-
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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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;
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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
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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
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