Leo Strauss - Natural Right and History

About this Episode

Strauss sees a lowering of the sights of political life from a classical focus on values and the Good to a Modern fetishizing of facts and causes. He believes humans can discern right versus wrong according to Nature. He wants to reclaim Natural Right from the misguided critiques from historicism and social science. Strauss believes that all natural beings have a natural destiny that determines what kind of life is good for them.

We also consider whether the text implies anything with regard to Neoconservatism or the Iraq War, as Strauss was somehow implicated in the Bush foreign policy. Spoiler alert: we find absolutely nothing.