesellschaft und ihre Fremden. Huber, Bern 2002 with Reinold Schmücker: Gerechtigkeit