Tag: Art of Writing

Topics

Books

Maimonides’s Doctrine of Prophecy and Its Sources

– "Maimonides's Doctrine of Prophecy and Its Sources," Le Monde Oriental (Uppsala), Vol. 28 (1934).  Reprinted in Philosophy and Law.
Excerpt: One can with a certain right call Maimonides’s position “medieval religious Enlightenment.”  With a certain right: namely if one accepts the view that not only… More

Philosophy and Law

– Philosophy and Law: Contributions to the Understanding of Maimonides and His Predecessors, trans. Eve Adler, State University of New York Press, 1995. Originally published as Philosophie und Gesetz: Beiträge zum Verständnis Maimunis und Seiner Vorlaüfer, Schocken Verlag, 1935.
Excerpt: The latecomers, who saw that the attacks of Hobbes, Spinoza, Bayle, Voltaire, and Reimarus could not be parried by defensive measures such as Moses Mendelssohn’s, agreed,… More

The Spirit of Sparta or the Taste of Xenophon

– "The Spirit of Sparta or the Taste of Xenophon," Social Research, Vol. 6, No. 4 (November 1939).
Excerpt: Xenophon’s treatise Constitution of the Lacedemonians appears to be devoted to praise of the Spartan constitution, or, which amounts to the same thing, of the Spartan mode of… More

The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed

– "The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed," Essays on Maimonides, ed. S. W. Baron, Columbia University Press, 1941.   Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Among the many historians who have interpreted Maimonides’ teaching, or who are making efforts to interpret it, there is scarcely one who would not agree to the principle… More

Persecution and the Art of Writing

– "Persecution and the Art of Writing," Social Research, Vol. 8, No. 4 (November 1941).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: In a considerable number of countries which, for about a hundred years, have enjoyed a practically complete freedom of public discussion, that freedom is now suppressed and… More

The Law of Reason in the Kuzari

– "The Law of Reason in the Kuzari," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 13 (1943).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Every student of the history of philosophy assumes, tacitly or expressly, rightly or wrongly, that he knows what philosophy is or what a philosopher is. In attempting to transform… More

Farabi’s Plato

– "Farabi's Plato," Louis Ginzberg Jubilee Volume, American Academy for Jewish Research, 1945.  Reprinted, revised and abbreviated, in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Farabi followed Plato not merely as regards the manner in which he presented the philosophic teaching in his most important books.  He held the view that Plato’s philosophy… More

On a New Interpretation of Plato’s Political Philosophy

– "On a New Interpretation of Plato's Political Philosophy," Social Research, Vol. 13, No. 3 (September 1946).
Excerpt: Professor Wild’s recent book on Plato is not simply a historical work. His presentation of Plato’s doctrine of man is animated by the zeal of a reformer and is meant… More

How to Study Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise

– "How to Study Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 17 (1948).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: The reason why a fresh investigation of Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise’ is in order, is obvious. The chief aim of the Treatise is to refute the claims which… More

On Locke’s Doctrine of Natural Right

– "On Locke's Doctrine of Natural Right," Philosophical Review, Vol. 61, No. 4 (October 1952).  Reprinted in Natural Right and History (Ch. 5B).
It is on the basis of Hobbes’s view of the law of nature that Locke opposes Hobbes’s conclusions.  He tries to show that Hobbes’s principle–the right of… More

Persecution and the Art of Writing

– Persecution and the Art of Writing, The Free Press, 1952.  Reprinted: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Excerpt: Plato substituted for it a more conservative way of action, namely, the gradual replacement of the accepted opinions by the truth or an approximation to the truth. The replacement… More

Maimonides’ Statement on Political Science

– "Maimonides' Statement on Political Science," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 22 (1953).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Whereas the nomos entails a religion that is in the service of government, the divinely revealed law which is a subject of the same branch of political philosophy as the nomos puts… More

On a Forgotten Kind of Writing

– "On a Forgotten Kind of Writing," Chicago Review, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Winter-Spring 1954).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: In studying certain earlier thinkers, I became aware of this way of conceiving the relation between the quest for truth (philosophy or science) and society: Philosophy or science,… More

How Farabi Read Plato’s Laws

– "How Farabi Read Plato's Laws," Mélanges Louis Massignon, Institut Francais de Damas, 1957, Vol. 3.  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: At first it seems as if Farabi meant to say that all insights which he ascribed to Plato were peculiar to Plato. What he actually says however is that Plato did not find the… More

How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed

– "How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed," Moses Maimonides: The Guide of the Perplexed, trans. Shlomo Pines, University of Chicago Press, 1963.  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: The simple statement of the plan of the Guide suffices to show that the book is sealed with many seals.  At the end of its Introduction, Maimonides describes the preceding passage… More

Thoughts on Machiavelli by Leo Strauss

– Willmoore Kendall, "Thoughts on Machiavelli by Leo Strauss," Philosophical Review, Vol. 75, No. 2 (Apr. 1966).
Excerpt: One of the marvels of Professor Strauss’s Thoughts on Machiavelli is not so much that it dispels the confusion as to what Machiavelli was up to, and whether he was or was not… More

Notes on Lucretius

– "Notes on Lucretius," Liberalism Ancient and Modern, Basic Books, 1968.  Reprint: University of Chicago Press, 1995.
Excerpt: Lucretius’ work is a poetic exposition of Epicurean philosophy. The reader who opens the book for the first time and peruses its opening does not know through firsthand… More

Greek Historians

– "Greek Historians," review of Greek Historical Writing: A Historiographical Essay Based on Xenophon's "Hellenica," by W. P. Henry, Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 21, No. 4 (June 1968).
Excerpt: The author starts from the premiss that “the most important aspect of the study of history is . . . historiography.” He means by this that the most important aspect of… More

Philosophy and Politics I and II

– Victor Gourevitch, "Philosophy and Politics I," Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Sep. 1968). Victor Gourevitch, "Philosophy and Politics I," Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Dec. 1968).
Excerpt: On the face of it, On Tyranny is a straightforward commentary on Xenophon’s dialogue Hiero or Tyrannicus. As such it is a very model of thoroughness and learning. It amply… More

Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas

– Quentin Skinner, "Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas," History and Theory, Vol. 8, No. 1 (1969).
Excerpt: My aim is to consider what I take to be the basic question which necessarily arises whenever an historian of ideas’ confronts a work which he hopes to understand. Such an… More

Machiavelli and Classical Literature

– "Machiavelli and Classical Literature," Review of National Literatures, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Spring 1970).
Excerpt: I shall speak somewhat less briefly on La Vita de Castruccio Castracani da Lucca, For this graceful little work reveals Machiavelli s moral taste in a more direct or simple and… More

A Giving of Accounts

– "A Giving of Accounts," with Jacob Klein, The College, Vol. 22, No. 1 (April 1970).
Excerpt: I must begin with an introduction to my introduction.  Some faculty members, I was told, had misgivings about this meeting.  The only ones which are justified concern this… More

Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973

– Allan Bloom, "Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973," Political Theory, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Nov. 1974).
Excerpt: On October 18, 1973, Leo Strauss died in Annapolis, Maryland.  He was one of the very small number of men whose thought has had seminal influence in political theory in our time.… More

Xenophon’s Anabasis

– "Xenophon's Anabasis," Interpretation, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Spring 1975).  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: Xenophon’s Anabasis seems today to be regarded universally as his most beautiful book. I do not quarrel with this judgment. I merely wonder what its grounds are. The question… More

