Leo Strauss
Leo Strauss was a German-American political philosopher and historian of philosophy whose work greatly influenced twentieth-century political theory in the United States and the study of classical political thought. He is known best for his interpretation of ancient and medieval philosophy, his account of classical natural right, and his claim that philosophers often wrote esoterically, presenting different teachings to general and specialist readers. Strauss argued that the modern turn in philosophy, beginning with Niccolò Machiavelli and culminating in historicism and relativism, marked a decisive break with the classical understanding of politics and the good life.
Career Journey
Background
- Born in
- Kirchhain
- Educated at
- University of FreiburgUniversity of MarburgUniversity of HamburgGymnasium Philippinum MarburgColumbia University
- Awards
- 🏆 honorary doctor of the University of Hamburg🏆 Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Doctoral Advisors
- 🎓 Ernst Cassirer
- Doctoral Students
- 📖 Muhsin Mahdi📖 Ralph Lerner
Trending & Selected Quotes
Trending topics shown first"A mass culture is a culture which can be appropriated by the meanest capacities without any intellectual or moral effort whatsoever. … Liberal education is the counterpoison to mass culture, to the co…"
"According to our social science, we can be or become wise in all matters of secondary importance, but we have to be resigned to utter ignorance in the most important respect: we cannot have any knowle…"
"The problem inherent in the surface of things, and only in the surface of things, is the heart of things."
"Philosophy has to grant that revelation is possible. But to grant that revelation is possible means to grant that philosophy is perhaps something infinitely unimportant. To grant that revelation is po…"
"Education to perfect gentlemanship, to human excellence, liberal education consists in reminding oneself of human excellence, of human greatness."
"In our time scholars generally study the Bible in the manner in which they study any other book. As is generally admitted, Spinoza more than any other man laid the foundation for this kind of Biblical…"
Works & Publications
No works or publications documented yet.
Timeline
1899
Born
Birth1973
Died
Death
Influenced By
Thinkers whose ideas shaped Leo's philosophy
Source Attribution
Information about Leo Strauss is sourced from curated knowledge bases and cross-referenced for accuracy. Influence relationships are scored by thematic overlap and historical plausibility.
Related Thinkers
See all →
Explore Further
Related Quotes
"Metcalf in New York magazine"
— Stephen Metcalf (writer)"Winning is an important thing, but to have your own style, to have people copy you, to admire you, that is …"
— Johan Cruyff"Patriotism, when it wants to make itself felt in the domain of learning, is a dirty fellow who should be th…"
— Arthur Schopenhauer"Up to here, in general, we have mainly stuffed the brain of the young people with a indigestible multitude …"
— African Spir"Self-control and resistance to distractions. Optimism in adversity—especially illness. (Hays translation)"
— Marcus Aurelius"It was in His parting sorrow — that Jesus asked His disciples to remember Him; and never was entreaty of af…"
— James Martineau
