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An outstanding short introduction to the work of Leo Strauss.
Upon its initial appearance in German the dust jacket bore the following description: "Whoever engages in political philosophy today cannot evade Leo Strauss (1899–1973). Stauss's work spans the whole horizon of European intellectual history from classical poetry, philosophy, and historiography up to Nietzsche and Heidegger. Strauss turns back to the beginnings of political philosophy with Socrates in order to retrace the ruptures in modern political thought. His extraordinary interpretations of Plato, Maimonides, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and many others have set the measure in the art of careful reading and writing. Behind his philosophical historical investigations there stands a singular aim: refounding of political philosophy in the twentieth century." Newly translated and edited in English for the first time, Kauffmann's book offers a beautiful and fresh introduction to the political philosophy of Leo Strauss.
"Clemens Kauffmann's An Introduction to Leo Strauss is a clear and thoughtful account of the major elements of Leo Strauss's pathbreaking work, with special emphasis on his understanding of the tension between freedom and authority, philosophy and theology, and classic and modern natural right." — Mark Blitz, Claremont McKenna College
"An excellent English translation of Clemens Kauffmann's book on Strauss that transcends partisan and often bitter debate. Strongly recommended for anyone with an interest in Strauss and his understanding of the problematic origin and nature of modernity." — Michael Allen Gillespie, Duke University
"This is no ordinary introduction to the work of Leo Strauss. It is rather a deep engagement with some of the most enduring problems of Strauss's work—the unprecedented character of modernity, the centrality of the 'Jewish Question,' and the future of philosophy in an age dominated by positivism and historicism. This book is a feast for whoever picks it up." — Steven B. Smith, Yale University
"Kauffmann suggests that an 'introduction' to Leo Strauss 'cannot exist,' as his work resists simplification and popularity. But in this 'unhabitual' and independent-minded work, Kauffmann provides a way of understanding Strauss’s argument for the possibility and necessity of the philosophical life." — Svetozar Minkov, Roosevelt University
Clemens Kauffmann (1961–2020) was Professor of Political Philosophy, Political Theory, and Intellectual History at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg from 2003 until 2020. E. H. Odzuck is Professor of Political Philosophy, Political Theory, and Intellectual History at University of Regensburg. S. G. Zeitlin is Lecturer in Modern Intellectual History at University College London.