Strauss’s Machiavelli

– Harvey C. Mansfield, "Strauss's Machiavelli," Political Theory, Nov. 1975, pp. 372-384.
Excerpt: Thoughts on Machiavelli is an exoteric book, that is, a book containing much that is appreciably esoteric to any ordinary reader stated m a manner either so elusive or so… More

Philosophy and History

– Nathan Tarcov, "Philosophy and History: Tradition and Interpretation in the Work of Leo Strauss, Polity, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Autumn, 1983).
Excerpt: The necessity of critical or philosophical activity is increased by the literary character shared to different degrees and purposes by most of the writings Strauss… More

Exoteric Teaching

– "Exoteric Teaching," Interpretation, Vol. 14, No. 1 (January 1986).  Reprinted in The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism.
Excerpt: The distinction between exoteric (or public) and esoteric (or secret) teaching is not at present considered to be of any significance for the understanding of the thought of the… More

Leo Strauss and the History of Political Philosophy

– Nathan Tarcov and Thomas L. Pangle, "Epilogue: Leo Strauss and the History of Political Philosophy," History of Political Philosophy, Third Edition, ed. Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, University of Chicago Press, 1987.
Excerpt: A student using this book might legitimately and naturally wonder about the approach to the teaching of political philosophy presented here. The originator of this approach was the… More

On a Certain Critique of “Straussianism”

– Nathan Tarcov, "On a Certain Critique of 'Straussianism,'" The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: This article examines a certain critique of what I will take the liberty of calling “Straussianism,” a critique which raises questions I believe are worth discussing,… More

Leo Strauss and Nietzsche

– Laurence Lampert, Leo Strauss and Nietzsche, University of Chicago Press, 1996.
From the publisher: The influential political philosopher Leo Strauss has been credited by conservatives with the recovery of the great tradition of political philosophy stretching back to… More

Leo Strauss and the Possibility of Philosophy

– Stanley Rosen, "Leo Strauss and the Possibility of Philosophy, The Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 53, No. 3 (Mar. 2000).
Excerpt: To put this in another way, Strauss articulated a public teaching that was not necessarily in conflict with his private views on philosophy, but which served as an ambiguous… More

Guide for the Perplexed

– Steven J. Lenzner, "Guide for the Perplexed," Claremont Review of Books, 23 August 2007.
Excerpt: In recent years, as the name of the political philosopher Leo Strauss has grown increasingly familiar, his teaching has become increasingly misunderstood. Indeed, the portrait… More

The Truth about Leo Strauss: Political Philosophy and American Democracy

– Catherine and Michael Zuckert, The Truth about Leo Strauss: Political Philosophy and American Democracy, University of Chicago Press, 2008.
From the publisher: Is Leo Strauss truly an intellectual forebear of neoconservatism and a powerful force in shaping Bush administration foreign policy? The Truth about Leo Strauss puts… More

The Cambridge Companion to Leo Strauss

– The Cambridge Companion to Leo Strauss, ed. Steven B. Smith, Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Table of Contents: 1. Introduction: Leo Strauss today by Steven B. Smith 2. Leo Strauss: the outlines of a life by Steven B. Smith 3. Leo Strauss and the theologico-political predicament… More

Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography

– Daniel Tanguay, Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography, Yale University Press, 2011.
From the publisher: Since political theorist Leo Strauss’ death in 1973, American interpreters have heatedly debated his intellectual legacy. Daniel Tanguay recovers Strauss from the… More

Crisis of the Strauss Divided

– Harry V. Jaffa, Crisis of the Strauss Divided: Essays on Leo Strauss and Straussianism, East and West, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2012.
From the publisher: “Leo Strauss (1899-1973) was the  greatest mind in political philosophy in the twentieth century, and possibly in other centuries as well. That, I am well aware, is… More

Leo Strauss’s Defense of the Philosophic Life ed. Rafael Major

– Leo Strauss's Defense of the Philosophic Life, ed. Rafael Major, University of Chicago Press, 2013.
From the publisher: Leo Strauss’s What Is Political Philosophy? addresses almost every major theme in his life’s work and is often viewed as a defense of his overall philosophic… More

The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss by Laurence Lampert

– Laurence Lampert, The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss, University of Chicago Press, 2013.
From the publisher: The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss takes on the crucial task of separating what is truly important in the work of Leo Strauss from the ephemeral politics associated… More

Essays

Maimonides’s Doctrine of Prophecy and Its Sources

– "Maimonides's Doctrine of Prophecy and Its Sources," Le Monde Oriental (Uppsala), Vol. 28 (1934).  Reprinted in Philosophy and Law.
Excerpt: One can with a certain right call Maimonides’s position “medieval religious Enlightenment.”  With a certain right: namely if one accepts the view that not only… More

Philosophy and Law

– Philosophy and Law: Contributions to the Understanding of Maimonides and His Predecessors, trans. Eve Adler, State University of New York Press, 1995. Originally published as Philosophie und Gesetz: Beiträge zum Verständnis Maimunis und Seiner Vorlaüfer, Schocken Verlag, 1935.
Excerpt: The latecomers, who saw that the attacks of Hobbes, Spinoza, Bayle, Voltaire, and Reimarus could not be parried by defensive measures such as Moses Mendelssohn’s, agreed,… More

The Spirit of Sparta or the Taste of Xenophon

– "The Spirit of Sparta or the Taste of Xenophon," Social Research, Vol. 6, No. 4 (November 1939).
Excerpt: Xenophon’s treatise Constitution of the Lacedemonians appears to be devoted to praise of the Spartan constitution, or, which amounts to the same thing, of the Spartan mode of… More

The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed

– "The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed," Essays on Maimonides, ed. S. W. Baron, Columbia University Press, 1941.   Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Among the many historians who have interpreted Maimonides’ teaching, or who are making efforts to interpret it, there is scarcely one who would not agree to the principle… More

Persecution and the Art of Writing

– "Persecution and the Art of Writing," Social Research, Vol. 8, No. 4 (November 1941).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: In a considerable number of countries which, for about a hundred years, have enjoyed a practically complete freedom of public discussion, that freedom is now suppressed and… More

The Law of Reason in the Kuzari

– "The Law of Reason in the Kuzari," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 13 (1943).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Every student of the history of philosophy assumes, tacitly or expressly, rightly or wrongly, that he knows what philosophy is or what a philosopher is. In attempting to transform… More

Farabi’s Plato

– "Farabi's Plato," Louis Ginzberg Jubilee Volume, American Academy for Jewish Research, 1945.  Reprinted, revised and abbreviated, in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Farabi followed Plato not merely as regards the manner in which he presented the philosophic teaching in his most important books.  He held the view that Plato’s philosophy… More

On a New Interpretation of Plato’s Political Philosophy

– "On a New Interpretation of Plato's Political Philosophy," Social Research, Vol. 13, No. 3 (September 1946).
Excerpt: Professor Wild’s recent book on Plato is not simply a historical work. His presentation of Plato’s doctrine of man is animated by the zeal of a reformer and is meant… More

How to Study Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise

– "How to Study Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 17 (1948).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: The reason why a fresh investigation of Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise’ is in order, is obvious. The chief aim of the Treatise is to refute the claims which… More

