Hannah Arendt and Leo Strauss: German Émigrés and American Political Thought After World War IIPeter Graf Kielmansegg, Horst Mewes, Elisabeth Glaser-Schmidt This volume on Hannah Arendt's and Leo Strauss' impact on American political science after 1933 contains essays presented at an international conference held at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1991. The book explores the influence that Arendt's and Strauss' experiences of inter-war Germany had on their perception of democracy and their judgment of American liberal democracy. Although they represented different political attitudes, both thinkers interpreted the modern American political system as a response to totalitarianism. The contributors analyse how their émigré experience both influenced their American work and also had an impact on the formation of the discipline of political science in postwar Germany. Arendt's and Strauss' experiences thus aptly illustrate the transfer and transformation of political ideas in the World War II era. |
Contents
Hannah Arendt and the Theory of Democracy A Critical Reconstruction | 11 |
The Questionable Influence of Arendt and Strauss | 29 |
Hannah Arendt A GermanAmerican Jewess Views the United States and Looks Back to Germany | 45 |
LEO STRAUSS | 59 |
Reflections on Leo Strauss and American Education | 61 |
Leo Strauss The Quest for Truth in Times of Perplexity | 81 |
Leo Strauss and Martin Heidegger Greek Antiquity and the Meaning of Modernity | 105 |
Leo Strauss German Origin and American Impact | 121 |
The Modem World of Leo Strauss | 139 |
Discussion | 163 |
The American Experience | 171 |
Views on Democracy | 182 |
| 191 | |
| 201 | |
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academic ALFONS SÖLLNER American political Arendt and Strauss become Carl Schmitt cave Chicago citizens civil claim Classical Political Rationalism concept constitutional context crisis critical critique democratic discipline discussion distinction émigré enlightenment ERNST VOLLRATH esoteric essay European exotericism experience fact founding act fundamental George Kateb Greek Hannah Arendt Heidegger's hermeneutical historicism Hobbes HORST MEWES human Ibid idea ideal influence institutions intellectual interpretation Jewish Karl Karl Jaspers Karl Löwith Leo Strauss liberal education litical mandarin Martin Heidegger means metaphysical modern democracy modern political moral natural right Nietzsche notion original Platonic polis political philosophy political science political theory political thought possible problem question reason reflection representative democracy republic Revolution Right and History Rousseau scholar secular seems sense social society Socrates sphere Spinoza Straussian things thinkers TIMOTHY FULLER tion totalitarian tradition true truth understanding virtue Weimar Western writings York