Leo Strauss (September 20, 1899 - October 18, 1973), the political philosopher, was born in Kirchhain (near Marburg), Hessen, Germany, to Hugo Strauss and Jennie David, and raised in an Orthodox Jewish home. At the age of 17 he became a political Zionist. Strauss received his higher education within the German university system, notably at Marburg, Hamburg, Giessen, and Berlin. He was influenced by the work of Martin Heidegger, Max Weber, and Thomas Hobbes.
In 1932, Strauss married Marie Bernsohn in Paris, France. In 1934 he moved to England where, in 1935, he accepted a position at the Cambridge University. In 1937, Strauss moved to the United States where he became a Research Fellow in the Department of History at Columbia University. Between 1938 and 1948, he lectured in political science at the New School for Social Research. In 1944, he became a US citizen and from 1949 until 1973, Strauss served as a member of the faculty of the University of Chicago, chiefly as a professor of political philosophy.
In Saul Bellow's quasi-biographical novel Ravelstein, the minor character Davarr is reputed to have been based on Strauss.
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Straussianism, as Strauss's philosophy has come to be called,
is predicated on the belief that 20th century relativism has
been responsible for the deterioration of
modern society. According to its advocates, modern egalitarianism devalues philosophy by rejecting anything that
cannot be understood by the "common man". Straussians believe that "universal principles of right" exist and are knowable through careful study of those
philosophers who believed in such principles, especially Plato
and Aristotle. They reject the modern tendency to interpret
the ancient philosophers within the context of the era in which
they lived, believing that universal principles transcend
historicity.
Straussians also believe that the public is not capable of understanding
or accepting the universal principles of right. Therefore, they
posit the rectitude of the "noble lie" which shields the uneducated
public from knowledge of unpalatable truth, for which the public
might hold the philosopher to blame (as happened with Socrates).
This leads to a dichotomy, within Straussianism, between
esoteric and exoteric knowledge. Esoteric knowledge
is reserved for the elite philosopher while exoteric knowledge is
carefully crafted by the philosopher for everyone else, and often
obfuscates the true understanding and intention of the philosopher.
Indeed, Strauss thought that the texts of truly "great" philosophers
contained both an esoteric and an exoteric level and that the
esoteric component was accessible only to the reader willing to
carefully analyze and resolve subtle, inherent contradictions within
the text. Machiavelli, he believed, was such a philosopher.
Among Strauss's better known protégés is Allan Bloom. Straussianism has been supported and extended to the modern political arena by
neoconservatives, notably Michael Ledeen and Paul Wolfowitz, who pursued his Doctorate in political science at the
University of Chicago during Strauss's tenure there.
Philosophy
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