On Locke’s Doctrine of Natural Right

– "On Locke's Doctrine of Natural Right," Philosophical Review, Vol. 61, No. 4 (October 1952).  Reprinted in Natural Right and History (Ch. 5B).
It is on the basis of Hobbes’s view of the law of nature that Locke opposes Hobbes’s conclusions.  He tries to show that Hobbes’s principle–the right of… More

Persecution and the Art of Writing

– Persecution and the Art of Writing, The Free Press, 1952.  Reprinted: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Excerpt: Plato substituted for it a more conservative way of action, namely, the gradual replacement of the accepted opinions by the truth or an approximation to the truth. The replacement… More

Maimonides’ Statement on Political Science

– "Maimonides' Statement on Political Science," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 22 (1953).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Whereas the nomos entails a religion that is in the service of government, the divinely revealed law which is a subject of the same branch of political philosophy as the nomos puts… More

On a Forgotten Kind of Writing

– "On a Forgotten Kind of Writing," Chicago Review, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Winter-Spring 1954).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: In studying certain earlier thinkers, I became aware of this way of conceiving the relation between the quest for truth (philosophy or science) and society: Philosophy or science,… More

How Farabi Read Plato’s Laws

– "How Farabi Read Plato's Laws," Mélanges Louis Massignon, Institut Francais de Damas, 1957, Vol. 3.  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: At first it seems as if Farabi meant to say that all insights which he ascribed to Plato were peculiar to Plato. What he actually says however is that Plato did not find the… More

How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed

– "How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed," Moses Maimonides: The Guide of the Perplexed, trans. Shlomo Pines, University of Chicago Press, 1963.  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: The simple statement of the plan of the Guide suffices to show that the book is sealed with many seals.  At the end of its Introduction, Maimonides describes the preceding passage… More

Thoughts on Machiavelli by Leo Strauss

– Willmoore Kendall, "Thoughts on Machiavelli by Leo Strauss," Philosophical Review, Vol. 75, No. 2 (Apr. 1966).
Excerpt: One of the marvels of Professor Strauss’s Thoughts on Machiavelli is not so much that it dispels the confusion as to what Machiavelli was up to, and whether he was or was not… More

Notes on Lucretius

– "Notes on Lucretius," Liberalism Ancient and Modern, Basic Books, 1968.  Reprint: University of Chicago Press, 1995.
Excerpt: Lucretius’ work is a poetic exposition of Epicurean philosophy. The reader who opens the book for the first time and peruses its opening does not know through firsthand… More

Greek Historians

– "Greek Historians," review of Greek Historical Writing: A Historiographical Essay Based on Xenophon's "Hellenica," by W. P. Henry, Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 21, No. 4 (June 1968).
Excerpt: The author starts from the premiss that “the most important aspect of the study of history is . . . historiography.” He means by this that the most important aspect of… More

Philosophy and Politics I and II

– Victor Gourevitch, "Philosophy and Politics I," Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Sep. 1968). Victor Gourevitch, "Philosophy and Politics I," Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Dec. 1968).
Excerpt: On the face of it, On Tyranny is a straightforward commentary on Xenophon’s dialogue Hiero or Tyrannicus. As such it is a very model of thoroughness and learning. It amply… More

Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas

– Quentin Skinner, "Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas," History and Theory, Vol. 8, No. 1 (1969).
Excerpt: My aim is to consider what I take to be the basic question which necessarily arises whenever an historian of ideas’ confronts a work which he hopes to understand. Such an… More

Machiavelli and Classical Literature

– "Machiavelli and Classical Literature," Review of National Literatures, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Spring 1970).
Excerpt: I shall speak somewhat less briefly on La Vita de Castruccio Castracani da Lucca, For this graceful little work reveals Machiavelli s moral taste in a more direct or simple and… More

A Giving of Accounts

– "A Giving of Accounts," with Jacob Klein, The College, Vol. 22, No. 1 (April 1970).
Excerpt: I must begin with an introduction to my introduction.  Some faculty members, I was told, had misgivings about this meeting.  The only ones which are justified concern this… More

Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973

– Allan Bloom, "Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973," Political Theory, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Nov. 1974).
Excerpt: On October 18, 1973, Leo Strauss died in Annapolis, Maryland.  He was one of the very small number of men whose thought has had seminal influence in political theory in our time.… More

Xenophon’s Anabasis

– "Xenophon's Anabasis," Interpretation, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Spring 1975).  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: Xenophon’s Anabasis seems today to be regarded universally as his most beautiful book. I do not quarrel with this judgment. I merely wonder what its grounds are. The question… More

Strauss’s Machiavelli

– Harvey C. Mansfield, "Strauss's Machiavelli," Political Theory, Nov. 1975, pp. 372-384.
Excerpt: Thoughts on Machiavelli is an exoteric book, that is, a book containing much that is appreciably esoteric to any ordinary reader stated m a manner either so elusive or so… More

Philosophy and History

– Nathan Tarcov, "Philosophy and History: Tradition and Interpretation in the Work of Leo Strauss, Polity, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Autumn, 1983).
Excerpt: The necessity of critical or philosophical activity is increased by the literary character shared to different degrees and purposes by most of the writings Strauss… More

Exoteric Teaching

– "Exoteric Teaching," Interpretation, Vol. 14, No. 1 (January 1986).  Reprinted in The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism.
Excerpt: The distinction between exoteric (or public) and esoteric (or secret) teaching is not at present considered to be of any significance for the understanding of the thought of the… More

Leo Strauss and the History of Political Philosophy

– Nathan Tarcov and Thomas L. Pangle, "Epilogue: Leo Strauss and the History of Political Philosophy," History of Political Philosophy, Third Edition, ed. Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, University of Chicago Press, 1987.
Excerpt: A student using this book might legitimately and naturally wonder about the approach to the teaching of political philosophy presented here. The originator of this approach was the… More

On a Certain Critique of “Straussianism”

– Nathan Tarcov, "On a Certain Critique of 'Straussianism,'" The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: This article examines a certain critique of what I will take the liberty of calling “Straussianism,” a critique which raises questions I believe are worth discussing,… More

Leo Strauss and Nietzsche

– Laurence Lampert, Leo Strauss and Nietzsche, University of Chicago Press, 1996.
From the publisher: The influential political philosopher Leo Strauss has been credited by conservatives with the recovery of the great tradition of political philosophy stretching back to… More

Leo Strauss and the Possibility of Philosophy

– Stanley Rosen, "Leo Strauss and the Possibility of Philosophy, The Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 53, No. 3 (Mar. 2000).
Excerpt: To put this in another way, Strauss articulated a public teaching that was not necessarily in conflict with his private views on philosophy, but which served as an ambiguous… More

Guide for the Perplexed

– Steven J. Lenzner, "Guide for the Perplexed," Claremont Review of Books, 23 August 2007.
Excerpt: In recent years, as the name of the political philosopher Leo Strauss has grown increasingly familiar, his teaching has become increasingly misunderstood. Indeed, the portrait… More

The Truth about Leo Strauss: Political Philosophy and American Democracy

– Catherine and Michael Zuckert, The Truth about Leo Strauss: Political Philosophy and American Democracy, University of Chicago Press, 2008.
From the publisher: Is Leo Strauss truly an intellectual forebear of neoconservatism and a powerful force in shaping Bush administration foreign policy? The Truth about Leo Strauss puts… More

