6 x 10.long new - cambridge university...

index

Note to index: An n following a page number denotes a note on that page.

Abraham (biblical), 272, 274Abstraction, 239, 250251,

257258Abundance, technology-based,

204206Academy for the Science of Judaism,

16Acquisitiveness, 130, 204, 212Action: of dialogue, 28; lack of

universally valid rules of, 33, 210;life of action, 9

Action theory, 135Adikia (unjust), 71Alfarabi, 11; On the Attainment of

Happiness, 107, 158159;esotericism of, 102103; faith andreason and, 94; influence on Strauss,141142, 163164; intellectualforebears of, 160161; MiddlePlatonism and, 161; The Philosophyof Plato, 107108, 160, 161, 163; onPlatos style of writing, 162163;The Political Governments, 108,159160, 161; The Principles of theOpinions of the Inhabitants of theVirtuous City, 156, 160, 161;reading of Aristotle, 107108;reading of Plato, 107108, 158163;on ruler of ideal state, 156;Summary of Platos Laws, 162163;The Virtuous ReligiousCommunity, 108, 160, 161

Allegory, of cave, 149Altmann, Alexander, 16Anabasis (Xenophon), 7475Ancient rationalism, 95

Ancients and moderns, quarrel of, 1,2, 2829, 115

Anti-Semitism, 43, 203Anti-utopianism, 197Apeirokalia (vulgarity), 261Apology (Plato), 67, 246247Aquinas, Thomas, 58Arabic enlightenment. See Alfarabi;

Averroes; AvicennaArendt, Hannah, 15The Argument and Action of Platos

Laws (Strauss), 40Aristotelian political science, 223,

237Aristotle, 33, 5758; Alfarabi reading

of, 107108; democracy of, 198199;dualisms in, 284; eternity of worldand, 104105; as founder of politicalscience, 196n; megalopsychosnotion of, 23; on natural right(s), 58;Nicomachean Ethics, 284;Platonic-Aristotelian physics, 219;on political nature of man, 243;political philosophy of, 195196; onpopular decision making, 198; onpower and authority, 246; theory ofpride and, 24; on whole and parts,221

Aristocracy, 205Artifacts, 129Assimilation, of German Jews,

171172Atheism: as academic fashion, 178; as

orthodoxy of the day, 272;philosophers linked with, 9798;political, 230; Strauss and, 146

293

Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org

Cambridge University Press978-0-521-87902-6 - The Cambridge Companion to Leo StraussEdited by Steven B. SmithIndexMore information

http://www.cambridge.org/9780521879026http://www.cambridge.orghttp://www.cambridge.org

294 Index

Athens: democracy of, 198199;Jerusalem contrasted with, 1,3637, 52; trial and execution ofSocrates, 244, 246247

Augustine, 273Aussenmoral, 84n, 86Austen, Jane, 23, 126, 127Authorial anonymity, 7475Authoritarianism, 1920, 27,

185186, 227Authority-power distinction,

246Autonomous insight, 235236Autonomy, 273Average everydayness, 123Averroes, 165; on ideal state, 156157;

Strauss on, 5758Avicenna, 21, 40; On the Divisions of

the Rational Sciences, 153

Barker, Ernest, 23Barth, Karl, 4, 45, 48Beatitudo, 129Becoming, and Being, 258259Behavioralism, 9, 215, 217Being, 121, 126, 130, 258259Benardete, Seth, 3334, 280,

283284Benjamin, Walter, 2122Bentley, Arthur, 224225Bernsohn, Marie (Miriam), 18Best way of life, 29Beyond Good and Evil (Nietzsche),

138Bible: agreement with Greek

philosophy, 109110; challenge tophilosophy in, 268; creation in, 112;disagreement with Greekphilosophy, 110111; esotericreading of, 85; infinite progressnotion in, 96; as word of God vs.history, 111112

Biblical morality, 85Binnenmoral, 84n, 8586Bipolarity, 257Bloom, Allan, 3334, 36, 260n, 280nBlumenberg, Hans, 124126Bourgeois virtues, 213Buber, Martin, 16

Caesar, Julius, 186Capitalism, 229Careful reading, 1, 28Cassirer, Ernst, 14, 20Causality, 102Cautious writing, persecution as

reason for, 17, 27, 137n, 165, 168Cave allegory, 149Choice, 251Christianity: German identity and,

144; Hobbes and, 47; asirrationalism, 92; reason and, 94;science and, 234; Spinoza and,4647. See alsoTheologico-political problem

Churchill, Winston, 23, 186187,189n, 191, 196, 243

Citizens and Statesmen (Nichols),278280

City: best, 134, 243, 245, 246; ascontext for philosophy, 246;morality and, 176; Plato on, 8687,243; return to, vs. return to nature,130; tension with philosophy, 58;virtue and, 130

The City and Man (Strauss), 117Civic equality, 210211Civic virtues, 213Civilization: modern, 182183;

natural character of, 182183;Strauss on, 181182, 183

Civil liberties, 199Classical philosophy: conservatism

of, 134; modern philosophy vs., 194,261; as progressive, 95. See alsoAncients and moderns, quarrel of;Political philosophy; Specificphilosophers

Classical political philosophy: as freefrom fanaticism, 197; restoration of,56, 9

Classical restraint, 257Closed society, 57, 187188Close reading, 7, 264. See also

Esoteric traditionCohen, Hermann, 14; critique of

Spinoza, 43, 46, 138139, 139n; onMaimonides, 139n; neo-Kantianismand, 1415, 4445; relationship with




