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

by Janssens, David

• ISBN13: 9780791473924
• ISBN10: 0791473929
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-01
• Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr

Summary

Praised as a major political thinker of the twentieth century and vilified as the putative godfather of contemporary neoconservatism, Leo Strauss (1899-1973) has been the object of heated controversy both in the United States and abroad. This book offers a more balanced appraisal by focusing on Strauss's early writings. By means of a close and comprehensive study of these texts, David Janssens reconstructs the genesis of Strauss's thought from its earliest beginnings until his emigration to the United States in 1937. He discusses the first stages in Strauss's grappling with the "theological-political problem," from his doctoral dissertation on Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi to his contributions to Zionist periodicals, from his groundbreaking study of Spinoza's critique of religion to his research on Moses Mendelssohn, and from his rediscovery of medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophy to his research on Hobbes. Throughout, Janssens traces Strauss's rediscovery of the Socratic way of life as a viable alternative to both modern philosophy and revealed religion. Book jacket.

Author Biography

David Janssens is Assistant Professor of Philosophy of Law at Tilburg University in the Netherlands

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations	p. ix
Leo Strauss's Early Years: Chronology of Major Events and Writings (1899-1937)	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
"In the Grip of the Theological-Political Predicament"	p. 7
The Theological-Political Problem and the Jewish Question	p. 7
Back to Reality: Emancipation, Assimilation, and Zionism	p. 8
"God and Politics"	p. 11
Biblical Politics, Biblical Science, and the New Theology	p. 18
Quaestio Iuris: The Legacy of Spinoza	p. 26
The Shadow of Spinoza	p. 31
"A Humanly Incomprehensible Betrayal"	p. 31
Before the Tribunal: Biblical Science and the Critique of Religion	p. 37
Spinoza's Twofold Strategy	p. 42
Maimonides: The Limits of Reason and the Interest in Revelation	p. 54
Calvin: "Like Clay in the Potter's Hand"	p. 62
Happiness and Ridicule: The Epicurean Connection	p. 66
Farewell to Spinoza	p. 71
The Second Cave	p. 77
The Crisis of the Enlightenment: Jacobi, Mendelssohn, and the Pantheism Controversy	p. 77
Atheism, Intellectual Probity, and the Love of Truth	p. 90
The Socratic Question and the Fate of Philosophy	p. 96
The Order of Human Things	p. 109
Medieval Enlightenment: Nomos and Platonic Politics	p. 109
Between the Lines: The Art of Writing	p. 123
"A Horizon Beyond Liberalism": The Debate with Carl Schmitt	p. 133
Socrates and the Leviathan	p. 149
Hobbes's Motive	p. 149
"The Right Order of Society"	p. 153
Fighting the Kingdom of Darkness	p. 165
Epilogue	p. 173
The Surface and the Core	p. 173
The Problem of Socrates	p. 177
Machiavelli's Oblivion	p. 187
Natural Right and the Socratic Question	p. 190
From Jerusalem to Athens (and Back)	p. 192
Notes	p. 195
Bibliography	p. 241
Index	p. 251
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