It Sure Took Them Long Enough

In the back of the latest issue of Interpretation (the only scholarly journal I actually subscribe to) was an advertisement for the launch of the Leo Strauss Center at the University of Chicago. One of the center's first projects will be to create digital archives of all of Strauss's recorded lectures and post them up on the website. In addition, the Center eventually plans to transcribe his lecture notes and other writings for publication as well.

As most people who have read my blog for some time realize, Strauss's thinking has had a considerable influence on me. I regard him as one of the few true intellectual giants of the 20th C. and someone who ought to be a central focus for students of Philosophy, Theology, and Political Science. Unfortunately, as many well know, Strauss's character has been viciously attacked by both the Right and the Left over the last eight years. As certain myths would have it, Strauss--from beyond the grave--helped orchestrate the Iraq War, drive the country into serious debt, and clubbed a baby seal. Fortunately for Strauss, he left behind a large pool of extremely talent and erudite students who have done their best to defend his intellectual legacy and, through their own works, demonstrate that Strauss's attempt to revive political philosophy was not a failure. Though I am far from being a "disciple" of Strauss, I remain indebted to many of his works and am hopeful that as more "unpublished" material becomes available, a great deal of the nonsense surrounding his life and thought will be put to rest.