Index 295

Strauss, 14, 59n; Strauss and, 16,20

Cohen und Maimuni (Strauss), 59nCold War, 223, 257Commentaries (Caesar), 186Common good, 224226Common sense, 148n, 219220;

German nihilism and, 184, 185Communism, 177, 223, 228Complacency of democracy, 9, 190,

214Concealment. See esoteric traditionConcept of the Political (Schmitt),

175Concepts, as mental constructs,

216217Conformity, 9, 256Conscience, 254Conservatism: classical, 134;

neo-conservatism, 5, 263. See alsoSchmitt, Carl

Constant, Benjamin, 251Constitutionalism, 193. See also

Liberal democracyCosmology, 5, 73, 131, 195Cosmopolitanism, Strauss on,

2930Creation, 104n, 110111; ex nihilo,

125, 130Crisis of the House Divided (Jaffa),

277278Crisis of the West, 109, 150,

237240Crito (Plato), 69Cropsey, Joseph, 30, 212Current wisdom, 261

Dannhauser, Werner, 34Davis, Michael, 284286Decionismus, 32Decisionism, 125The Decisive Treatise (Averroes), 155Declaration of Independence,

206207Decline of the West. See crisis of the

WestDeism, 9798Democracy: Athenian, 198199;

classical vs. modern, 198200;

complacency of, 9, 190, 214;educating for, 262; mass conformityof, 9, 256; original sense of term,211, 256; philistinism of, 9; place ofreligion in, 17. See also Liberaldemocracy

Democrat, liberal, 197Democratic orthodoxy, 227228Der Begriff der Politischen (The

Concept of the Political Schmitt),18

Descartes, Rene, 220Desedimentation, 120121, 133134Desire vs. duty, 245246Dialectic: end of history, 8990, 243;

persuasive speech vs., 252Dialectic of the Enlightenment,

Strauss on, 27Dialogic form, in Xenophons Hiero

and, 28Diamond, Martin, 213Die Religionskritik Spinozas

(Spinozas Critique of Religion):Strauss, Leo, 16, 41

Disenchantment, 149150Disguised speech, in Works and Days,

74Diversity vs. individualism, 251Divine immanence. See pantheismDivine law, 110, 151; Greek notion of,

40, 162; human law vs., 155; Jewishlaw as not, 42; legal interpretationof, 55; revealed religion and, 53

Divine order, 98Divine wisdom, 77, 78Doctrine of esotericism (double

truth), 3Doksa (opinion), 123Dostoevsky, Fyodor, 23, 127Double-truth doctrine, 3. See also

Esoteric traditionDual conception of law, 51Dualism: in Aristotle, 284; of praxis

and physics, 132

Economics, 219220Economies of scarcity, 204205Economy, technology-based, of

abundance, 204206




296 Index

Education: liberal democracy and,203, 204; political philosophy and,262. See also Liberal education

The Education of Cyrus (Xenophon),68

Egalitarianism: Americanrepublicanism and, 213; in Greekdemocracy, 199; in liberaldemocracy, 210211, 212;permissive, 227; recognition and,255. See also Equality

Einstein, Albert, 148149Elite/vulgar distinction, 165Elitism and mass culture, 256Empire, 185, 189190, 257Empiricism, 221End of history, 8990, 243Enlightenment, medieval

enlightenment; American polityand, 211; compromise withorthodoxy, 143; critique of religion,44, 46, 144; dialectic of, 27;orthodoxy and, 143; progress idealand, 2; radical, 142143; rejection ofreligion, 144; on self-sufficiency ofreason, 56; Strausss critique of,8990, 91, 143144; Strausssdefinition of modern, 142; theologyand, 4; underlying premise of,120

Epicureanism, 40n, 51, 144147Epithumia (desire), 72Equality: civic, 210211. See also

EgalitarianismEsotericism: of Alfarabi, 102103;

exoteric teaching/esoteric learning,103; of Hesiod, 7475; of Plato, 67,67n, 68, 75; purposes of, 8586; ofStrauss, 138; Strausss innovation inhistory of, 8889; of Thucydides,67. See also Esoteric tradition

Esoteric tradition: authorsconcealment in, 7475; biblicalsubstructure of, 85; double truth in,3; medieval writing and, 150;purposes of esotericism, 8586;Strausss first discoveries of, 25. Seealso Esoteric tradition, recovery of;

Esoteric tradition, restorationthrough Kuzari of Halevi

Esoteric tradition, recovery of, 1, 7,6376; criticism of, 3; on dialogue,69; on Greek esotericism, 6569,7071, 7374; on Maimonides andideal lawgiver as prophet, 6364; onMaimonides and The LiteraryCharacter of the Guide for thePerplexed, 65; on Maimonides asAverroist, 64; on Maimonidesstechnique, 6465; on Socrates asethicist, 6869

Esoteric tradition, restoration throughKuzari of Halevi, 7688; advice onintentions of philosopher, 8283;audience of Kuzari, 8182; Halevistimidity about philosophy, 81;hidden views, 84; influence ofphilosophy on Halevi, 7980;Kuzari as instrument of seduction,8081; law of reason, 7677, 8388;literary setting as defense ofJudaism, 77; main argument, 82;moral minimum, 8388; noble-basedistinction, 8485; nomoi concept,8284, 88; open indifference toreligion, 82; reasons Halevi omitsdisputation of conflict betweenphilosophy and religion, 7779;religion and, 82; remarkablerestraint concept, 88

