Machiavelli, teacher of evil? On Leo Strauss' double teaching
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5902/2357797593166Keywords:
Leo Strauss, Machiavelli, Esotericism, Classical political philosophy, ModernityAbstract
This article investigates the core of Leo Strauss’s critique of Machiavelli, examining the hypothesis of a double teaching in the book Thoughts on Machiavelli. To this end, Strauss’s own method of esoteric reading is applied to his text, with emphasis on the role of introductions, conclusions, and above all, the center of the work. It is argued that Strauss’s resumption of the vulgar view of Machiavelli as a “teacher of evil” has an ironic character and seeks to convey “different things about the same object to different people.” Strauss’s fundamental critique does not fall on Machiavelli’s alleged anti-Christian stance, but on his deliberate rupture with the classical tradition of political philosophy — a rupture perceptible in his style and in his rejection of classical prudence. According to Strauss, Machiavelli inaugurates an “immanent critique” of Christianity, which preserves and radicalizes certain central traits of the Christian tradition, such as egalitarianism, propaganda, and the demand for sincerity. This critique situates Machiavelli as the initiator of modernity and as a precursor of the radical movements that would culminate in modern tyrannies.
Downloads
References
ADVERSE, Helton. Hannah Arendt, Leo Strauss e a Filosofia Política. São João del Rei: Revista Estudos Filosóficos, nº 17, 2016.
ALTINI, Carlo. Philosophy as stranger wisdom: a Leo Strauss intellectual biography. Albany/NY: State University of New York Press, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781438490076
BLOOM, Allan. Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899 - October 18, 1973. Political Theory, 2, 4:372-392, 1973. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/009059177400200402
CHACÓN, Rodrigo. Reading Strauss from the Start: On the Heideggerian Origins of ‘Political Philosophy’. In: European Journal of Political Theory 9(3), pp. 287-307, 2010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1474885110363982
COSTA, Jean Gabriel Castro da. Leo Strauss on the problem of Socrates in "The Clouds". INTERAÇÃO, v. 15, p. e89752, 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5902/2357797589752
DRURY, Shadia. The esoteric philosophy of Leo Strauss. Political Theory, 13, 3:315-337, 1985. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0090591785013003001
DRURY, Shadia. The Political Ideas of Leo Strauss, Updated Edition. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403978592
LAMPERT, Laurence. Leo Strauss and Nietzsche. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1996.
LAMPERT, Laurence. Strauss’s Recovery of Esotericism. In: Smith, Steven (ed). The Cambridge Companion to Leo Strauss. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 63-92, 2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL9780521879026.004
LEFORT, Claude. Três notas sobre Leo Strauss. Em: LEFORT, Claude. Desafios da escrita política. São Paulo: Discurso Editorial, 1999.
MENDES, Elvis de Oliveira. O terror que edifica: o Nietzsche de Leo Strauss. Em: Estudos Nietzsche, Vol. 14 - No 02, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47456/en.v14i2.42442
MCALLISTER, Ted V. Revolta contra a modernidade. Leo Strauss, Eric Voegelin e a busca de uma ordem pós-liberal. São Paulo: É Realizações, 2017.
MANSFIELD, Harvey. Strauss’s Machiavelli. In: Political Theory, Vol, 3 Nº 4, 1975. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/009059177500300402
MANSFIELD, Harvey. Machiavelli’s Virtue. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1998.
MANSFIELD, Harvey. Machiavelli's New Modes and Orders: A Study of the Discourses on Livy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001.
MACHIAVELLI, N. 1971. (Opere) Tutte le opere. SECONDO L’Edizione di MARIO MARTELLI. Firenze: Sansoni Editore/Firenze: Giunti Editore S.p.A./Bompiani, 2018.
MAQUIAVEL, Nicolau. Discursos sobre a primeira década de Tito Lívio. São Paulo: Martins Fontes, 2007a. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7476/9786558461609
MAQUIAVEL, Nicolau. O Príncipe. São Paulo: Hedra, 2007b.
