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HeinrichMeier
WHYLEOSTRAUSS?
FOURANSWERSANDONECONSIDERATION
CONCERNINGTHEUSESANDDISADVANTAGES
OFTHESCHOOLFORTHEPHILOSOPHICALLIFE*1
TherearegoodreasonstostudyLeoStrauss.Philosophical,existential,andpo-
liticalreasons.ThosereasonsexistedbeforeStrauss’sstarroseonbothsidesof
theAtlanticonthemediahorizonintheyear2003,andthosereasonswillcon-
tinuetoexistlongafterthequarreloverStrauss’sallegedinfluenceontheforeign
policyoftheonlyremainingworldpowerhasbecomecompletelyathingofthe
past.Idonotwanttodiscussthatshort-livedquarrelmorecloselyhere.Instead,
Iwanttogiveananswertothequestion"WhyLeoStrauss?,”aquestionthatcan
mostdefinitelybeseparatedfromthelatestStraussboom.Infact,itwasnotonly
afterStrausscametobeonsomanypeople’slipsthatthequestionwasputtome;
no,IhavecomeupagainstitaslongasIhaveseriouslystudiedhisworkandhis
thought.ItmaybeappropriateforsomeonecomingfromOldEuropetoaddress
thisquestionastheopeningquestionatthefirstconferenceonStrausstaking
placeinwhatoncewascalledNewEurope.
Thequestion"WhyLeoStrauss?”canbetheexpressionofeitherdismissive
surpriseoropen-mindedwonder.Firstofallandmostoftenitistheresultofin-
sufficientknowledge.Strauss,whowasborninKirchhain,Germanyin1899and
diedinAnnapolis,USAin1973,waslongthegreatunknownamongthethinkers
ofthetwentiethcentury.Duringhislifetimehedoubtlessdrewfarlessattention
tohimselfthanMartinHeideggerorLudwigWittgenstein,CarlSchmittorKarl
Barth.Yetthelackoffamiliarityisnoteverything.HowoftenIwasaskedby
studentsofStrauss’sandbystudentsofhisstudentsintheU.S.duringthe1980s
and’90swhyIconfrontedStrausssointensively,andhowoftenthatquestion
wasfollowedbyanother,namelywhohadpointedmetoStrauss,whohadtold
metoreadhisbookscarefully.Thesecondquestiontacitlyassumesthatacare-
fulreadingofStrauss’soeuvreisveryunlikelywithoutsomeoneelse’sguidance,
Copyright©byHeinrichMeier.Reprintedbypermissionoftheauthor.