The Cambridge Companion to Leo Strauss

– The Cambridge Companion to Leo Strauss, ed. Steven B. Smith, Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Table of Contents: 1. Introduction: Leo Strauss today by Steven B. Smith 2. Leo Strauss: the outlines of a life by Steven B. Smith 3. Leo Strauss and the theologico-political predicament… More

Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography

– Daniel Tanguay, Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography, Yale University Press, 2011.
From the publisher: Since political theorist Leo Strauss’ death in 1973, American interpreters have heatedly debated his intellectual legacy. Daniel Tanguay recovers Strauss from the… More

Crisis of the Strauss Divided

– Harry V. Jaffa, Crisis of the Strauss Divided: Essays on Leo Strauss and Straussianism, East and West, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2012.
From the publisher: “Leo Strauss (1899-1973) was the  greatest mind in political philosophy in the twentieth century, and possibly in other centuries as well. That, I am well aware, is… More

Leo Strauss’s Defense of the Philosophic Life ed. Rafael Major

– Leo Strauss's Defense of the Philosophic Life, ed. Rafael Major, University of Chicago Press, 2013.
From the publisher: Leo Strauss’s What Is Political Philosophy? addresses almost every major theme in his life’s work and is often viewed as a defense of his overall philosophic… More

The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss by Laurence Lampert

– Laurence Lampert, The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss, University of Chicago Press, 2013.
From the publisher: The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss takes on the crucial task of separating what is truly important in the work of Leo Strauss from the ephemeral politics associated… More

Commentary

Maimonides’s Doctrine of Prophecy and Its Sources

– "Maimonides's Doctrine of Prophecy and Its Sources," Le Monde Oriental (Uppsala), Vol. 28 (1934).  Reprinted in Philosophy and Law.
Excerpt: One can with a certain right call Maimonides’s position “medieval religious Enlightenment.”  With a certain right: namely if one accepts the view that not only… More

Philosophy and Law

– Philosophy and Law: Contributions to the Understanding of Maimonides and His Predecessors, trans. Eve Adler, State University of New York Press, 1995. Originally published as Philosophie und Gesetz: Beiträge zum Verständnis Maimunis und Seiner Vorlaüfer, Schocken Verlag, 1935.
Excerpt: The latecomers, who saw that the attacks of Hobbes, Spinoza, Bayle, Voltaire, and Reimarus could not be parried by defensive measures such as Moses Mendelssohn’s, agreed,… More

The Spirit of Sparta or the Taste of Xenophon

– "The Spirit of Sparta or the Taste of Xenophon," Social Research, Vol. 6, No. 4 (November 1939).
Excerpt: Xenophon’s treatise Constitution of the Lacedemonians appears to be devoted to praise of the Spartan constitution, or, which amounts to the same thing, of the Spartan mode of… More

The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed

– "The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed," Essays on Maimonides, ed. S. W. Baron, Columbia University Press, 1941.   Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Among the many historians who have interpreted Maimonides’ teaching, or who are making efforts to interpret it, there is scarcely one who would not agree to the principle… More

Persecution and the Art of Writing

– "Persecution and the Art of Writing," Social Research, Vol. 8, No. 4 (November 1941).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: In a considerable number of countries which, for about a hundred years, have enjoyed a practically complete freedom of public discussion, that freedom is now suppressed and… More

The Law of Reason in the Kuzari

– "The Law of Reason in the Kuzari," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 13 (1943).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Every student of the history of philosophy assumes, tacitly or expressly, rightly or wrongly, that he knows what philosophy is or what a philosopher is. In attempting to transform… More

Farabi’s Plato

– "Farabi's Plato," Louis Ginzberg Jubilee Volume, American Academy for Jewish Research, 1945.  Reprinted, revised and abbreviated, in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Farabi followed Plato not merely as regards the manner in which he presented the philosophic teaching in his most important books.  He held the view that Plato’s philosophy… More

On a New Interpretation of Plato’s Political Philosophy

– "On a New Interpretation of Plato's Political Philosophy," Social Research, Vol. 13, No. 3 (September 1946).
Excerpt: Professor Wild’s recent book on Plato is not simply a historical work. His presentation of Plato’s doctrine of man is animated by the zeal of a reformer and is meant… More

How to Study Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise

– "How to Study Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 17 (1948).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: The reason why a fresh investigation of Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise’ is in order, is obvious. The chief aim of the Treatise is to refute the claims which… More

On Locke’s Doctrine of Natural Right

– "On Locke's Doctrine of Natural Right," Philosophical Review, Vol. 61, No. 4 (October 1952).  Reprinted in Natural Right and History (Ch. 5B).
It is on the basis of Hobbes’s view of the law of nature that Locke opposes Hobbes’s conclusions.  He tries to show that Hobbes’s principle–the right of… More

Persecution and the Art of Writing

– Persecution and the Art of Writing, The Free Press, 1952.  Reprinted: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Excerpt: Plato substituted for it a more conservative way of action, namely, the gradual replacement of the accepted opinions by the truth or an approximation to the truth. The replacement… More

Maimonides’ Statement on Political Science

– "Maimonides' Statement on Political Science," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 22 (1953).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Whereas the nomos entails a religion that is in the service of government, the divinely revealed law which is a subject of the same branch of political philosophy as the nomos puts… More

On a Forgotten Kind of Writing

– "On a Forgotten Kind of Writing," Chicago Review, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Winter-Spring 1954).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: In studying certain earlier thinkers, I became aware of this way of conceiving the relation between the quest for truth (philosophy or science) and society: Philosophy or science,… More

How Farabi Read Plato’s Laws

– "How Farabi Read Plato's Laws," Mélanges Louis Massignon, Institut Francais de Damas, 1957, Vol. 3.  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: At first it seems as if Farabi meant to say that all insights which he ascribed to Plato were peculiar to Plato. What he actually says however is that Plato did not find the… More

How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed

– "How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed," Moses Maimonides: The Guide of the Perplexed, trans. Shlomo Pines, University of Chicago Press, 1963.  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: The simple statement of the plan of the Guide suffices to show that the book is sealed with many seals.  At the end of its Introduction, Maimonides describes the preceding passage… More

Thoughts on Machiavelli by Leo Strauss

– Willmoore Kendall, "Thoughts on Machiavelli by Leo Strauss," Philosophical Review, Vol. 75, No. 2 (Apr. 1966).
Excerpt: One of the marvels of Professor Strauss’s Thoughts on Machiavelli is not so much that it dispels the confusion as to what Machiavelli was up to, and whether he was or was not… More

Notes on Lucretius

– "Notes on Lucretius," Liberalism Ancient and Modern, Basic Books, 1968.  Reprint: University of Chicago Press, 1995.
Excerpt: Lucretius’ work is a poetic exposition of Epicurean philosophy. The reader who opens the book for the first time and peruses its opening does not know through firsthand… More

Greek Historians

– "Greek Historians," review of Greek Historical Writing: A Historiographical Essay Based on Xenophon's "Hellenica," by W. P. Henry, Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 21, No. 4 (June 1968).
Excerpt: The author starts from the premiss that “the most important aspect of the study of history is . . . historiography.” He means by this that the most important aspect of… More

Philosophy and Politics I and II

– Victor Gourevitch, "Philosophy and Politics I," Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Sep. 1968). Victor Gourevitch, "Philosophy and Politics I," Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Dec. 1968).
Excerpt: On the face of it, On Tyranny is a straightforward commentary on Xenophon’s dialogue Hiero or Tyrannicus. As such it is a very model of thoroughness and learning. It amply… More

Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas

– Quentin Skinner, "Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas," History and Theory, Vol. 8, No. 1 (1969).
Excerpt: My aim is to consider what I take to be the basic question which necessarily arises whenever an historian of ideas’ confronts a work which he hopes to understand. Such an… More

Machiavelli and Classical Literature

– "Machiavelli and Classical Literature," Review of National Literatures, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Spring 1970).
Excerpt: I shall speak somewhat less briefly on La Vita de Castruccio Castracani da Lucca, For this graceful little work reveals Machiavelli s moral taste in a more direct or simple and… More

A Giving of Accounts

– "A Giving of Accounts," with Jacob Klein, The College, Vol. 22, No. 1 (April 1970).
Excerpt: I must begin with an introduction to my introduction.  Some faculty members, I was told, had misgivings about this meeting.  The only ones which are justified concern this… More

Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973

– Allan Bloom, "Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973," Political Theory, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Nov. 1974).
Excerpt: On October 18, 1973, Leo Strauss died in Annapolis, Maryland.  He was one of the very small number of men whose thought has had seminal influence in political theory in our time.… More

Xenophon’s Anabasis

– "Xenophon's Anabasis," Interpretation, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Spring 1975).  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: Xenophon’s Anabasis seems today to be regarded universally as his most beautiful book. I do not quarrel with this judgment. I merely wonder what its grounds are. The question… More

Strauss’s Machiavelli

– Harvey C. Mansfield, "Strauss's Machiavelli," Political Theory, Nov. 1975, pp. 372-384.
Excerpt: Thoughts on Machiavelli is an exoteric book, that is, a book containing much that is appreciably esoteric to any ordinary reader stated m a manner either so elusive or so… More

Philosophy and History

– Nathan Tarcov, "Philosophy and History: Tradition and Interpretation in the Work of Leo Strauss, Polity, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Autumn, 1983).
Excerpt: The necessity of critical or philosophical activity is increased by the literary character shared to different degrees and purposes by most of the writings Strauss… More

Exoteric Teaching

– "Exoteric Teaching," Interpretation, Vol. 14, No. 1 (January 1986).  Reprinted in The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism.
Excerpt: The distinction between exoteric (or public) and esoteric (or secret) teaching is not at present considered to be of any significance for the understanding of the thought of the… More

Leo Strauss and the History of Political Philosophy

– Nathan Tarcov and Thomas L. Pangle, "Epilogue: Leo Strauss and the History of Political Philosophy," History of Political Philosophy, Third Edition, ed. Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, University of Chicago Press, 1987.
Excerpt: A student using this book might legitimately and naturally wonder about the approach to the teaching of political philosophy presented here. The originator of this approach was the… More

On a Certain Critique of “Straussianism”

– Nathan Tarcov, "On a Certain Critique of 'Straussianism,'" The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: This article examines a certain critique of what I will take the liberty of calling “Straussianism,” a critique which raises questions I believe are worth discussing,… More

Leo Strauss and Nietzsche

– Laurence Lampert, Leo Strauss and Nietzsche, University of Chicago Press, 1996.
From the publisher: The influential political philosopher Leo Strauss has been credited by conservatives with the recovery of the great tradition of political philosophy stretching back to… More

Leo Strauss and the Possibility of Philosophy

– Stanley Rosen, "Leo Strauss and the Possibility of Philosophy, The Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 53, No. 3 (Mar. 2000).
Excerpt: To put this in another way, Strauss articulated a public teaching that was not necessarily in conflict with his private views on philosophy, but which served as an ambiguous… More

Guide for the Perplexed

– Steven J. Lenzner, "Guide for the Perplexed," Claremont Review of Books, 23 August 2007.
Excerpt: In recent years, as the name of the political philosopher Leo Strauss has grown increasingly familiar, his teaching has become increasingly misunderstood. Indeed, the portrait… More

The Truth about Leo Strauss: Political Philosophy and American Democracy

– Catherine and Michael Zuckert, The Truth about Leo Strauss: Political Philosophy and American Democracy, University of Chicago Press, 2008.
From the publisher: Is Leo Strauss truly an intellectual forebear of neoconservatism and a powerful force in shaping Bush administration foreign policy? The Truth about Leo Strauss puts… More

The Cambridge Companion to Leo Strauss

– The Cambridge Companion to Leo Strauss, ed. Steven B. Smith, Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Table of Contents: 1. Introduction: Leo Strauss today by Steven B. Smith 2. Leo Strauss: the outlines of a life by Steven B. Smith 3. Leo Strauss and the theologico-political predicament… More

Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography

– Daniel Tanguay, Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography, Yale University Press, 2011.
From the publisher: Since political theorist Leo Strauss’ death in 1973, American interpreters have heatedly debated his intellectual legacy. Daniel Tanguay recovers Strauss from the… More

Crisis of the Strauss Divided

– Harry V. Jaffa, Crisis of the Strauss Divided: Essays on Leo Strauss and Straussianism, East and West, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2012.
From the publisher: “Leo Strauss (1899-1973) was the  greatest mind in political philosophy in the twentieth century, and possibly in other centuries as well. That, I am well aware, is… More

Leo Strauss’s Defense of the Philosophic Life ed. Rafael Major

– Leo Strauss's Defense of the Philosophic Life, ed. Rafael Major, University of Chicago Press, 2013.
From the publisher: Leo Strauss’s What Is Political Philosophy? addresses almost every major theme in his life’s work and is often viewed as a defense of his overall philosophic… More

The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss by Laurence Lampert

– Laurence Lampert, The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss, University of Chicago Press, 2013.
From the publisher: The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss takes on the crucial task of separating what is truly important in the work of Leo Strauss from the ephemeral politics associated… More

Multimedia

Maimonides’s Doctrine of Prophecy and Its Sources

– "Maimonides's Doctrine of Prophecy and Its Sources," Le Monde Oriental (Uppsala), Vol. 28 (1934).  Reprinted in Philosophy and Law.
Excerpt: One can with a certain right call Maimonides’s position “medieval religious Enlightenment.”  With a certain right: namely if one accepts the view that not only… More

Philosophy and Law

– Philosophy and Law: Contributions to the Understanding of Maimonides and His Predecessors, trans. Eve Adler, State University of New York Press, 1995. Originally published as Philosophie und Gesetz: Beiträge zum Verständnis Maimunis und Seiner Vorlaüfer, Schocken Verlag, 1935.
Excerpt: The latecomers, who saw that the attacks of Hobbes, Spinoza, Bayle, Voltaire, and Reimarus could not be parried by defensive measures such as Moses Mendelssohn’s, agreed,… More

The Spirit of Sparta or the Taste of Xenophon

– "The Spirit of Sparta or the Taste of Xenophon," Social Research, Vol. 6, No. 4 (November 1939).
Excerpt: Xenophon’s treatise Constitution of the Lacedemonians appears to be devoted to praise of the Spartan constitution, or, which amounts to the same thing, of the Spartan mode of… More

The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed

– "The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed," Essays on Maimonides, ed. S. W. Baron, Columbia University Press, 1941.   Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Among the many historians who have interpreted Maimonides’ teaching, or who are making efforts to interpret it, there is scarcely one who would not agree to the principle… More

