Jew and Philosopher

The Return to Maimonides in the Jewish Thought of Leo Strauss

By Kenneth Hart Green

Subjects: Jewish Philosophy
Series: SUNY series in Judaica: Hermeneutics, Mysticism, and Religion
Paperback : 9780791415665, 292 pages, October 1993
Hardcover : 9780791415658, 292 pages, November 1993

Alternative formats available from:

Read Excerpt View Table of Contents

Request Desk or Examination Copy
Request a Media Review Copy

Table of contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

1. "In the Grip of the Theological-Political Predicament"
The Crisis of Reason and Revelation in Modern Jewish Philosophy

2. Is a "Return" to Maimonides Possible?
The Obstacles and Their Surmounting

3. The Gradual Awakening
The "Pre-Maimonidean" Strauss

4. Maimonides as Philosophical Theologian
Strauss's Turn to Medieval Jewish Theology

5. Maimonides as Platonic Philosopher-Statesman
Strauss's Argument for the Necessarily Political Basis for the Jewish Philosophical Life

6. Maimonides as Esoteric Writer
Strauss's Rediscovery of the Philosophers' Categorical Imperative in Maimonides' Guide

7. Conclusion
Maimonides and Strauss

Notes

Bibliography

Index

The first book to deal with the Jewish thought of Leo Strauss.

Description

This is the first book to deal with the Jewish thought of Leo Strauss. Known primarily as one of the leading contemporary political thinkers, this book reveals another side of Leo Strauss—as one of the most important Jewish thinkers of the present century. The author presents the Jewish thought of Leo Strauss as powerful, original, and provocative, but also as essential for grasping the true character of Strauss's thought. His Jewish thought may prove to be the key to the proper understanding of his philosophic thought as a whole.

Kenneth Hart Green is Assistant Professor in the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto.

Reviews

"The clarity and thoroughness of the author's research and presentation will be illuminating even to 'old hands.' The author has opened up a field of inquiry waiting for analysis, and has done so in an impressive way." — Ralph Lerner, The University of Chicago