Between Athens and Jerusalem: Philosophy, Prophecy, and Politics in Leo Strauss's Early Thought

274 Pages·2008·3.131 MB·English

by  David Janssens

B E T W E E N A T H E N S
A N D J E R U S A L E M
PHILOSOPHY, PROPHECY, AND POLITICS IN LEO STRAUSS’S EARLY THOUGHT
DAVID JANSSENS
Between Athens and Jerusalem
SUNY series in the Thought and Legacy of Leo Strauss
Kenneth Hart Green, editor
Between Athens and Jerusalem
Philosophy, Prophecy, and Politics in
Leo Strauss’s Early Thought
David Janssens
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS
Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2008 David Janssens
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
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For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
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Production by Judith Block and Eileen Meehan
Marketing by Anne M. Valentine
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Janssens, David, 1971–
[Tussen Athene en Jerusalem. English]
Between Athens and Jerusalem : philosophy, prophecy, and politics in
Leo Strauss’s early thought / David Janssens.
p. cm. — (SUNY series in the thought of Leo Strauss and his legacy)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-7391-7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Strauss, Leo. I. Title.
B945.S84J3613 2008
181'.06—dc22
2007017443
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Margot and Camille
Idesthe tôde tô kasignètô, philoi

Contents
List of Abbreviations ix
Leo Strauss’s Early Years: Chronology of Major Events and xi
Writings (1899–1937)
Introduction 1
CHAPTER 1. “In the Grip of the Theological-Political Predicament” 7
The Theological-Political Problem and the Jewish Question 7
Back to Reality: Emancipation, Assimilation, and Zionism 8
“God and Politics” 11
Biblical Politics, Biblical Science, and the New Theology 18
Quaestio Iuris: The Legacy of Spinoza 26
CHAPTER 2. The Shadow of Spinoza 31
“A Humanly Incomprehensible Betrayal” 31
Before the Tribunal: Biblical Science and the Critique 37
of Religion
Spinoza’s Twofold Strategy 42
Maimonides: The Limits of Reason and the Interest 54
in Revelation
Calvin: “Like Clay in the Potter’s Hand” 62
Happiness and Ridicule: The Epicurean Connection 66
Farewell to Spinoza 71
vii
viii CONTENTS
CHAPTER 3. The Second Cave 77
The Crisis of the Enlightenment: Jacobi, Mendelssohn, 77
and the Pantheism Controversy
Atheism, Intellectual Probity, and the Love of Truth 90
The Socratic Question and the Fate of Philosophy 96
CHAPTER 4. The Order of Human Things 109
Medieval Enlightenment: Nomosand Platonic Politics 109
Between the Lines: The Art of Writing 123
“A Horizon Beyond Liberalism”: The Debate with 133
Carl Schmitt
CHAPTER 5. Socrates and the Leviathan 149
Hobbes’s Motive 149
“The Right Order of Society” 153
Fighting the Kingdom of Darkness 165
CHAPTER 6. Epilogue 173
The Surface and the Core 173
The Problem of Socrates 177
Machiavelli’s Oblivion 187
Natural Right and the Socratic Question 190
From Jerusalem to Athens (and Back) 192
Notes 195
Bibliography 241
Index 251
Abbreviations
AAPL The Argument and the Action of Plato’s Laws
CM The City and Man
EW The Early Writings
FPP Faith and Political Philosophy
GS 1 Gesammelte Schriften, Vol. 1
GS 2 Gesammelte Schriften, Vol. 2
GS 3 Gesammelte Schriften, Vol. 3
JPCM Jewish Philosophy and the Crisis of Modernity
LAM Liberalism Ancient and Modern
NRH Natural Right and History
OT On Tyranny
PAW Persecution and the Art of Writing
PL Philosophy and Law
PPH The Political Philosophy of Hobbes
RCPR The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism
SA Socrates and Aristophanes
SCR Spinoza’s Critique of Religion
SPPP Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy
TM Thoughts on Machiavelli
WPP What Is Political Philosophy?
ix