Essays on the Scientific Study ofPolitics (Strauss), 215

Essence, 216Eternity, desire for, 249Ethical neutrality, 32Ethics, 219, 232; Socrates and, 6869,

7273Etymology, of modern, 119Examined life, 255Exotericism, 63nExoteric Teaching (Strauss), 27Exoteric teaching/esoteric learning,

103Exoteric writing, 168; Strausss claim

to rediscovery of, 172Ezekiel (biblical), 103




Index 297

Facts-values distinction, 32, 122, 230nFaith: Alfarabi on reason and, 94; leap

of, 54, 5556; reason vs., 9394, 101,121; revelation as blind faith, 54

Falasifa (philosophers): importance ofPlatos Laws to, 152153; on Law,154; on man as political being, 156;philosopher king of, 152; on religionas political, 152

Farabis Plato (Strauss), 158163Faustic science, 183The Federalist Papers, 208, 209, 212Fiqh (jurisprudence), 55First sailing concept, 285286Freedom: necessity vs., 245246; as

self-determination of reason, 130Freedom of thought, 27Free Jewish House of Study (Freies

Judisches Lehrhaus), 1516Free will, 112Fundamentalism, religious, 9091, 94

Gadamer, Hans-Georg, 15Gang of robbers, 5658, 8485Genealogy, 268269Genesis, 272German historicism, 32, 179181German idealism, 33, 176179German Jews, 202German Nihilism lecture (Strauss),

8, 2526; alternatives to liberaldemocracy and, 177; atheism and,178; audience of, 172173; aversionto liberalism and, 178179;Churchill referred to in, 180;common sense and Germannihilism, 184, 185; defining Germannihilism, 181; goal of Germannihilism, 183184; historicism and,179181; ideals relevant to Germannihilism, 176179; interests ofStrauss during period of, 173174;morality focus of German nihilism,175176; on National Socialism,174; opening question of, 174;political and military context of,173; political/institutionalweakness of liberal cause and,

177178; prejudice against liberaldemocracy and, 177; romanticismand, 183; self-destruction of reasonand, 179181; self-sacrifice ideal,184; success of German nihilism,181; true statesman and, 189190;ultimate motive of Germannihilism, 175; venue for, 172;virtuous mean in German nihilism,185186

Germany: historicism and, 32,179181; radicalism of Germanthought, 184185; Spinozasrehabilitated reputation in, 1617.See also German Jews

Glatzer, Nahum, 15, 165God is dead, 109Gods/gods: awe and fear of, 88, 145;

monotheism and, 110, 111;obedience to, 268. See alsoRevelation

Golden mean, 5152Good: public, 224226; revelation of,

9798Good and evil, 120Good life, 98Gorgias (Plato), 282283Gourevitch, Victor, 34Great-souled man, 23, 278Greek esotericism, 6569, 7071,

7374Greek philosophy. See classical

philosophyGuide of the Perplexed (Maimonides),

35; creation account in, 104;incorporeality of God, 104; Jewishpremise of, 105; literary character ofTorah, 103

Guttmann, Julius, 16, 139; death of,3435; on medieval Jewishrationalism, 4849; reading ofMaimonides, 2021; on Strausssindifference to revelation, 54

Halevi, Judah, 60, 76n; gang of robbersanalogy, 5657; on law of reason,5658; on orthodoxy, 274275;Strauss on conversion of, 7980.




298 Index

Halevi, Judah (cont.)See also Esoteric tradition,restoration through Kuzari ofHalevi

Hamilton, Alexander, 209Happiness, 258; in life after death,

107; as obedience to divinelaws/gods, 163; philosophy asultimate, 163; satisfactionas, 254

Heavenly city, 134, 243, 245, 246Hegel, Georg Wilhelm F.: on

dialectical logic, 124; on modern,119; Wissenschaft and, 99

Heidegger, Martin: ancientphilosophy and, 126, 133; averageeverydayness of, 123; Being and,121, 126, 130; on end of history ofphilosophy, 109; on human nature,100; literary style of, 122;ontological question and, 123;phenomenology and, 120121;Platonism and, 134, 135136; onscientific knowledge, 46; Strausson, 15, 20, 134, 184n

Hermeneutics, of Strauss, 37,141142, 166

Herodotus, 6667Higher criticism, 115Historical relativism: crisis of the

West link with, 195; natural rightand, 3233; Strauss on, 180n, 195

Historical turn, in philosophy, 109Historicism: defining, 2, 123124;

German, 32, 179181; natural rightsand, 3233; radical, 33. See alsoNihilism

Historicist ontology, 133History: ancient vs. modern concepts

of, 99; overcoming traditional withdialectical logic, 124; of politicalthought, 2

Hitler, Adolf, Strauss on rise of, 24Hobbes, Thomas: concept of power,

129; conquest of nature, 179;critique of theory of pride, 24;doctrine of right, 130, 277; asfounder of liberal modernity, 2324;on morality as rights, 98; on

scientific knowledge, 46, 220n; useof authority of Scriptures, 47

Horwitz, Robert, 226How Farabi Read Platos Laws

(Strauss), 108nHow to Begin to Study The Guide of

the Perplexed (Strauss), 66n,168170; numerical symbolism is,168169; secrecy in, 168

Humanism, Strauss on, 237Human nature, 98100, 132Husik, Isaac, 191n, 192nHusserl, Edmund, 14; comparison of