Persecution and the Art of Writing

– "Persecution and the Art of Writing," Social Research, Vol. 8, No. 4 (November 1941).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: In a considerable number of countries which, for about a hundred years, have enjoyed a practically complete freedom of public discussion, that freedom is now suppressed and… More

The Law of Reason in the Kuzari

– "The Law of Reason in the Kuzari," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 13 (1943).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Every student of the history of philosophy assumes, tacitly or expressly, rightly or wrongly, that he knows what philosophy is or what a philosopher is. In attempting to transform… More

Farabi’s Plato

– "Farabi's Plato," Louis Ginzberg Jubilee Volume, American Academy for Jewish Research, 1945.  Reprinted, revised and abbreviated, in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Farabi followed Plato not merely as regards the manner in which he presented the philosophic teaching in his most important books.  He held the view that Plato’s philosophy… More

On a New Interpretation of Plato’s Political Philosophy

– "On a New Interpretation of Plato's Political Philosophy," Social Research, Vol. 13, No. 3 (September 1946).
Excerpt: Professor Wild’s recent book on Plato is not simply a historical work. His presentation of Plato’s doctrine of man is animated by the zeal of a reformer and is meant… More

How to Study Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise

– "How to Study Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 17 (1948).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: The reason why a fresh investigation of Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise’ is in order, is obvious. The chief aim of the Treatise is to refute the claims which… More

On Locke’s Doctrine of Natural Right

– "On Locke's Doctrine of Natural Right," Philosophical Review, Vol. 61, No. 4 (October 1952).  Reprinted in Natural Right and History (Ch. 5B).
It is on the basis of Hobbes’s view of the law of nature that Locke opposes Hobbes’s conclusions.  He tries to show that Hobbes’s principle–the right of… More

Persecution and the Art of Writing

– Persecution and the Art of Writing, The Free Press, 1952.  Reprinted: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Excerpt: Plato substituted for it a more conservative way of action, namely, the gradual replacement of the accepted opinions by the truth or an approximation to the truth. The replacement… More

Maimonides’ Statement on Political Science

– "Maimonides' Statement on Political Science," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 22 (1953).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Whereas the nomos entails a religion that is in the service of government, the divinely revealed law which is a subject of the same branch of political philosophy as the nomos puts… More

On a Forgotten Kind of Writing

– "On a Forgotten Kind of Writing," Chicago Review, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Winter-Spring 1954).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: In studying certain earlier thinkers, I became aware of this way of conceiving the relation between the quest for truth (philosophy or science) and society: Philosophy or science,… More

How Farabi Read Plato’s Laws

– "How Farabi Read Plato's Laws," Mélanges Louis Massignon, Institut Francais de Damas, 1957, Vol. 3.  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: At first it seems as if Farabi meant to say that all insights which he ascribed to Plato were peculiar to Plato. What he actually says however is that Plato did not find the… More

How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed

– "How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed," Moses Maimonides: The Guide of the Perplexed, trans. Shlomo Pines, University of Chicago Press, 1963.  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: The simple statement of the plan of the Guide suffices to show that the book is sealed with many seals.  At the end of its Introduction, Maimonides describes the preceding passage… More

Thoughts on Machiavelli by Leo Strauss

– Willmoore Kendall, "Thoughts on Machiavelli by Leo Strauss," Philosophical Review, Vol. 75, No. 2 (Apr. 1966).
Excerpt: One of the marvels of Professor Strauss’s Thoughts on Machiavelli is not so much that it dispels the confusion as to what Machiavelli was up to, and whether he was or was not… More

Notes on Lucretius

– "Notes on Lucretius," Liberalism Ancient and Modern, Basic Books, 1968.  Reprint: University of Chicago Press, 1995.
Excerpt: Lucretius’ work is a poetic exposition of Epicurean philosophy. The reader who opens the book for the first time and peruses its opening does not know through firsthand… More

Greek Historians

– "Greek Historians," review of Greek Historical Writing: A Historiographical Essay Based on Xenophon's "Hellenica," by W. P. Henry, Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 21, No. 4 (June 1968).
Excerpt: The author starts from the premiss that “the most important aspect of the study of history is . . . historiography.” He means by this that the most important aspect of… More

Philosophy and Politics I and II

– Victor Gourevitch, "Philosophy and Politics I," Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Sep. 1968). Victor Gourevitch, "Philosophy and Politics I," Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Dec. 1968).
Excerpt: On the face of it, On Tyranny is a straightforward commentary on Xenophon’s dialogue Hiero or Tyrannicus. As such it is a very model of thoroughness and learning. It amply… More

Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas

– Quentin Skinner, "Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas," History and Theory, Vol. 8, No. 1 (1969).
Excerpt: My aim is to consider what I take to be the basic question which necessarily arises whenever an historian of ideas’ confronts a work which he hopes to understand. Such an… More

Machiavelli and Classical Literature

– "Machiavelli and Classical Literature," Review of National Literatures, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Spring 1970).
Excerpt: I shall speak somewhat less briefly on La Vita de Castruccio Castracani da Lucca, For this graceful little work reveals Machiavelli s moral taste in a more direct or simple and… More

A Giving of Accounts

– "A Giving of Accounts," with Jacob Klein, The College, Vol. 22, No. 1 (April 1970).
Excerpt: I must begin with an introduction to my introduction.  Some faculty members, I was told, had misgivings about this meeting.  The only ones which are justified concern this… More

Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973

– Allan Bloom, "Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973," Political Theory, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Nov. 1974).
Excerpt: On October 18, 1973, Leo Strauss died in Annapolis, Maryland.  He was one of the very small number of men whose thought has had seminal influence in political theory in our time.… More

Xenophon’s Anabasis

– "Xenophon's Anabasis," Interpretation, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Spring 1975).  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: Xenophon’s Anabasis seems today to be regarded universally as his most beautiful book. I do not quarrel with this judgment. I merely wonder what its grounds are. The question… More

Strauss’s Machiavelli

– Harvey C. Mansfield, "Strauss's Machiavelli," Political Theory, Nov. 1975, pp. 372-384.
Excerpt: Thoughts on Machiavelli is an exoteric book, that is, a book containing much that is appreciably esoteric to any ordinary reader stated m a manner either so elusive or so… More

Philosophy and History

– Nathan Tarcov, "Philosophy and History: Tradition and Interpretation in the Work of Leo Strauss, Polity, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Autumn, 1983).
Excerpt: The necessity of critical or philosophical activity is increased by the literary character shared to different degrees and purposes by most of the writings Strauss… More

Exoteric Teaching

– "Exoteric Teaching," Interpretation, Vol. 14, No. 1 (January 1986).  Reprinted in The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism.
Excerpt: The distinction between exoteric (or public) and esoteric (or secret) teaching is not at present considered to be of any significance for the understanding of the thought of the… More

Leo Strauss and the History of Political Philosophy

– Nathan Tarcov and Thomas L. Pangle, "Epilogue: Leo Strauss and the History of Political Philosophy," History of Political Philosophy, Third Edition, ed. Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, University of Chicago Press, 1987.
Excerpt: A student using this book might legitimately and naturally wonder about the approach to the teaching of political philosophy presented here. The originator of this approach was the… More

On a Certain Critique of “Straussianism”

– Nathan Tarcov, "On a Certain Critique of 'Straussianism,'" The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: This article examines a certain critique of what I will take the liberty of calling “Straussianism,” a critique which raises questions I believe are worth discussing,… More

