Tag: Democracy

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Books

Review of John Dewey: German Philosophy and Politics

– Review of German Philosophy and Politics (Revised Edition), by John Dewey, Social Research, Vol. 10, No. 4 (November 1943).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: In attacking German philosophy Dewey defends not simply the cause of democracy, and international order, but a particular interpretation of that cause–his own philosophical… More

Review of Heinrich A. Rommen: The State in Catholic Thought

– Review of The State in Catholic Thought: A Treatise in Political Philosophy, by Heinrich A. Rommen, Social Research, Vol. 13, No. 2 (June 1946).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Anyone who wishes to judge impartially of the legitimacy or the prospects of the great design of modern man to erect the City of Man on what appear to him to be the ruins of the… More

On the Intention of Rousseau

– "On the Intention of Rousseau," Social Research, Vol. 14, No. 4 (December 1947).
Excerpt: The antiquarian controversy about the intention of Rousseau conceals a political controversy about the nature of democracy. Modern democracy might seem to stand or fell by the… More

Review of Yves R. Simon: Philosophy of Democratic Government

– Review of Philosophy of Democratic Government, by Yves R. Simon, New Scholasticism, Vol. 26, No. 3 (July 1952).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Simon’s philosophy of democratic government is chiefly, not to say exclusively, concerned with modern democracy, i.e., with a kind of democracy which operates within… 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

An Epilogue

– "An Epilogue," Essays on the Scientific Study of Politics, ed. Herbert J. Storing, Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1962.  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: There is, then, more than a mysterious pre-established harmony between the new political science and a certain version of liberal democracy. The alleged value-free analysis of… More

Replies to Schaar and Wolin

– "Replies to Schaar and Wolin," American Political Science Review, Vol 57, No. 1 (March 1963).
Excerpt: The critique of my Epilogue by Professors Schaar and Wolin is distinguished by the fact that it is, as far as I know, the most acrimonious critique hitherto written of what I stand… More

Perspectives on the Good Society

– "Perspectives on the Good Society," Criterion, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Summer 1963).  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: Not a few people who have come to despair of the possibility of a decent secularist society, without having been induced by their despair to question secularism as such, escape… More

Preface to the English Translation of Spinoza’s Critique of Religion

– "Preface to the English Translation," Spinoza's Critique of Religion, trans. E. M. Sinclair, Schocken Books, 1965.  Reprinted in English translation of Spinoza's Critique of Religion and Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: It is safer to try to understand the low in the light of the high than the high in the light of the low. In doing the latter one necessarily distorts the high, whereas in doing the… More

Preliminary Observations on the Gods in Thucydides’ Work

– "Preliminary Observations on the Gods in Thucydides' Work," Interpretation, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Winter 1974).  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: For Thucydides the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians was, as he expected from the beginning, the most noteworthy motion so to speak, the greatest motion of all times… 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

Leo Strauss and the American Founding

– Thomas G. West, "Leo Strauss and the American Founding," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Strauss devoted his life to the recovery of classical political philosophy. The incentive for this enterprise was what Strauss called “the crisis of the West.” That… More

Existentialism

– "Existentialism," Interpretation, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Spring 1995).  Talk given in February 1956 at the University of Chicago.  Reprinted in The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism.
The deepest root of the west is a specific understanding of being, a specific experience of being. The specifically western experience of being led to the consequence that the ground of… More

German Nihilism

– "German Nihilism," Interpretation, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Spring 1999).  Corrections to "German Nihilism," Interpretation, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Fall 2000).  Talk given on February 26, 1941 at the New School for Social Research.
Excerpt: What is nihilism? And how far can nihilism be said to be a specifically German phenomenon? I am not able to answer these questions; I can merely try to elaborate them a little. For… More

Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism

– Steven B. Smith, Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism, University of Chicago Press, 2007.
From the publisher: Interest in Leo Strauss is greater now than at any time since his death, mostly because of the purported link between his thought and the political movement known as… More

The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews

– "The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews," Review of Politics, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Fall 2007).  Talk given on November 7, 1943, at the New School for Social Research.
Excerpt: A nation may take another nation as its model: but no nation can presume to educate another nation which has a high tradition of its own. Such a presumption creates resentment, and… 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

Straussianism

– Mark C. Henrie, "Straussianism," First Principles, 5 May 2011.
Excerpt: Straussianism is the term used to denote the research methods, common concepts, theoretical presuppositions, central questions, and pedagogic style characteristic of the large… 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