European to other cultures, 238;defense of rationalism, 216;desedimentation doctrine of,120121, 132, 133; humanisticsocial science of, 237; life-world(Lebensewelt) of, 123;phenomenology of, 238; onscientific understanding of world,239; as secular thinker, 121

Idealism, philosophical. See Germanidealism

Idealism, political, 249250. See alsoUtopianism

Ideology, 124; as distinct fromphilosophy, 244

Idol worship, 104Individualism: diversity vs., 251;

Lockean, 251; moderating, 255Inequality, natural, 205Intellectual honesty, 169Intelligence, and social science, 225Internalization (Verinnerlichung),

4445International law, 224International relations, 224Iraq, 211212Irony, 61, 64, 68, 78, 164165Isaac (biblical), 272, 274Islam, fundamentalist, 94Is/ought distinction, 32, 217n,

230Israel, state of, 3436, 115

Jacob (biblical), 272, 274Jacobi, Friedrich H., 14, 149150




Index 299

Jaffa, Harry V., 25n, 30, 271, 276,277278, 280

Jefferson, Thomas, 210Jerusalem and Athens, 1; as different

ways of life, 3637; irreconcilabilityof, 52. See also Theologico-politicalproblem

Jerusalem and Athens (Strauss),58n, 59n

Jewish Aristotelians, 5758Jewish law, as political, 4243Jewish Question, 17, 3839; in

Germany, 203; as human problem,116. See also Theologico-politicalproblem

Johnson, Alvin, 24, 2728Judaism and Jewish identity:

assimilation vs. separateness,171172; as chosen people, 38;compatibility with modernity, 43;double truth doctrine and, 3;Maimonides and, 138, 165;Mendelssohn on, 43; monotheismand, 43, 139; as political, 4243;revelation as core of, 38; Spinoza on(see Spinoza, Baruch)

Justice, 110Just society, and war, 209210

Kalokagathia, 6970Kant, Immanuel, 248Kantianism, 33Kierkegaard, Sren, 54King, philosopher, 102, 107Klein, Jacob: on mathematics and

common sense, 148n; relationshipwith Strauss, 1415, 25, 27, 3132

Knowledge, Strauss on problem of,221222

Kojeve, Alexandre, 22, 248, 249250,258259

Kraus, Paul, 8, 1819Kuzari (Halevi), parable of robbers in,

5657

Lampert, Laurence, 269271Lasswell, Harold, 226Law: classical conception of, 4950;

divine origin of (see divine law);

dual conception of, 51; asframework for philosophy, 4950;medieval enlightenment on,147148; revelation as revealed law,49, 50, 59; rule of law in liberaldemocracy, 197198. See alsoPolitical philosophy, and law

Law, Jewish, 4243Lawler, Peter, 273Laws (Plato), 67, 70, 70n, 71;

conception of law in, 4950; hiddenreferences in, 7071; importance toFalsifia, 152153; Strauss onfear-drink in, 70n; theology aspart of politics in, 71

Leap of faith, revelation as, 54, 5556Left, political, 201The Legitimacy of the Modern Age

(Blumenberg), 124126Leibowitz, Nechama, 1516Leo Strauss and the

Theological-Political Problem(Meier), 267269

Letters (Plato), disguised author in, 75Liberal democracy, 89; as almost best

regime, 193194, 227; in America,206210; classical politicalphilosophy and, 193200;constitutionalism in, 193; coreprinciple of, 202; discrimination in,200, 201; education and, 203, 204;liberal education and (see Liberaleducation); Lockes influence,207208, 212213; Machiavellisinfluence, 209; mass democracy vs.,211; middle class in, 198, 199, 203,205; nihilism and, 190; officialprinciples of, 201; original meaningof, 4748; perennial problems in,210214; pre-modern thought and,208209; psychological realism and,197; public-private distinction,200203; rule of law and justice in,197198; self-restraint and, 212,213; spiritedness and, 211212;state-society distinction in, 199;technological challenges in, 203206;theoretical crisis of, 194196; inWeimar Germany, 202203




300 Index

Liberal education, 250262; curricularissues in, 260; mass culture and,211, 256; mission of, 252, 256;modern liberal tradition vs.,252253; nature of, 258; opennessof, 259; quest for wisdom, 259260;responsibility vs., 260261; risk in,262; technology-based abundanceaffect on, 204

Liberalism, as limited government,201

Liberal self-assertion, acquisitivenessand, 212

Liberal virtues, 213Life after death, 107108, 112113Life of action, as separate from study

of politics, 9Lincoln, Abraham, 277278The Literary Character of the Guide

for the Perplexed (Strauss), 65;audience for Guide, 167; concealedpoints of view in, 166; doublemeaning and, 166167; esotericcharacter of, 166;metaphoric-systematic equivalenceand, 166167

Locke, John, 129130, 207208, 251Logical positivism, 223Love of truth, 169170Lowith, Karl, 15, 19, 20, 23, 185186

Machiavelli, Niccolo:theologico-political predicamentand, 3738; as true founder ofmodernity, 3738, 128

Magid, Henry, 30Mahdi, Muhsin S., 137nMaimonides: as Averroist, 64,

164165; conception of prophecy,5051; on dual conception of Law,51; esoteric writing of, 6465, 65n,66n, 102103; golden mean and, 52;on man as political being, 156;metaphoric-systematic equivalenceand, 166167; moderate/radicalreading of, 51; numericalsymbolism of, 169n; philosopherking of, 67n; as prophet, 6364;rationalism and, 142143; on reason

and revelation, 114; onreason-revelation distinction, 155;on sacrifice, 165n; secret words in,70; Strauss on meaning ofphilosophy for, 5051; ontheoretical-practical philosophydistinction, 105106; theoreticalview of Law, 106

