Crisis of the Strauss Divided Essays on Leo Strauss and Straussianism, East and West

by Jaffa, Harry V.

• ISBN13: 9781442217119
• ISBN10: 1442217111
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-08-24
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

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 a judgment I share with very few, if any. So writes Harry V. Jaffa in his epilogue to this volume, Crisis of the Strauss Divided, including an extensive unpublished essay entitled Straussian Geography: A Memoir and Commentary, brings together a collection of Jaffa's published arguments defending and explaining that judgment, written during the 40 years since Strauss's death. The volume includes arguments of those who have disagreed with Jaffa about Strauss's teaching and about the nature of political philosophy. These wide ranging exchanges explore many of the great themes of political philosophy and, in particular, the implications of Strauss's thinking for America and modern civilization.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Straussian Geography: A Memoir and Commentary	p. 1
Leo Strauss Remembered	p. 39
Political Philosophy and Honor: The Leo Strauss Dissertation Award	p. 45
The Legacy of Leo Strauss: Review of Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy	p. 57
The Platonism of Leo Strauss: A Reply to Harry Jaffa	p. 81
"The Legacy of Leo Strauss" Defended	p. 89
The Politics of Moderation: Strauss's Esotericism	p. 103
Leo Strauss's Churchillian Speech and the Question of the Decline of the West	p. 105
Response to M. F. Burnyeat's "Sphinx Without a Secret": A Review of Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy in the New York Review of Books (May 30, 1985)	p. 117
"Dear Professor Drury"	p. 121
Crisis of the Strauss Divided: The Legacy Reconsidered	p. 131
Leo Strauss, the Bible, and Political Philosophy	p. 149
Dear Sirs:	p. 163
"Relativism"	p. 167
Strauss at 100	p. 185
Moral Order in the Western Tradition: Harry Jaffa's Grand Synthesis of Athens, Jerusalem, and Peoria	p. 195
Too Good to be True?: A Reply to Robert Kraynak's "Moral Order in the Western Tradition: Harry Jaffa's Grand Synthesis of Athens, Jerusalem, and Peoria"	p. 223
Jaffa's New Birth: Harry Jaffa at Ninety	p. 241
A Reply to Michael Zuckert's "Jaffa's New Birth: Harry Jaffa at Ninety"	p. 259
Epilogue	p. 271
Index	p. 273
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