Essays

Review of John Dewey: German Philosophy and Politics

– Review of German Philosophy and Politics (Revised Edition), by John Dewey, Social Research, Vol. 10, No. 4 (November 1943).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: In attacking German philosophy Dewey defends not simply the cause of democracy, and international order, but a particular interpretation of that cause–his own philosophical… More

Review of Heinrich A. Rommen: The State in Catholic Thought

– Review of The State in Catholic Thought: A Treatise in Political Philosophy, by Heinrich A. Rommen, Social Research, Vol. 13, No. 2 (June 1946).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Anyone who wishes to judge impartially of the legitimacy or the prospects of the great design of modern man to erect the City of Man on what appear to him to be the ruins of the… More

On the Intention of Rousseau

– "On the Intention of Rousseau," Social Research, Vol. 14, No. 4 (December 1947).
Excerpt: The antiquarian controversy about the intention of Rousseau conceals a political controversy about the nature of democracy. Modern democracy might seem to stand or fell by the… More

Review of Yves R. Simon: Philosophy of Democratic Government

– Review of Philosophy of Democratic Government, by Yves R. Simon, New Scholasticism, Vol. 26, No. 3 (July 1952).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Simon’s philosophy of democratic government is chiefly, not to say exclusively, concerned with modern democracy, i.e., with a kind of democracy which operates within… 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

An Epilogue

– "An Epilogue," Essays on the Scientific Study of Politics, ed. Herbert J. Storing, Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1962.  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: There is, then, more than a mysterious pre-established harmony between the new political science and a certain version of liberal democracy. The alleged value-free analysis of… More

Replies to Schaar and Wolin

– "Replies to Schaar and Wolin," American Political Science Review, Vol 57, No. 1 (March 1963).
Excerpt: The critique of my Epilogue by Professors Schaar and Wolin is distinguished by the fact that it is, as far as I know, the most acrimonious critique hitherto written of what I stand… More

Perspectives on the Good Society

– "Perspectives on the Good Society," Criterion, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Summer 1963).  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: Not a few people who have come to despair of the possibility of a decent secularist society, without having been induced by their despair to question secularism as such, escape… More

Preface to the English Translation of Spinoza’s Critique of Religion

– "Preface to the English Translation," Spinoza's Critique of Religion, trans. E. M. Sinclair, Schocken Books, 1965.  Reprinted in English translation of Spinoza's Critique of Religion and Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: It is safer to try to understand the low in the light of the high than the high in the light of the low. In doing the latter one necessarily distorts the high, whereas in doing the… More

Preliminary Observations on the Gods in Thucydides’ Work

– "Preliminary Observations on the Gods in Thucydides' Work," Interpretation, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Winter 1974).  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: For Thucydides the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians was, as he expected from the beginning, the most noteworthy motion so to speak, the greatest motion of all times… 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

Leo Strauss and the American Founding

– Thomas G. West, "Leo Strauss and the American Founding," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Strauss devoted his life to the recovery of classical political philosophy. The incentive for this enterprise was what Strauss called “the crisis of the West.” That… More

Existentialism

– "Existentialism," Interpretation, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Spring 1995).  Talk given in February 1956 at the University of Chicago.  Reprinted in The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism.
The deepest root of the west is a specific understanding of being, a specific experience of being. The specifically western experience of being led to the consequence that the ground of… More

German Nihilism

– "German Nihilism," Interpretation, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Spring 1999).  Corrections to "German Nihilism," Interpretation, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Fall 2000).  Talk given on February 26, 1941 at the New School for Social Research.
Excerpt: What is nihilism? And how far can nihilism be said to be a specifically German phenomenon? I am not able to answer these questions; I can merely try to elaborate them a little. For… More

Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism

– Steven B. Smith, Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism, University of Chicago Press, 2007.
From the publisher: Interest in Leo Strauss is greater now than at any time since his death, mostly because of the purported link between his thought and the political movement known as… More

The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews

– "The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews," Review of Politics, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Fall 2007).  Talk given on November 7, 1943, at the New School for Social Research.
Excerpt: A nation may take another nation as its model: but no nation can presume to educate another nation which has a high tradition of its own. Such a presumption creates resentment, and… 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

Straussianism

– Mark C. Henrie, "Straussianism," First Principles, 5 May 2011.
Excerpt: Straussianism is the term used to denote the research methods, common concepts, theoretical presuppositions, central questions, and pedagogic style characteristic of the large… 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

