What is Political Philosophy? And Other Studies

Rating:
Summary: Make this the first book you buy by Leo Strauss
Review: Strauss was a master at examining the political philosophy of the past and thus he was able to point us towards many of the lessons we have forgotten from past philosophies today. This work contains his key contribution to modern political philosophy with his great essays "What is political philosophy", "Political philosophy and history", and also a nice collection on such thinkers as Xenophon, al-Farabi, Maimonides, Hobbes, and Locke.

Rating:
Summary: Complicated Introduction to Strauss
Review: This book isn't a good place to start if you're new to Leo Strauss. In fact, unlike the reviewer above me, I would discourage Straussian neophytes from this collection. Although the book is rich and very representative of the wide range of philosophical concerns (perhaps except for Machiavelli) that dominated Strauss' thought, the essays almost always refer to previous debates/issues raised by other philosophers and/or Strauss' earlier writings. "On Tyranny" for instance presumes knowledge of the Starussian-Kojeve debate-dialogue over Xenophon's Hiero. The last essay on "Kurt Riezler" is really, at least in some sense, a bold assessment of Martin Heidegger's thinking and its effect on Germany during WWII and after.

All the essays date from the 1950s, a period that was very prolific for Leo Strauss. Moreover, this collection testifies to Strauss' on-going debate with prominent scholars of the moment, who have lost some significance in the passage of time. Every selection, except for the 16 book reviews from the 1950s, is a revised lecture; thus Strauss had a particular audience in mind when he offered his remarks (in the brief preface he indicates where and when he spoke/published each essay).

The cleanest and purest essay for the novice, in my estimation, is "On Classical Political Philosophy". Yet even here, Strauss assumes awareness in his audience of what, and who, defines "Classical Political Philosophy" and how "Modern Political Philosophy"(what and whom explained, but also assumed) have distorted the original teaching of classical political philosophers. All things considered I would encourage new readers interested in Leo Strauss to read "City and Man" first (my personal favorite).

These comments don't lessen my estimation of the magnitude, intensity and gracefulness of "What is Political Philosophy". It is certainly worth owning and reading. Albeit, I found this book so wonderful precisely because it refreshed my memory about things that Strauss taught me in his other works.