Leo Strauss and Nietzsche

– Laurence Lampert, Leo Strauss and Nietzsche, University of Chicago Press, 1996.
From the publisher: The influential political philosopher Leo Strauss has been credited by conservatives with the recovery of the great tradition of political philosophy stretching back to… More

Leo Strauss and the Possibility of Philosophy

– Stanley Rosen, "Leo Strauss and the Possibility of Philosophy, The Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 53, No. 3 (Mar. 2000).
Excerpt: To put this in another way, Strauss articulated a public teaching that was not necessarily in conflict with his private views on philosophy, but which served as an ambiguous… More

Guide for the Perplexed

– Steven J. Lenzner, "Guide for the Perplexed," Claremont Review of Books, 23 August 2007.
Excerpt: In recent years, as the name of the political philosopher Leo Strauss has grown increasingly familiar, his teaching has become increasingly misunderstood. Indeed, the portrait… More

The Truth about Leo Strauss: Political Philosophy and American Democracy

– Catherine and Michael Zuckert, The Truth about Leo Strauss: Political Philosophy and American Democracy, University of Chicago Press, 2008.
From the publisher: Is Leo Strauss truly an intellectual forebear of neoconservatism and a powerful force in shaping Bush administration foreign policy? The Truth about Leo Strauss puts… More

The Cambridge Companion to Leo Strauss

– The Cambridge Companion to Leo Strauss, ed. Steven B. Smith, Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Table of Contents: 1. Introduction: Leo Strauss today by Steven B. Smith 2. Leo Strauss: the outlines of a life by Steven B. Smith 3. Leo Strauss and the theologico-political predicament… More

Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography

– Daniel Tanguay, Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography, Yale University Press, 2011.
From the publisher: Since political theorist Leo Strauss’ death in 1973, American interpreters have heatedly debated his intellectual legacy. Daniel Tanguay recovers Strauss from the… More

Crisis of the Strauss Divided

– Harry V. Jaffa, Crisis of the Strauss Divided: Essays on Leo Strauss and Straussianism, East and West, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2012.
From the publisher: “Leo Strauss (1899-1973) was the  greatest mind in political philosophy in the twentieth century, and possibly in other centuries as well. That, I am well aware, is… More

Leo Strauss’s Defense of the Philosophic Life ed. Rafael Major

– Leo Strauss's Defense of the Philosophic Life, ed. Rafael Major, University of Chicago Press, 2013.
From the publisher: Leo Strauss’s What Is Political Philosophy? addresses almost every major theme in his life’s work and is often viewed as a defense of his overall philosophic… More

The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss by Laurence Lampert

– Laurence Lampert, The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss, University of Chicago Press, 2013.
From the publisher: The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss takes on the crucial task of separating what is truly important in the work of Leo Strauss from the ephemeral politics associated… More

Teaching

Maimonides’s Doctrine of Prophecy and Its Sources

– "Maimonides's Doctrine of Prophecy and Its Sources," Le Monde Oriental (Uppsala), Vol. 28 (1934).  Reprinted in Philosophy and Law.
Excerpt: One can with a certain right call Maimonides’s position “medieval religious Enlightenment.”  With a certain right: namely if one accepts the view that not only… More

Philosophy and Law

– Philosophy and Law: Contributions to the Understanding of Maimonides and His Predecessors, trans. Eve Adler, State University of New York Press, 1995. Originally published as Philosophie und Gesetz: Beiträge zum Verständnis Maimunis und Seiner Vorlaüfer, Schocken Verlag, 1935.
Excerpt: The latecomers, who saw that the attacks of Hobbes, Spinoza, Bayle, Voltaire, and Reimarus could not be parried by defensive measures such as Moses Mendelssohn’s, agreed,… More

The Spirit of Sparta or the Taste of Xenophon

– "The Spirit of Sparta or the Taste of Xenophon," Social Research, Vol. 6, No. 4 (November 1939).
Excerpt: Xenophon’s treatise Constitution of the Lacedemonians appears to be devoted to praise of the Spartan constitution, or, which amounts to the same thing, of the Spartan mode of… More

The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed

– "The Literary Character of the Guide for the Perplexed," Essays on Maimonides, ed. S. W. Baron, Columbia University Press, 1941.   Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Among the many historians who have interpreted Maimonides’ teaching, or who are making efforts to interpret it, there is scarcely one who would not agree to the principle… More

Persecution and the Art of Writing

– "Persecution and the Art of Writing," Social Research, Vol. 8, No. 4 (November 1941).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: In a considerable number of countries which, for about a hundred years, have enjoyed a practically complete freedom of public discussion, that freedom is now suppressed and… More

The Law of Reason in the Kuzari

– "The Law of Reason in the Kuzari," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 13 (1943).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Every student of the history of philosophy assumes, tacitly or expressly, rightly or wrongly, that he knows what philosophy is or what a philosopher is. In attempting to transform… More

Farabi’s Plato

– "Farabi's Plato," Louis Ginzberg Jubilee Volume, American Academy for Jewish Research, 1945.  Reprinted, revised and abbreviated, in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: Farabi followed Plato not merely as regards the manner in which he presented the philosophic teaching in his most important books.  He held the view that Plato’s philosophy… More

On a New Interpretation of Plato’s Political Philosophy

– "On a New Interpretation of Plato's Political Philosophy," Social Research, Vol. 13, No. 3 (September 1946).
Excerpt: Professor Wild’s recent book on Plato is not simply a historical work. His presentation of Plato’s doctrine of man is animated by the zeal of a reformer and is meant… More

How to Study Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise

– "How to Study Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 17 (1948).  Reprinted in Persecution and the Art of Writing.
Excerpt: The reason why a fresh investigation of Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise’ is in order, is obvious. The chief aim of the Treatise is to refute the claims which… More

On Locke’s Doctrine of Natural Right

– "On Locke's Doctrine of Natural Right," Philosophical Review, Vol. 61, No. 4 (October 1952).  Reprinted in Natural Right and History (Ch. 5B).
It is on the basis of Hobbes’s view of the law of nature that Locke opposes Hobbes’s conclusions.  He tries to show that Hobbes’s principle–the right of… More

Persecution and the Art of Writing

– Persecution and the Art of Writing, The Free Press, 1952.  Reprinted: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
Excerpt: Plato substituted for it a more conservative way of action, namely, the gradual replacement of the accepted opinions by the truth or an approximation to the truth. The replacement… More

Maimonides’ Statement on Political Science

– "Maimonides' Statement on Political Science," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Vol. 22 (1953).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Whereas the nomos entails a religion that is in the service of government, the divinely revealed law which is a subject of the same branch of political philosophy as the nomos puts… More

On a Forgotten Kind of Writing

– "On a Forgotten Kind of Writing," Chicago Review, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Winter-Spring 1954).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: In studying certain earlier thinkers, I became aware of this way of conceiving the relation between the quest for truth (philosophy or science) and society: Philosophy or science,… More

How Farabi Read Plato’s Laws

– "How Farabi Read Plato's Laws," Mélanges Louis Massignon, Institut Francais de Damas, 1957, Vol. 3.  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: At first it seems as if Farabi meant to say that all insights which he ascribed to Plato were peculiar to Plato. What he actually says however is that Plato did not find the… More

