Discourses on strauss: Revelation and reason in Leo Strauss and his critical study of Machiavelli (Book Review)
View/ Open
File version
Accepted Manuscript (AM)
Author(s)
Patapan, Haig
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2008
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
In Thoughts on Machiavelli, Leo Strauss observes, ‘Books like the Discourses and the Prince do not reveal their full meaning as intended by the author unless one ponders over them “day and night” for a long time’. He then continues, ‘It is fortunate for the historians of ideas, to say nothing of others, that there are not many books of this kind’ (p. 174). Is Thoughts on Machiavelli one of these books? Did Strauss ‘write as he read’? Recent scholarship on Strauss has shown the extent to which he took great care in formulating his thoughts (see, for example, Laurence Lampert, Leo Strauss and Nietzsche; and Nasser Behnegar, ...
View more >In Thoughts on Machiavelli, Leo Strauss observes, ‘Books like the Discourses and the Prince do not reveal their full meaning as intended by the author unless one ponders over them “day and night” for a long time’. He then continues, ‘It is fortunate for the historians of ideas, to say nothing of others, that there are not many books of this kind’ (p. 174). Is Thoughts on Machiavelli one of these books? Did Strauss ‘write as he read’? Recent scholarship on Strauss has shown the extent to which he took great care in formulating his thoughts (see, for example, Laurence Lampert, Leo Strauss and Nietzsche; and Nasser Behnegar, Leo Strauss, Max Weber, and the Scientific Study of Politics). In Discourses on Strauss Sorensen examines in detail the concluding chapter IV of Strauss’ Thoughts on Machiavelli, ‘Machiavelli’s Teaching’, to gain greater insights into his views on the nature of relationship between reason and revelation. The tension between reason and revelation, or the choice between Jerusalem and Athens, warrants examination because Strauss himself regards it as one of the defining aspects of Western political philosophy. It has been the focus of recent Strauss commentary (see, for example, Heinrich Meier, Leo Strauss and the Theologico-Political Problem).
View less >
View more >In Thoughts on Machiavelli, Leo Strauss observes, ‘Books like the Discourses and the Prince do not reveal their full meaning as intended by the author unless one ponders over them “day and night” for a long time’. He then continues, ‘It is fortunate for the historians of ideas, to say nothing of others, that there are not many books of this kind’ (p. 174). Is Thoughts on Machiavelli one of these books? Did Strauss ‘write as he read’? Recent scholarship on Strauss has shown the extent to which he took great care in formulating his thoughts (see, for example, Laurence Lampert, Leo Strauss and Nietzsche; and Nasser Behnegar, Leo Strauss, Max Weber, and the Scientific Study of Politics). In Discourses on Strauss Sorensen examines in detail the concluding chapter IV of Strauss’ Thoughts on Machiavelli, ‘Machiavelli’s Teaching’, to gain greater insights into his views on the nature of relationship between reason and revelation. The tension between reason and revelation, or the choice between Jerusalem and Athens, warrants examination because Strauss himself regards it as one of the defining aspects of Western political philosophy. It has been the focus of recent Strauss commentary (see, for example, Heinrich Meier, Leo Strauss and the Theologico-Political Problem).
View less >
Journal Title
Australian Journal of Political Science
Volume
43
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in the Australian Journal of Political Science, Volume 43, 2008 - Issue 1: e-Politics: The Australian Experience, Pages 166-166, 21 May 2008, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://doi.org/10.1080/10361140701851954
Subject
Policy and Administration
Political Science