The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss PDF
Preview The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss
the enduring importance of leo strauss the enduring importance of leo strauss laurence lampert the university of chicago press chicago and london laurence lampert is emeritus professor of philosophy at Indiana University– Purdue University Indianapolis. He is the author of several books, most recently How Philosophy Became Socratic, also published by the University of Chicago Press. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637 The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London © 2013 by The University of Chicago All rights reserved. Published 2013. Printed in the United States of America 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 1 2 3 4 5 isbn-13: 978-0-226-03948-0 (cloth) isbn-13: 978-0-226-03951-0 (e-book) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lampert, Laurence, 1941–, author. The enduring importance of Leo Strauss / Laurence Lampert. pages ; cm Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-226-03948-0 (cloth : alkaline paper)—isbn 978-0-226-03951-0 (e-book) 1. Strauss, Leo. 2. Philosophy—History—20th century. 3. Philosophy, Ancient. 4. Enlightenment. 5. Political science—Philosophy. I. Title. b945.s84l36 2013 181'.06—dc23 2013000530 a This paper meets the requirements of ansi/niso z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper). contents List of Abbreviations ix Introduction 1 Part One. Strauss’s Recovery of Exotericism 5 1. Exotericism Exposed: Letters to Jacob Klein 7 2. Exotericism Embraced: “The Law of Reason in the Kuzari” 32 Part Two. The Socratic Enlightenment 73 3. The Peculiarly Socratic Philosophizing: Xenophon’s Gynaikologia 75 4. Socrates, the Real Real Man: Xenophon’s Andrologia 109 5. Platonic Political Philosophy: “Ministerial Poetry” 128 6. Extending the History of Philosophy Back to Homer: Seth Benardete’s Odyssey 156 Part Three. The Modern Enlightenment 187 7. Attacking the Enlightenment on Behalf of Orthodoxy: The Introduction to Philosophy and Law 189 8. Attacking the Enlightenment on Behalf of Socrates: “What Is Political Philosophy?” 227 v vi contents 9. Advancing the Enlightenment: Strauss’s Recovery of Nietzsche’s Theological-Political Program 268 Epilogue: Strauss’s Farewell 311 Works Cited 315 Index 323 At the very least the observations I have made will force historians sooner or later to abandon the complacency with which they claim to know what the great thinkers thought, to admit that the thought of the past is much more enigmatic than it is generally held to be, and to begin to wonder whether the historical truth is not as difficult of access as the philosophical truth. —Leo Strauss, “On a Forgotten Kind of Writing” (1954) vii abbreviations AAPL: The Argument and the Action of Plato’s Laws CM: The City and Man ET: “Exoteric Teaching” EW: Early Writings GS: Gesammelte Schriften HPP: History of Political Philosophy JPCM: Jewish Philosophy and the Crisis of Modernity LAM: Liberalism Ancient and Modern NRH: Natural Right and History OPS: On Plato’s Symposium OT: On Tyranny PAW: Persecution and the Art of Writing PL: Philosophy and Law PPH : The Political Philosophy of Hobbes SA: Socrates and Aristophanes SCR: Spinoza’s Critique of Religion SPPP: Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy TM: Thoughts on Machiavelli WIPP: What Is Political Philosophy? XS: Xenophon’s Socrates XSD: Xenophon’s Socratic Discourse ix
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