The Truth About Leo Strauss

by Zuckert, Catherine H.; Zuckert, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780226993324
• ISBN10: 0226993329
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-09-25
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

Is Leo Strauss truly an intellectual forebear of neoconservatism and a powerful force in shaping Bush administration foreign policy?The Truth about Leo Straussputs this question to rest, revealing for the first time how the popular media came to perpetuate such an oversimplified view of such a complex and wide-ranging philosopher. More important, it corrects our perception of Strauss, providing the best general introduction available to the political thought of this misunderstood figure. Catherine and Michael Zuckertboth former students of Straussguide readers here to a nuanced understanding of how Strauss's political thought fits into his broader philosophy. Challenging the ideas that Strauss was an inflexible conservative who followed in the footsteps of Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Carl Schmitt, the Zuckerts contend that Strauss's signature idea was the need for a return to the ancients. This idea, they show, stemmed from Strauss's belief that modern thought, with its relativism and nihilism, undermines healthy politics and even the possibility of real philosophy. Identifying this view as one of Strauss's three core propositionsAmerica is modern, modernity is bad, and America is goodthey conclude that Strauss was a sober defender of liberal democracy, aware of both its strengths and its weaknesses. The Zuckerts finish, appropriately, by examining the varied work of Strauss's numerous students and followers, revealing the originsrooted in the tensions within his own thoughtoftheir split into opposing camps. Balanced and accessible,The Truth about Leo Straussis a must-read for anyone who wants to more fully comprehend this enigmatic philosopher and his much-disputed legacy.

Author Biography

Catherine and Michael Zuckert are both Nancy R. Dreux Professors of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame. Catherine is the author of two books, including Postmodern Platos, also published by the University of Chicago Press. Michael is the author of three books, including Natural Rights and the New Republicanism.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction Mr. Strauss Goes to Washington?	1	(26)
PART I: STRAUSS
The Return to the Ancients: An Overview of the Straussian Project	27	(31)
Strauss's Philosophical Project	30	(2)
Strauss's Departure from Heidegger and Nietzsche	32	(3)
Strauss's Analysis of the Contemporary Crisis	35	(1)
Strauss's Way Back to Ancient Political Philosophy	36	(10)
Strauss's Rereading of the History of Philosophy	46	(3)
Political Philosophy and Politics	49	(9)
Strauss---Modernity---America	58	(22)
Proposition 1: America is Modern	58	(6)
Proposition 2: Modernity is Bad	64	(10)
Proposition 3: America is Good	74	(5)
Straussian Ambiguities	79	(1)
Leo Strauss as a Postmodern Political Thinker	80	(35)
The Problem of the Postmodern	81	(2)
Strauss's Postmodernism: After Nietzsche	83	(8)
Strauss's Postmodernism: After Heidegger	91	(11)
Derridean Postmodernism	102	(9)
Contrasting the Two Forms of Postmodernism	111	(4)
The Man Who Gave Away the Secrets: On Esotericism	115	(40)
How Shadia Drury Read Leo Strauss	116	(4)
On Esotericism and Noble Lies	120	(16)
Looking for Secrets in all the Wrong Places	136	(19)
Leo Strauss---Teacher of Evil?	155	(42)
Strauss and the ``Tyrannical Teaching''	158	(8)
The Thrasymachean Thesis	166	(11)
The Machiavellian Moment	177	(7)
Strauss and Schmitt	184	(13)
PART II: STRAUSSIANS
The Emergence of the Straussian Study of America	197	(31)
Water Berns: The Virtuous Republic	202	(7)
Martin Diamond: Finding the Founding	209	(8)
Harry Jaffa: Aristotelianizing America	217	(11)
Straussian Geography	228	(33)
East Coast	231	(8)
West Coast	239	(13)
Midwest	252	(9)
Conclusion	261	(8)
Notes	269	(32)
Index	301