Leo Strauss

Leo Strauss (1899–1973) was a German-American political philosopher who interpreted classical political texts and criticized modernity, especially its relativism and historicism.

Esoteric writing: A mode of writing that communicates different meanings to different audiences, sometimes concealing a teaching beneath an exoteric surface. Strauss argued that some philosophers wrote this way under political or religious pressure.
Persecution and the Art of Writing: A 1952 book by Strauss arguing that persecution led some philosophers to communicate through concealed meanings. It presents his best-known account of how to read philosophic texts.
Weimar Republic: The German republic that existed from 1918 to 1933, amid political instability and intense intellectual debate. Strauss’s early work emerged from the Weimar crisis and its challenges to liberalism.
Seth Benardete: An American classicist and philosopher known for influential interpretations of ancient Greek texts. Benardete studied with Strauss and developed a distinctive, rigorous style of classical interpretation.
Straussianism: A diverse intellectual tradition associated with Strauss’s methods of reading and defense of classical political philosophy. It names the scholarly movement formed around Strauss’s teaching and writings.
Historicism: The view that ideas and values must be understood through their historical conditions and cannot be judged from a timeless standpoint. Strauss treated historicism as a major source of modern skepticism about universal truth.
Plato's Republic: A dialogue by Plato examining justice, the soul, education, and the ideal city. Strauss used its dramatic structure to show how a dialogue can communicate beyond explicit claims.
Carl Schmitt: A German jurist and political theorist known for defining sovereignty through the power to decide on exceptions. Strauss’s 1932 critique of Schmitt’s account of liberalism helped launch his philosophical career.
Allan Bloom: An American political philosopher and classicist whose writings defended liberal education and the study of great books. Bloom was Strauss’s student and made Straussian readings widely visible through The Closing of the American Mind.
Neoconservatism: A political movement emphasizing national strength, democratic promotion, and skepticism toward revolutionary social change. Commentators have linked Straussian thinkers to neoconservatism, though the relationship is disputed.

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