Maleness/femaleness, in Greekworks, 7475

Marx, Karl: on abandonment ofSocratic insight, 249; on modernscientific knowledge, 99

Masks and unmasking, 165Mass conformity, 9, 256Mass ideology, 28Massignon, Louis, 18Mathematical paradigm of rationality,

132Mathematics, 120, 129, 148nMedieval enlightenment, 147151; on

disenchantment, 149150; onelitist/esoteric character ofphilosophy, 150; on law, 147148;on nature, 148149; Platonists and,21; on theoretical life, 151. See alsoAlfarabi; Averroes; Avicenna;Maimonides

Medieval rationalism, 4850, 142144Megalopsychos, 23Meier, Heinrich, 5354, 113n,

267269Memorabilia (Xenophon), 6869,

7273Mendelssohn, Moses, 16Mental constructs, concepts as,

216217Meritocracy, 205Metaphoric-systematic equivalence,

166167Metaphysics, 5, 4950, 121, 123, 195Middle class, in liberal democracy,

198, 199, 203, 205Middle Platonism, Alfarabi and, 161Moderation: of ancients, 52; Socratic,

52; Strauss on, 189nModern, etymology of, 119Modernity, 2, 78; anti-theological ire

and, 97; excesses of moderns vs.




Index 301

moderation of ancients, 52; featuresof, 96100; Hobbes as founder ofliberal, 2324; as metaphysical, 121;morality and, 177; rehabilitation ofeternity by Strauss, 124128;Strauss on Hobbes and, 128129;Strauss on Machiavelli and, 128;Strauss on Rousseau and, 130131;theoretical presuppositions on,119121; waves of, 2, 33. See alsoEnlightenment

Modern vs. classical philosophy, 261Monotheism, 43, 139Morality: new, 175; political,

209210; as rights, 98; slave, 175;undermining of, 109; universal, 56,57, 5859, 188

Moral limits, and acquisitiveness, 204Moral virtue, 278Moses (biblical), 51Multiversity, 251Muses in Hesiod, 74

Nationalism, 29, 176, 211National Socialism, Strauss response

to, 19, 4748Natural aristocracy, 255Natural conscience, 196197Natural inequality, 205Natural order, 98Natural Right and History (Strauss),

3233, 46; criticism of Weber in,215; focus of, 3233; on naturalrights, 58, 131; on possibility ofrevelation, 144; on the right life, 53;on Rousseaus critique ofmodernity, 130; on secularization,126; on universal morality, 56,57

Natural right(s), 32; Aristotle on, 58;historicism and, 3233;Platonic-Socratic view on, 58;Strauss on, 131; Thomistic doctrineof natural right, 58

Natural science, distrust of commonsense, 220

Natural world, 239Nature: ancients direct access to, 124;

conquest of nature, 179; modern

manipulation of, 95; rationalismand, 148149; return to, 130

Nazism. See German Nihilismlecture

Necessity vs. freedom, 245246Neoclassicism, 258259Neo-conservatism, 5, 263Neo-Kantianism, 1415, 4445, 133,

230Neo-Roman imperial ideology, 19New Birth of Freedom (Jaffa), 278New morality, 175New School for Social Research, 24Nichols, Mary, 278280, 284Nicomacheam Ethics (Aristotle), 284Nietzsche, Friedrich: Beyond Good

and Evil, 138; on esotericism, 91n;God is dead, 109; on historicaland scientific progress, 100;influence on Strauss, 20, 146147,171; on kinship with Spinoza, 157n;modernity and, 91, 124; nihilismand, 129130, 178; as prophet ofcreativity, 100n, 128; on Stoics,148n; on will to power, 100

Nihilism: definitions of, 2; reason asleading to, 149150; relativism and;Weber and, 231. See also GermanNihilism lecture

Nobility of spirit, 228Noble-base distinction, 56, 8485, 181Noetic heterogeneity doctrine, 132Nomos/nomoi, 6667, 189nNote on Maimonides Letter on

Astrology (Strauss), 106

Oakeshott, Michael, 23Obedience, 147148, 163, 268Objectivity, 222Oligarchy, 205On the Attainment of Happiness

(Alfarabi), 107, 158159On the Divisions of the Rational

Sciences (Avicenna), 21Ontology, 64, 73, 119, 123, 126, 133On Tyranny: An Interpretation of

Xenophons Hiero (Strauss),2729

Opinion, 243244, 256257




302 Index

Orr, Susan, 271272Orthodoxy, 9091, 274275;

democratic, 227228;Enlightenment compromise with,143; Strauss on, 143144

Orthodoxy, Jewish, 143144; minimalbeliefs of, 144n

Pangle, Thomas, 280Pantheism, of Spinoza, 43Passions, replacement of virtues with,

120Permissive egalitarianism, 227Persecution, as reason for cautious

writing, 17, 27, 137n, 165, 168Persecution and the Art of Writing

(Strauss), 163168; allusive style of,164; Introduction to, 8990

Persecution and the Art of Writing(Strauss), 27

Persuasive speech, vs. dialectic, 252Phaedo (Plato), 7071; hidden

references in, 7071Phenomenology, 121122, 216Philosopher king, 102, 107Philosophical life, as best life,

