Allan Bloom Biography

A philosopher, academician and classicist, Allan Bloom was widely known for his critique of American Universities, in failing to serve the fundamental needs of their students. He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, to a second generation Jewish Orthodox Prussian couple who brought him up simply, but with solid values, a foundation on which he would expand all his life. When he was 13, he already wanted to go to the University of Chicago, having read about it in the Reader's Digest. A few years later, his dream became reality as his family moved to Chicago and he was admitted, at the early age of 16, to the gifted students program; inspired by Chicago University President Robert Hutchins, who sought to create a new generation of elite minds. Over the years, he studied with many great thinkers including, Leo Strauss, who perhaps influenced him the most, but also David Greene, Richard McKeon, and Alexandre Kojève, among others. All these people helped him formulate his premise and purpose of the need for university students to read the classics. In the book, ‘Closing of the American Mind’, Bloom writes: "The substance of my being has been informed by the books I learned to care for." This summarizes the gift Allan Bloom has left for humanity. All his works manifested his concern for the preservation of a philosophical way of life for future generations, whether political or literary. He left us with his own life as an example.