On Strauss's Thought
"Men are constantly attracted and deluded by two opposite charms: the charm of competence which is engendered by mathematics and everything akin to mathematics, and the charm of humble awe, which is engendered by meditation on the human soul and its experiences. Philosophy is characterized by the gentle, if firm, refusal to succumb to either charm. It is the highest form of the mating of courage and moderation. In spite of its highness or nobility, it could appear as Sisyphean or ugly, when one contrasts its achievement with its goal. Yet it is necessarily accompanied, sustained and elevated by eros. It is graced by nature's grace."
Selected Works on Leo Strauss's Thought
There is a growing recognition around the world of the need to come to terms with Strauss's thought. Important books on his thought have been published in recent years.
In English:
Batnitzky, Leora. Leo Strauss and Emmanuel Levinas: Philosophy and the Politics of Revelation. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Janssens, David. Between Athens and Jerusalem: Philosophy, Prophecy and Politics in Leo Strauss's Early Thought (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008). Tussen Athene en Jeruzalem: Filosofie, profetie en politiek bij Leo Strauss translated into English by David Janssens.
Meier, Heinrich. Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss: The Hidden Dialogue Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995. Carl Schmitt, Leo Strauss und der Begriff des Politischen. Zu einem Dialog unter Abwesenden translated into English by J. Harvey Lomax.
_____. Leo Strauss and the Theological-Political Problem New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Das theologisch-politische Problem: Zum Thema von Leo Strauss translated into English with additional material by Marcus Brainard.
Pangle, Thomas L. Leo Strauss: An Introduction to His Thought and Intellectual Legacy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.
Sheppard, Eugene R. Leo Strauss and the Politics of Exile: The Making of a Political Philosopher. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England, 2006.
Smith, Steven. Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press: 2006.
_____, ed. Cambridge Companion to Leo Strauss (forthcoming).
Tanguay, Daniel. Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007. Leo Strauss: Une biographie intellectuelle translated into English by Christopher Nadon.
Zuckert, Catherine, and Michael Zuckert. The Truth about Leo Strauss: Political Philosophy and American Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.
In Other Languages:
Major studies on Strauss's work have been published in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy. These works include:
Altini, Carlo. Leo Strauss: linguaggio del potere e linguaggio della filosofia. Bologna: Il Mulino, 2000.
_____. La storia della filosofia come filosofia politica: Carl Schmitt e Leo Strauss lettori di Thomas Hobbes. Pisa: ETS, 2004.
Bluhm, Harald. Die Ordnung der Ordnung: Das politische Philosophieren von Leo Strauss. Berlin: Akadamie Verlag, 2002.
Janssens, David. Tussen Athene en Jeruzalem: Filosofie, profetie en politiek bij Leo Strauss. Amsterdam: Boom, 2002. Translated into English by David Janssens as Between Athens and Jerusalem: Philosophy, Prophecy and Politics in Leo Strauss's Early Thought (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008).
Kaufman, Clemens. Leo Strauss zur Einführung. Hamburg: Junius, 1997.
Meier, Heinrich. Carl Schmitt, Leo Strauss und der Begriff des Politischen. Zu einem Dialog unter Abwesenden. Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler, 1988. Translated into English by J. Harvey Lomax as Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss: The Hidden Dialogue (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995).
_____. Das theologisch-politische Problem: Zum Thema von Leo Strauss. Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler, 2003. Translated into English with additional material by Marcus Brainard as Leo Strauss and the Theological-Political Problem (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006).
Pelluchon, Corine. Leo Strauss: Une autre raison, d'autres Lumières. Paris: J. Vrin, 2005.
Sfez, Gérald. Leo Strauss, Lecteur de Machiavel: La modernité du mal. Paris: Edition Ellipses, 2003.
_____. Leo Strauss, foi et raison. Paris: Beauchesne, 2007.
Tanguay, Daniel. Leo Strauss: Une biographie intellectuelle. Paris: Editions Grasset & Fasquelle, 2003. Translated into English by Christopher Nadon as Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007).
Revue de metaphysique et de morale focused an issue on Strauss in July-August 1989, and Critique did so in March 2004. Strauss's work is also increasingly translated and discussed in China, as well as in Japan, Poland, and other countries. His works have been translated, often with significant critical introductions or essays, into Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Czech, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, and Spanish.
