Leo Strauss and the quarrel between poetry and philosophy

AMAT, DOLORES

Edimburgo

Congreso; 60th Political Studies Association Annual Conference. Sixty Years of Political Studies: Achievements and Futures; 2010

Political Studies Association

Leo Strauss writes under the shadow of what he calls the contemporary collapse of rationalism. This collapse leads him to consider the origin of rationalism, which according to his perspective ?can be identified with the problem of Socrates, or the problem of classical political philosophy in general?. This problem appears clearly in the difference between Aristophanes` and Plato´s presentation of Socrates. According to Strauss, this difference is an expression of a fundamental quarrel of Western tradition, the secular quarrel between poetry and philosophy as alternative solutions to the problem of human happiness. In this sense, if Plato and Aristophanes represent the classical options, Strauss` position can be interpreted as a modern affirmation of philosophy as the answer to the fundamental problems of our time. Hence, the author speaks out against the many voices that declare the end of philosophy and argues for the possibility of resuming the path outlined by Plato, in addressing the challenges that arise in modernity. This paper seeks to explore this return to classical philosophy to which the author invites, to consider its possibilities and implications.