Commentary

Review of John Dewey: German Philosophy and Politics

– Review of German Philosophy and Politics (Revised Edition), by John Dewey, Social Research, Vol. 10, No. 4 (November 1943).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: In attacking German philosophy Dewey defends not simply the cause of democracy, and international order, but a particular interpretation of that cause–his own philosophical… More

Review of Heinrich A. Rommen: The State in Catholic Thought

– Review of The State in Catholic Thought: A Treatise in Political Philosophy, by Heinrich A. Rommen, Social Research, Vol. 13, No. 2 (June 1946).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Anyone who wishes to judge impartially of the legitimacy or the prospects of the great design of modern man to erect the City of Man on what appear to him to be the ruins of the… More

On the Intention of Rousseau

– "On the Intention of Rousseau," Social Research, Vol. 14, No. 4 (December 1947).
Excerpt: The antiquarian controversy about the intention of Rousseau conceals a political controversy about the nature of democracy. Modern democracy might seem to stand or fell by the… More

Review of Yves R. Simon: Philosophy of Democratic Government

– Review of Philosophy of Democratic Government, by Yves R. Simon, New Scholasticism, Vol. 26, No. 3 (July 1952).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Simon’s philosophy of democratic government is chiefly, not to say exclusively, concerned with modern democracy, i.e., with a kind of democracy which operates within… 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

An Epilogue

– "An Epilogue," Essays on the Scientific Study of Politics, ed. Herbert J. Storing, Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1962.  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: There is, then, more than a mysterious pre-established harmony between the new political science and a certain version of liberal democracy. The alleged value-free analysis of… More

Replies to Schaar and Wolin

– "Replies to Schaar and Wolin," American Political Science Review, Vol 57, No. 1 (March 1963).
Excerpt: The critique of my Epilogue by Professors Schaar and Wolin is distinguished by the fact that it is, as far as I know, the most acrimonious critique hitherto written of what I stand… More

Perspectives on the Good Society

– "Perspectives on the Good Society," Criterion, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Summer 1963).  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: Not a few people who have come to despair of the possibility of a decent secularist society, without having been induced by their despair to question secularism as such, escape… More

Preface to the English Translation of Spinoza’s Critique of Religion

– "Preface to the English Translation," Spinoza's Critique of Religion, trans. E. M. Sinclair, Schocken Books, 1965.  Reprinted in English translation of Spinoza's Critique of Religion and Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: It is safer to try to understand the low in the light of the high than the high in the light of the low. In doing the latter one necessarily distorts the high, whereas in doing the… More

Preliminary Observations on the Gods in Thucydides’ Work

– "Preliminary Observations on the Gods in Thucydides' Work," Interpretation, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Winter 1974).  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: For Thucydides the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians was, as he expected from the beginning, the most noteworthy motion so to speak, the greatest motion of all times… 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

Leo Strauss and the American Founding

– Thomas G. West, "Leo Strauss and the American Founding," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Strauss devoted his life to the recovery of classical political philosophy. The incentive for this enterprise was what Strauss called “the crisis of the West.” That… More

Existentialism

– "Existentialism," Interpretation, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Spring 1995).  Talk given in February 1956 at the University of Chicago.  Reprinted in The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism.
The deepest root of the west is a specific understanding of being, a specific experience of being. The specifically western experience of being led to the consequence that the ground of… More

German Nihilism

– "German Nihilism," Interpretation, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Spring 1999).  Corrections to "German Nihilism," Interpretation, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Fall 2000).  Talk given on February 26, 1941 at the New School for Social Research.
Excerpt: What is nihilism? And how far can nihilism be said to be a specifically German phenomenon? I am not able to answer these questions; I can merely try to elaborate them a little. For… More

Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism

– Steven B. Smith, Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism, University of Chicago Press, 2007.
From the publisher: Interest in Leo Strauss is greater now than at any time since his death, mostly because of the purported link between his thought and the political movement known as… More

The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews

– "The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews," Review of Politics, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Fall 2007).  Talk given on November 7, 1943, at the New School for Social Research.
Excerpt: A nation may take another nation as its model: but no nation can presume to educate another nation which has a high tradition of its own. Such a presumption creates resentment, and… 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

Straussianism

– Mark C. Henrie, "Straussianism," First Principles, 5 May 2011.
Excerpt: Straussianism is the term used to denote the research methods, common concepts, theoretical presuppositions, central questions, and pedagogic style characteristic of the large… 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