231232Philosophy: elitist/esoteric character

of, 150; original meaning of, 101; asquest for truth, 5253; Strauss ondanger of/danger to, 8081; Strausson demise of, 52; as ultimatehappiness, 163

Philosophy and Law (Philosophie undGesetz; Strauss), 20, 4849, 5051,138, 142144, 149150

The Philosophy of Plato (Alfarabi),107108, 160, 161, 163

Physics: modern, 219;Platonic-Aristotelian, 219

Pines, Shlomo, 35Plato: Alfarabi on writing style of,

162163; Apology, 67, 246247;connection with Herodotus, 6667;corpus as unified whole, 69, 70;Crito, 69; on duality of Athenianfreedom, 198; esoteric writing in,67, 67n, 68, 75; initiation of

dangerous game, 87n;Platonic-Aristotelian physics, 219;on virtue and justice, 71n, 282283.See also Laws (Plato); Republic(Plato)

Platonic mania, 122Platonic political tradition,

137138Pluraform truth, 251Poetry, 74, 75, 92, 130, 159, 182Pogroms, 1314Politeia (mixed government), 89The Political Governments (Alfarabi),

108, 159160, 161Political morality, 209210Political nature of man, 243Political parties, 224Political philosophy: classical,

195196; defining, 243245;impossibility of return to, 117118;as not politicized philosophy, 254;relation of social life, 77; restored touniversity study, 9. See alsoPolitical philosophy, and law;Political philosophy, modern

Political philosophy, and law,151157; Guttmann criticism of,151152; legal foundation ofphilosophy, 154155; limitations ofhuman knowledge, 153154;philosophic foundation of religiouslaw, 156157; religious lawsubsumed under politicalphilosophy, 152153

Political philosophy, modern:advantage of classical over,123124; freedom as definition ofgood life, 98; Strauss on beginningsof, 47

The Political Philosophy of Hobbes:Its Basis and Its Genesis (Strauss),2324, 41

Political science: behavioralrevolution in, 215; definitions of,153, 243. See also Political science,new

Political science, new, 218229;atheism of, 230; denial of




Index 303

differences between regimes, 225;distrust of common sense in,219220; facts-values distinction in,226228, 229230, 231; failure tooppose communism, 228;formalism of, 223; neutralperspective of, 220221;nonpolitical vs. democraticcharacter of, 224226;philosophy-science distinction in,219220; rejection of existence ofcommon good in, 224226; valuesin, 229; vulgarism of, 224,229

Political virtue, 255256Politics (Aristotle), 284286Politics, as separate from life of

action, 9Politics of Philosophy (Davis),

284286Politics of regulation, 256Polytheism, 9798Power-authority distinction, 246Praxis: reduction to theory, 46; theory

and, 51, 121Pre-modern thought, return to, 7,

9394; ancient rationalism and, 95;on basis of new understanding ofparts, 109118; creation account,104; elevation of freedom andhistory, 98100; failure of modernproject and, 96100; flaws inunderstanding of the tradition,101108; incorporeality of God and,104; literary character of Torah, 103;modern progress as cumulative,9596; modern progress as socialand scientific gains, 96; problematicfoundations of belief in progress,9496; progress as different fromancient rationalism, 95; revelationand ancient philosophy, 101;revelation in terms of law,101103

Prevailing wisdom, 261Pride, theory of, 24Primacy of political philosophy,

3

The Principles of the Opinions of theInhabitants of the Virtuous City(Alfarabi), 156, 160, 161

Probity, 145146Problem of modernity. See modernityProgress: ancient rationalism and, 95;

as cumulative, 9596;Enlightenment and, 2; essentialhuman traits and, 98100; modernconcept vs. ancient rationalism, 95;problematic foundations of beliefin, 9496; as social and scientificgains, 96

Progressive theory of history, 38Progress or Return (Strauss), 7; on

revelation, 113nPropaganda, 28; power of, 38Prophecy, 40, 159Prophetic knowledge, 4344Prophets, unarmed, 38Prudence, 195196Psychological realism, 197Publications, of Strauss, 10Public good, 224226Public law, 224Public-private distinction, 89, 17Public restraints, 204Pure forms doctrine, 132

Querrelle des anciens et desmodernes. See Ancients andmoderns, quarrel of

Quid sit deus question, 37

Radical Enlightenment, 142143Radical historicism, 33Rank-ordering, 123, 129, 133134,

136, 219Rationalism: ancient, 95; meaning of,

46; medieval, 4850, 142144;modern, 149; nature and, 148149;philosophical, 2021; rejection ofbiblical theology, 9798

Rawls, John, 10, 211Reading: historicist manner of, 28;

between lines, 5Reading Leo Strauss (Smith), 113nRealism, psychological, 197




304 Index

Reason: faith vs., 9394, 101, 121;freedom and, 130; self-sufficiencyof, 56

Reason and revelation:incompatibility of, 9394, 97, 111,113114; Maimonides on, 114. Seealso Faith; Rationalism; Revelation

Reason and Revelation (Strauss),269, 274

Recognition concept, 254, 257Redemption, 17, 96Reductionism, 211The Re-education of Axis Countries

Concerning the Jews (Strauss), 26Regime, classical theory of, 187Regimes: denial of differences

between, 225Relativism, skeptical, 258259Relevation, as irreconcilable with

philosophy, 4546Religion: Enlightenment critique of,

44, 46, 144; fundamentalism and,9091, 94; as imitation ofphilosophy, 158159; moderndemocracy and, 17; as permanenthuman need, 153; philosophy of, 49;Strauss on modern critique of,4546. See also Revelation

