Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
Intriguing unpublished manuscripts by Leo Strauss, which explore the intricate relationship between religion, philosophy, and politics, accompanied by fourteen interpretative essays.
Addressing the central theme of his work-the complex relationship between religion, philosophy, and politics-the twelve newly available transcripts included in Leo Strauss on Religion offer unprecedented insights into Leo Strauss's thoughts on previously unexplored subjects. Essential for both avid readers and newcomers, this collection unveils sharper formulations and frank discussions, providing a rare peek into the ambiguous aspects of Strauss's renowned reticence in formulating his ultimate thoughts. Accompanied by fourteen interpretative essays from distinguished scholars, this volume serves as a comprehensive guide to Strauss's intellectual odyssey. Offering fresh perspectives, these essays navigate the understudied aspects of Strauss's reflections on religion, putting his thought in a new perspective thereby enriching the scholarly debate around the controversial yet influential legacy of Leo Strauss.
"Besides the section on the Symposium … notes on Pascal are the most thought-provoking part of the book." — Claremont Review of Books
"This magisterial volume, combining long-awaited manuscripts by Strauss himself with commentary by a diverse and international group of scholars, represents a dramatic contribution to Strauss studies." — Jeffrey A. Bernstein, coeditor of Leo Strauss and Contemporary Thought: Reading Strauss Outside the Lines
"This volume adds a whole new dimension to our understanding of a theme central to Leo Strauss's philosophizing—the relation between religion and political philosophy. Combining unpublished writings by Strauss and interpretations of those writings, Leo Strauss on Religion constitutes a singular contribution to the study of one of the greatest philosophers of the modern era." — Peter J. Ahrensdorf, author of Homer and the Tradition of Political Philosophy: Encounters with Plato, Machiavelli, and Nietzsche
Acknowledgments
Series Editor's Introduction
Kenneth Hart Green
Editors' Introduction
Svetozar Y. Minkov and Rasoul Namazi
Part One
Transcript 1: Leo Strauss, Notes on Lessing's Nathan the Wise (1940 and 1942)
Reflections on Leo Strauss, His Notes on Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, and "Nathan der Weise"
Till Kinzel
Leo Strauss on the Philosophical Character of Lessing's Nathan The Wise
Martin D. Yaffe
Part Two
Transcript 2.1: Leo Strauss, On the Plan of the Kuzari (c. 1941‒1942)
Transcript 2.2: Leo Strauss, On the Kuzari (c. 1941‒1942)
On Yehuda Halevi's "Spiritual Hell"
Ralph Lerner
Proclaiming Dangerous Teachings to the World: Why Would Strauss Reveal the Religious Heterodoxy of the Falāsifa?
Alexander Orwin
Part Three
Transcript 3: Leo Strauss, "Abraham and Maimonides" (1953)
Dichotomies of Understanding Religious Law in Leo Strauss's Lecture "Abraham and Maimonides"
Yehuda Halper
Reason and Law
Joshua Parens
Part Four
Transcript 4: Leo Strauss, On Spinoza (c. 1959)
Strauss's "Fresh Study" Manuscript
Steven Frankel
The Charity of Spinoza's Democracy
Andrea E. Ray
Part Five
Transcript 5.1: Leo Strauss, Notes on Plato's Symposium (c. 1959)
Transcript 5.2: Leo Strauss, Notes on Agathon's Speech in Plato's Symposium (c. 1959)
Transcript 5.3: Leo Strauss, Two Letters on Plato's Symposium (1959)
Leo Strauss on Agathon's Theology in Plato's Symposium
Svetozar Y. Minkov
Leo Strauss's Intention with Plato's Symposium
Alex Priou
Part Six
Transcript 6: Leo Strauss, Selections from "Seminar in Political Philosophy: Rousseau" (1962)
Leo Strauss and Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Ancients and Moderns, Esotericism, and the Challenge of Religion
Rasoul Namazi
"Truly a Civil Religion": Leo Strauss Teaches the Profession of Faith
John Ray
Part Seven
Transcript 7.1: "Religion and the Commonweal in the Tradition of Political Philosophy": The Lecture (1963)
Transcript 7.2: Leo Strauss, "Religion and the Commonweal": The Manuscript (1963)
Leo Strauss on Religion and the Commonweal
Nathan Tarcov
Leo Strauss on Civil Religion
Philipp von Wussow
Appendix: Strauss's Confrontation with Pascal
Svetozar Y. Minkov
Notes on Contributors
Index