Multimedia

Review of John Dewey: German Philosophy and Politics

– Review of German Philosophy and Politics (Revised Edition), by John Dewey, Social Research, Vol. 10, No. 4 (November 1943).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: In attacking German philosophy Dewey defends not simply the cause of democracy, and international order, but a particular interpretation of that cause–his own philosophical… More

Review of Heinrich A. Rommen: The State in Catholic Thought

– Review of The State in Catholic Thought: A Treatise in Political Philosophy, by Heinrich A. Rommen, Social Research, Vol. 13, No. 2 (June 1946).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Anyone who wishes to judge impartially of the legitimacy or the prospects of the great design of modern man to erect the City of Man on what appear to him to be the ruins of the… More

On the Intention of Rousseau

– "On the Intention of Rousseau," Social Research, Vol. 14, No. 4 (December 1947).
Excerpt: The antiquarian controversy about the intention of Rousseau conceals a political controversy about the nature of democracy. Modern democracy might seem to stand or fell by the… More

Review of Yves R. Simon: Philosophy of Democratic Government

– Review of Philosophy of Democratic Government, by Yves R. Simon, New Scholasticism, Vol. 26, No. 3 (July 1952).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Simon’s philosophy of democratic government is chiefly, not to say exclusively, concerned with modern democracy, i.e., with a kind of democracy which operates within… 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

An Epilogue

– "An Epilogue," Essays on the Scientific Study of Politics, ed. Herbert J. Storing, Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1962.  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: There is, then, more than a mysterious pre-established harmony between the new political science and a certain version of liberal democracy. The alleged value-free analysis of… More

Replies to Schaar and Wolin

– "Replies to Schaar and Wolin," American Political Science Review, Vol 57, No. 1 (March 1963).
Excerpt: The critique of my Epilogue by Professors Schaar and Wolin is distinguished by the fact that it is, as far as I know, the most acrimonious critique hitherto written of what I stand… More

Perspectives on the Good Society

– "Perspectives on the Good Society," Criterion, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Summer 1963).  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: Not a few people who have come to despair of the possibility of a decent secularist society, without having been induced by their despair to question secularism as such, escape… More

Preface to the English Translation of Spinoza’s Critique of Religion

– "Preface to the English Translation," Spinoza's Critique of Religion, trans. E. M. Sinclair, Schocken Books, 1965.  Reprinted in English translation of Spinoza's Critique of Religion and Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: It is safer to try to understand the low in the light of the high than the high in the light of the low. In doing the latter one necessarily distorts the high, whereas in doing the… More

Preliminary Observations on the Gods in Thucydides’ Work

– "Preliminary Observations on the Gods in Thucydides' Work," Interpretation, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Winter 1974).  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: For Thucydides the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians was, as he expected from the beginning, the most noteworthy motion so to speak, the greatest motion of all times… 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

Leo Strauss and the American Founding

– Thomas G. West, "Leo Strauss and the American Founding," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Strauss devoted his life to the recovery of classical political philosophy. The incentive for this enterprise was what Strauss called “the crisis of the West.” That… More

Existentialism

– "Existentialism," Interpretation, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Spring 1995).  Talk given in February 1956 at the University of Chicago.  Reprinted in The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism.
The deepest root of the west is a specific understanding of being, a specific experience of being. The specifically western experience of being led to the consequence that the ground of… More

German Nihilism

– "German Nihilism," Interpretation, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Spring 1999).  Corrections to "German Nihilism," Interpretation, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Fall 2000).  Talk given on February 26, 1941 at the New School for Social Research.
Excerpt: What is nihilism? And how far can nihilism be said to be a specifically German phenomenon? I am not able to answer these questions; I can merely try to elaborate them a little. For… More

Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism

– Steven B. Smith, Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism, University of Chicago Press, 2007.
From the publisher: Interest in Leo Strauss is greater now than at any time since his death, mostly because of the purported link between his thought and the political movement known as… More

The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews

– "The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews," Review of Politics, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Fall 2007).  Talk given on November 7, 1943, at the New School for Social Research.
Excerpt: A nation may take another nation as its model: but no nation can presume to educate another nation which has a high tradition of its own. Such a presumption creates resentment, and… 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

Straussianism

– Mark C. Henrie, "Straussianism," First Principles, 5 May 2011.
Excerpt: Straussianism is the term used to denote the research methods, common concepts, theoretical presuppositions, central questions, and pedagogic style characteristic of the large… 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

Teaching

Review of John Dewey: German Philosophy and Politics

– Review of German Philosophy and Politics (Revised Edition), by John Dewey, Social Research, Vol. 10, No. 4 (November 1943).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: In attacking German philosophy Dewey defends not simply the cause of democracy, and international order, but a particular interpretation of that cause–his own philosophical… More