Republic (Plato): best city in, 134,245; bios polit. and bios philos. in,7172; cave image in, 67n, 7980;dikaiosune (justice), 71, 116117,283284; double meaning in, 71;philosopher king in, 152, 156;thumos (spirit or heart), 7172

Responsibility, vs. liberal education,260261

Restatement on Xenophons Hiero(Strauss), 117n, 215216

Restraints: classical, 257; sacred,196197; self-restraint, 212

Revelation: as basis for moral life,8788; as basis of universalmorality, 56; on best life, 235; asblind faith, 54; conflict with reason(see Reason and revelation); as coreof Judaism, 38; decisionist notion ofrevelation, 5556; function of, 106;irreconcilability with philosophy,

4546, 7779; Jewish/Islamic andChristian notions of, 5455; leap offaith as defining, 54; politicaltheology and; possibility of, 143,144; restored authority forrevelation, 90; as revealed law, 49,50, 59, 101103; Strauss on, 38,5455, 59n, 90. See also Orthodoxy;Religion

Rhetoric, ancient vs. modern,126127

Riezler, Kurt, 2930Right, political. See ConservatismRight life, 53Rights. See Natural right(s)Romanticism, 183Rosen, Stanley, 3334, 269271Rosenthal, Franz, 160, 161Rosenzweig, Franz, 4, 1516, 20, 45,

48, 115Rousseau, Jean Jacques, critique of

modernity, 130Ruling class, 205, 208

Sabianism (idol worship), 104Sacred restraints, 196197Schleiermacher, Friedrich, 151nSchmitt, Carl, 18, 19, 125, 175, 225Scholastic theology, 55, 9394Scholem, Gershom, 20, 2122; on

Preface to Spinozas Critique ofReligion, 3940; relationship withStrauss, 20, 2122, 3435

Science: authoritative character of,230; controlling for sake of politicalvirtue, 131; Faustic, 183; modernscience, 182

Scientific truth, 4445Scripture. See BibleSecond Sailing (Benardete), 281282Second sailing concept, 281282,

285286Secret words, 64, 70Secularism, 121, 124125, 126, 208Self-admiration, 254Self-assertion, 212Self-construction, 129Self-contempt, 228Self-control, 6970




Index 305

Self-deception, 254Self-determination of reason,

130Selfishness, 127, 183184, 213, 225,

226228, 234nSelf-knowledge, 280Self-preservation, 111Self-realization, 53Self-respect, 228Self-restraint, 212Shulsky, Abram, 225Simon, Herbert, 226Sin, 113, 235nSkeptical relativism, 258259Skepticism, 5, 258; of Strauss, 56,

270Slave morality, 175Slavery, 285286Smith, Steven, 113n, 207Social reality, 236Social responsibility, 27Social sciences: Aristotelian, 218;

classical, 217218; criticism ofmodern, 216217; criticism ofpositive, 215216, 229237; critiqueby Strauss, 9; facts-valuesdistinction, 122; goal of, 229;is-ought distinction, 32;Platonic-Xenophontic, 217218;prescientific concepts and, 216217;proper task of, 190; Weberian, 218

Socrates: claim of ignorance of Divinewisdom, 77, 78; esoteric practicesof, 7071; as ethicist, 6869, 7273;hidden in Xenophon, 68;immortality and, 7071; on justice,85n, 282283; question of the rightlife, 67n; of revelation, 112113;second sailing concept of, 281282,285286; skepticism of, 149;sophrosune of, 70; trial and deathof, 244, 246247; of Xenophon vs.Plato, 72

Socratic moderation, 52Socratic Straussians. See Zetetic

StraussiansSophrosune, 67, 6970Speier, Hans, 26Spengler, Oswald, 2, 180, 181n, 183

Spinoza, Baruch: biblicalhermeneutics of, 139141; Cohenscritique of, 16, 43, 46, 138139,139n; on Jewish law, 4243; onMaimonides, 4344;metaphoric-systematic equivalencein, 166167; on modern democracy,1718; reassessment of, 1617;Strauss on, 1617, 4344

Spinozas Critique of Religion(Strauss), 3839, 43, 5051, 129,265266

Spiritedness, 211212The Spirit of Sparta or the Taste of

Xenophon (Strauss), 26, 6970Steiner, George, 45Storing, Herbert, 226Strauss, Leo: academic career, 15; at

Academy for the Science ofJudaism, 16; as Anglophile, 2223;art of careful reading of, 28;authoritarianism and, 1920; onbest way of life, 29; on Churchill,23; classical political philosophy of,26; on conflict between ancientsand moderns, 2829; oncosmopolitanism, 2930; death of,40; desedimentation doctrine and,120121, 122123, 133134; ondialectic of the Enlightenment, 27;early life, 1314; early publications,16; education of, 13, 1415;embraces Zionism, 14; in England,2224; esoteric tradition, firstdiscoveries of, 25; esoteric writingof, 138; in exile in Paris, 1822; onfailure of Weimar to protect Jews,1718, 19; final years, 3640; firstgeneration of students, 30; onGerman nihilism, 2526; onhistoricist manner of reading texts,29; on Hobbes, 2324; in Israel,3436; literary style of, 122;marriage of, 18; on medieval Jewishand Islamic thought, 2627;military service, 14; on Nazimovement, 19; at New School forSocial Research, 24, 2527, 2930;in New York, 2430;