How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed

– "How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed," Moses Maimonides: The Guide of the Perplexed, trans. Shlomo Pines, University of Chicago Press, 1963.  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: The simple statement of the plan of the Guide suffices to show that the book is sealed with many seals.  At the end of its Introduction, Maimonides describes the preceding passage… More

Thoughts on Machiavelli by Leo Strauss

– Willmoore Kendall, "Thoughts on Machiavelli by Leo Strauss," Philosophical Review, Vol. 75, No. 2 (Apr. 1966).
Excerpt: One of the marvels of Professor Strauss’s Thoughts on Machiavelli is not so much that it dispels the confusion as to what Machiavelli was up to, and whether he was or was not… More

Notes on Lucretius

– "Notes on Lucretius," Liberalism Ancient and Modern, Basic Books, 1968.  Reprint: University of Chicago Press, 1995.
Excerpt: Lucretius’ work is a poetic exposition of Epicurean philosophy. The reader who opens the book for the first time and peruses its opening does not know through firsthand… More

Greek Historians

– "Greek Historians," review of Greek Historical Writing: A Historiographical Essay Based on Xenophon's "Hellenica," by W. P. Henry, Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 21, No. 4 (June 1968).
Excerpt: The author starts from the premiss that “the most important aspect of the study of history is . . . historiography.” He means by this that the most important aspect of… More

Philosophy and Politics I and II

– Victor Gourevitch, "Philosophy and Politics I," Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Sep. 1968). Victor Gourevitch, "Philosophy and Politics I," Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Dec. 1968).
Excerpt: On the face of it, On Tyranny is a straightforward commentary on Xenophon’s dialogue Hiero or Tyrannicus. As such it is a very model of thoroughness and learning. It amply… More

Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas

– Quentin Skinner, "Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas," History and Theory, Vol. 8, No. 1 (1969).
Excerpt: My aim is to consider what I take to be the basic question which necessarily arises whenever an historian of ideas’ confronts a work which he hopes to understand. Such an… More

Machiavelli and Classical Literature

– "Machiavelli and Classical Literature," Review of National Literatures, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Spring 1970).
Excerpt: I shall speak somewhat less briefly on La Vita de Castruccio Castracani da Lucca, For this graceful little work reveals Machiavelli s moral taste in a more direct or simple and… More

A Giving of Accounts

– "A Giving of Accounts," with Jacob Klein, The College, Vol. 22, No. 1 (April 1970).
Excerpt: I must begin with an introduction to my introduction.  Some faculty members, I was told, had misgivings about this meeting.  The only ones which are justified concern this… More

Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973

– Allan Bloom, "Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973," Political Theory, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Nov. 1974).
Excerpt: On October 18, 1973, Leo Strauss died in Annapolis, Maryland.  He was one of the very small number of men whose thought has had seminal influence in political theory in our time.… More

Xenophon’s Anabasis

– "Xenophon's Anabasis," Interpretation, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Spring 1975).  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: Xenophon’s Anabasis seems today to be regarded universally as his most beautiful book. I do not quarrel with this judgment. I merely wonder what its grounds are. The question… More

Strauss’s Machiavelli

– Harvey C. Mansfield, "Strauss's Machiavelli," Political Theory, Nov. 1975, pp. 372-384.
Excerpt: Thoughts on Machiavelli is an exoteric book, that is, a book containing much that is appreciably esoteric to any ordinary reader stated m a manner either so elusive or so… More

Philosophy and History

– Nathan Tarcov, "Philosophy and History: Tradition and Interpretation in the Work of Leo Strauss, Polity, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Autumn, 1983).
Excerpt: The necessity of critical or philosophical activity is increased by the literary character shared to different degrees and purposes by most of the writings Strauss… More

Exoteric Teaching

– "Exoteric Teaching," Interpretation, Vol. 14, No. 1 (January 1986).  Reprinted in The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism.
Excerpt: The distinction between exoteric (or public) and esoteric (or secret) teaching is not at present considered to be of any significance for the understanding of the thought of the… More

Leo Strauss and the History of Political Philosophy

– Nathan Tarcov and Thomas L. Pangle, "Epilogue: Leo Strauss and the History of Political Philosophy," History of Political Philosophy, Third Edition, ed. Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, University of Chicago Press, 1987.
Excerpt: A student using this book might legitimately and naturally wonder about the approach to the teaching of political philosophy presented here. The originator of this approach was the… More

On a Certain Critique of “Straussianism”

– Nathan Tarcov, "On a Certain Critique of 'Straussianism,'" The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: This article examines a certain critique of what I will take the liberty of calling “Straussianism,” a critique which raises questions I believe are worth discussing,… More

Leo Strauss and Nietzsche

– Laurence Lampert, Leo Strauss and Nietzsche, University of Chicago Press, 1996.
From the publisher: The influential political philosopher Leo Strauss has been credited by conservatives with the recovery of the great tradition of political philosophy stretching back to… More

Leo Strauss and the Possibility of Philosophy

– Stanley Rosen, "Leo Strauss and the Possibility of Philosophy, The Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 53, No. 3 (Mar. 2000).
Excerpt: To put this in another way, Strauss articulated a public teaching that was not necessarily in conflict with his private views on philosophy, but which served as an ambiguous… More

Guide for the Perplexed

– Steven J. Lenzner, "Guide for the Perplexed," Claremont Review of Books, 23 August 2007.
Excerpt: In recent years, as the name of the political philosopher Leo Strauss has grown increasingly familiar, his teaching has become increasingly misunderstood. Indeed, the portrait… More

The Truth about Leo Strauss: Political Philosophy and American Democracy

– Catherine and Michael Zuckert, The Truth about Leo Strauss: Political Philosophy and American Democracy, University of Chicago Press, 2008.
From the publisher: Is Leo Strauss truly an intellectual forebear of neoconservatism and a powerful force in shaping Bush administration foreign policy? The Truth about Leo Strauss puts… More

The Cambridge Companion to Leo Strauss

– The Cambridge Companion to Leo Strauss, ed. Steven B. Smith, Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Table of Contents: 1. Introduction: Leo Strauss today by Steven B. Smith 2. Leo Strauss: the outlines of a life by Steven B. Smith 3. Leo Strauss and the theologico-political predicament… More

Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography

– Daniel Tanguay, Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography, Yale University Press, 2011.
From the publisher: Since political theorist Leo Strauss’ death in 1973, American interpreters have heatedly debated his intellectual legacy. Daniel Tanguay recovers Strauss from the… More

Crisis of the Strauss Divided

– Harry V. Jaffa, Crisis of the Strauss Divided: Essays on Leo Strauss and Straussianism, East and West, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2012.
From the publisher: “Leo Strauss (1899-1973) was the  greatest mind in political philosophy in the twentieth century, and possibly in other centuries as well. That, I am well aware, is… More

Leo Strauss’s Defense of the Philosophic Life ed. Rafael Major

– Leo Strauss's Defense of the Philosophic Life, ed. Rafael Major, University of Chicago Press, 2013.
From the publisher: Leo Strauss’s What Is Political Philosophy? addresses almost every major theme in his life’s work and is often viewed as a defense of his overall philosophic… More

The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss by Laurence Lampert

– Laurence Lampert, The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss, University of Chicago Press, 2013.
From the publisher: The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss takes on the crucial task of separating what is truly important in the work of Leo Strauss from the ephemeral politics associated… More