Leo Strauss, Political Science, and the Trouble with a “Great Books” Approach to the Study of Politics

Journal of the Philosophy of History (forthcoming)
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Abstract

_ Source: _Page Count 21 I argue that Leo Strauss’s critique of political science has been deeply misunderstood. Moreover, once the true nature of Strauss’s critique is clarified, I argue that he does not provide a viable alternative to contemporary political science. Instead, his philosophy has mostly justified a “great books” approach to the study of politics, which has contributed to the self-isolation of political theory from the rest of political science. Political theorists should seek new ways forward that more substantively engage the concerns of the mainstream of the discipline.

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References found in this work

On the Heavens.384-322 B. C. Aristotle - 1939 - Heinemann Harvard University Press.
Strauss and Social Science.Nasser Behnegar - 2009 - In Steven B. Smith (ed.), The Cambridge companion to Leo Strauss. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 215--40.
Left Conservatism, I.Wendy Brown - 1998 - Theory and Event 2 (2).

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