306 Index

Strauss, Leo (cont.)notoriety of, 120; phenomenologyof, 121122; philosophic orientationin 1930s of Strauss, 157158;philosophic orientation of, 138; onpolitical justification of philosophy,2021; propositions on philosophyand religion, 266267, 268, 269271;rejection of neo-Kantianism, 20;religious upbringing, 13; scholarlypath of, 138142; scholarly path of,early phase, 138141; scholarly pathof, late phase, 141142; scholarlypath of, middle phase, 141; secondgeneration of students, 3334; assecular thinker, 121; sister of,1819; study on Maimonides, 20; atUniversity of Chicago, 3134; atUniversity of Chicago, terms ofappointment, 31; U.S. citizenship,172; Zionism and, 14, 4344, 89,115. See also Straussians

Straussianism, 10Straussians, 9; Aristotelian, 276280;

beginning of school of, 3334;Decisionists, 267, 269271, 274;defining, 263265; East Coast, 276;Faith-based Straussians, 267,271274; on morality, 275286;Platonic, 280286; Rationalists,267269, 274; on religion, 265275;West Coast Faith-based, 271272,276; Zetetics, 267, 274275

Studies in Platonic PoliticalPhilosophy (Strauss), 280

Subjectivity, 123Sufficient rationality principle, 125Sufficient reason principle, 266Summary of Platos Laws (Alfarabi),

162163

Talmud, 55Tanguay, Daniel, 191n, 192nTawil, 154nTawney, R. H., 23, 24Technology, as weapon of modern

tyranny, 28, 201, 248249Technology-based economy of

abundance, 204206

Teleologism, 131, 132, 194, 285286Thales principle, 74Theocracy, 41Theogeny (Hesiod), 7374Theologico-political problem, 35,

67, 1718; diagnostic meaning of,41, 4248, 50; importance toStrauss, 45; irreconcilability withphilosophy, 4546; Jerusalem andAthens theme, 1, 3637, 52; law asframework for philosophy, 4950;Machiavelli and, 3738; moderncritique of religion and, 4546;reconstructive meaning of, 41, 42,4860; response to rise of NationalSocialism, 4748; Strausss thoughton relevancy of, 6162

Theology, reawakening of, 54Theon of Smyrna, 161Theory of pride, 24Theosophy, 51Thomism, 33, 58Thomism and Aristotelianism (Jaffa),

271Thoughts on Machiavelli (Strauss),

3738Thucydides, esotericism of, 67Thumos (spirit or heart), 7172, 211,

283284Torah, 51, 103, 106Totalitarianism, 201, 248Tradition, 248Treatise on the Art of Logic

(Maimonides), 105106Truth, love of, 169170Tyranny, 249250; ideological

justification of, 99; modern, 2829;Universal and Final Tyrant, 8990

Universal and Final Tyrant, 8990Universalism, 256257University: as industrial machine,

251252. See also Liberal educationUrbanity. See CityUtopianism: anti-utopianism, 197;

moderating, 255

Value conflicts, 235nValue-free, science as, 148




Index 307

Value judgments, 224, 226Value neutrality, 12Values: facts-values distinction,

226228, 229230, 231; legislating,270; nihilist, 121; as objects ofdesire, 229; ranking,78

Virtue, 262; bourgeois, 213; asenlightened self-interest, 203;passions replacement of,120

The Virtuous Religious Community(Alfarabi), 108, 160, 161

Voegelin, Eric, 46

Walzer, Richard, 160, 161War, just society and, 209210Washington, George, 212213Weber, Max: on aussenmoral, 84n; on

binnenmoral, 84n; capitalism and,229; ethical neutrality of, 32; ethicsof intention and, 232; onfacts-values distinction, 229231;on irresolvable fundamentalconflicts, 232233; metaphysicsand, 230231; on nature of man,234n; nihilism of, 231, 233; as notnew social scientist, 229; on scienceas freedom from delusion, 233234;on science as technique for limitedmastery of world, 233; on science orphilosophy vs. revelation, 234236;Strauss on, 15, 229237; on valueconflicts, 235n

Weimar Germany: failure to protectJews, 1718, 19; liberal democracyin, 202203. See also GermanNihilism lecture

Western civilization: crisis of, 109,150, 237240; roots of, 9394

What Can We Learn From PoliticalTheory (Strauss), 26, 187

What is Political Philosophy?(Strauss), 3536, 115, 188189, 189n

White, Howard B., 30Whole and parts, 221Why We Remain Jews (Strauss),

143n, 169nWisdom: Divine, 77, 78; liberal

education as quest for, 259260;types of, 261

Wissenschaft, 99Work and Days (Hesiod), esotericism

of, 7475World, as created vs. eternal, 104,

104n, 105, 110111Writing: reasons for cautious, 137n,

168. See also Esoteric tradition

Xenophon: Anabasis, 7475; dialogicform, 28; disguised author in, 7475;double meaning in, 6970; TheEducation of Cyrus, 68; exotericismof, 6768, 72; Memorabilia, 6869,7273; Socrates of, 68, 72; Strausson Hiero of, 2728, 29, 117n,126127, 215216, 248

Yovel, Yirmiyahu, 166167

Zarathustra, 128Zetetic philosophy, 146, 183. See also

SkepticismZetetic Straussians, 267, 274275Zionism: Spinoza and, 4243; Strauss

and, 14, 4344, 89, 115



6 x 10.long new - cambridge university...

Documents