Review of Heinrich A. Rommen: The State in Catholic Thought

– Review of The State in Catholic Thought: A Treatise in Political Philosophy, by Heinrich A. Rommen, Social Research, Vol. 13, No. 2 (June 1946).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Anyone who wishes to judge impartially of the legitimacy or the prospects of the great design of modern man to erect the City of Man on what appear to him to be the ruins of the… More

On the Intention of Rousseau

– "On the Intention of Rousseau," Social Research, Vol. 14, No. 4 (December 1947).
Excerpt: The antiquarian controversy about the intention of Rousseau conceals a political controversy about the nature of democracy. Modern democracy might seem to stand or fell by the… More

Review of Yves R. Simon: Philosophy of Democratic Government

– Review of Philosophy of Democratic Government, by Yves R. Simon, New Scholasticism, Vol. 26, No. 3 (July 1952).  Reprinted in What Is Political Philosophy?
Excerpt: Simon’s philosophy of democratic government is chiefly, not to say exclusively, concerned with modern democracy, i.e., with a kind of democracy which operates within… 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

An Epilogue

– "An Epilogue," Essays on the Scientific Study of Politics, ed. Herbert J. Storing, Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1962.  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: There is, then, more than a mysterious pre-established harmony between the new political science and a certain version of liberal democracy. The alleged value-free analysis of… More

Replies to Schaar and Wolin

– "Replies to Schaar and Wolin," American Political Science Review, Vol 57, No. 1 (March 1963).
Excerpt: The critique of my Epilogue by Professors Schaar and Wolin is distinguished by the fact that it is, as far as I know, the most acrimonious critique hitherto written of what I stand… More

Perspectives on the Good Society

– "Perspectives on the Good Society," Criterion, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Summer 1963).  Reprinted in Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: Not a few people who have come to despair of the possibility of a decent secularist society, without having been induced by their despair to question secularism as such, escape… More

Preface to the English Translation of Spinoza’s Critique of Religion

– "Preface to the English Translation," Spinoza's Critique of Religion, trans. E. M. Sinclair, Schocken Books, 1965.  Reprinted in English translation of Spinoza's Critique of Religion and Liberalism Ancient and Modern.
Excerpt: It is safer to try to understand the low in the light of the high than the high in the light of the low. In doing the latter one necessarily distorts the high, whereas in doing the… More

Preliminary Observations on the Gods in Thucydides’ Work

– "Preliminary Observations on the Gods in Thucydides' Work," Interpretation, Vol. 4, No. 1 (Winter 1974).  Reprinted in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy.
Excerpt: For Thucydides the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians was, as he expected from the beginning, the most noteworthy motion so to speak, the greatest motion of all times… 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

Leo Strauss and the American Founding

– Thomas G. West, "Leo Strauss and the American Founding," The Review of Politics, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 1991).
Excerpt: Strauss devoted his life to the recovery of classical political philosophy. The incentive for this enterprise was what Strauss called “the crisis of the West.” That… More

Existentialism

– "Existentialism," Interpretation, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Spring 1995).  Talk given in February 1956 at the University of Chicago.  Reprinted in The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism.
The deepest root of the west is a specific understanding of being, a specific experience of being. The specifically western experience of being led to the consequence that the ground of… More

German Nihilism

– "German Nihilism," Interpretation, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Spring 1999).  Corrections to "German Nihilism," Interpretation, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Fall 2000).  Talk given on February 26, 1941 at the New School for Social Research.
Excerpt: What is nihilism? And how far can nihilism be said to be a specifically German phenomenon? I am not able to answer these questions; I can merely try to elaborate them a little. For… More

Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism

– Steven B. Smith, Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism, University of Chicago Press, 2007.
From the publisher: Interest in Leo Strauss is greater now than at any time since his death, mostly because of the purported link between his thought and the political movement known as… More

The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews

– "The Re-education of Axis Countries Concerning the Jews," Review of Politics, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Fall 2007).  Talk given on November 7, 1943, at the New School for Social Research.
Excerpt: A nation may take another nation as its model: but no nation can presume to educate another nation which has a high tradition of its own. Such a presumption creates resentment, and… 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

Straussianism

– Mark C. Henrie, "Straussianism," First Principles, 5 May 2011.
Excerpt: Straussianism is the term used to denote the research methods, common concepts, theoretical presuppositions, central questions, and pedagogic style characteristic of the large… 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