MEIER, Heinrich. Political Philosophy and the Challenge of Revealed Religion. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226275994.001.0001
MINER, Robert C. Leo Strauss’s Adherence to Nietzsche’s ‘Atheism From Intellectual Probity’. In: Perspectives on Political Science, 41:155–164, 2012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10457097.2012.692637
NIETZSCHE, Friedrich. A Gaia Ciência. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2001.
NIETZSCHE, Friedrich. Segunda Consideração Intempestiva. Da utilidade e desvantagem da história para a vida. Rio de Janeiro: Relume Dumará, 2003.
NIETZSCHE, Friedrich. Além do Bem e do Mal. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2005.
NIETZSCHE, Friedrich. Genealogia da Moral. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 1998.
NIETZSCHE, Friedrich. A Vontade de Poder. Rio de Janeiro: Contraponto, 2008.
OLIVEIRA, Richard. R. The subversion of ancient thought: Strauss’s interpretation of the modern philosophic project. Em: Manuscrito – Rev. Int. Fil. Campinas, v. 43, n. 3, pp. 1-54, Jul.-Sep. 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/0100-6045.2020.v43n3.ro
PANGLE, Thomas. The Roots of Contemporary Nihilism and Its Political Consequences According to Nietzsche. The Review of Politics 45, no. 1, pp. 45–70, 1983. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0034670500040717
PESSOA, Fernando. Livro do Desassossego. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2011.
PLATÃO. A República. São Paulo: Martins Fontes, 2006.
RAHE, Paul. Against Throne and Altar. Machiavelli and Political Theory under English Republic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511509650
RAHE, Paul. Machiavelli’s Liberal Republican Legacy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511509667.001
OLIVEIRA, Richard Romeiro. Esoterismo e Filosofia Política na obra de L. Strauss. Em: Dissertatio [46] 27-55, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15210/dissertatio.v46i0.9829
ROUSSEAU, J.J. O Contrato Social. São Paulo: Ed. Martins Fontes, 1999.
STRAUSS, Leo. Perseguição e a arte de escrever. E outros ensaios de filosofia política. São Paulo: É Realizações, [1952] 2015.
STRAUSS, Leo. Direito Natural e História. São Paulo: Martins Fontes, [1953] 2014.
STRAUSS, Leo. Reflexões sobre Maquiavel. São Paulo: É Realizações, [1958] 2015.
STRAUSS, Leo. City and Man. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1964.
STRAUSS, Leo. Socrates and Aristophanes. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1966.
STRAUSS, Leo. Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1983. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226193878.001.0001
STRAUSS, Leo. The Rebirth of Classical Political Rationalism. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1989.
STRAUSS, Leo. Uma Introdução à Filosofia Política: dez ensaios. São Paulo: É Realizações, [1989] 2016.
STRAUSS, Leo. German Nihilism. In: Interpretation. Spring 1999, vol. 26, n. 3, pp. 353-78.
STRAUSS, Leo & VOEGELIN, Eric. Fé e Filosofia Política: a correspondência entre Leo Strauss e Eric Voegelin. São Paulo: É Realizações, 2017.
SULLIVAN, Vickie B. Machiavelli, Hobbes, and the Formation of a Liberal Republicanism in England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
SULLIVAN, Vickie B. Machiavelli’s Three Romes. Religion, Human Liberty, and Politics Reformed. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501747847.001.0001
TANGUAY, Daniel. Leo Strauss: An Intellectual Biography. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007.
TARCOV, Nathan. Philosophy & History: Tradition and Interpretation in the Work of Leo Strauss. In: Polity, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 5-29, 1983. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3234520
TARCOV, Nathan. Machiavelli’s Critique of Religion. In: Social Research, Vol. 81 (1), pp. 193-216, 2014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sor.2014.0005
VELKLEY, Richard. Heidegger, Strauss, and the Premises of Philosophy: On Original Forgetting. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226852553.001.0001
VERÇOSA FILHO, Élcio. O Maquiavel de Leo Strauss. Em: Prefácio de STRAUSS, Leo. Reflexões sobre Maquiavel. São Paulo: É Realizações, [1958] 2015.
ZUCKERT, Catherine H. Machiavelli’s Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017.
ZUCKERT, Michael. Straussians. Em: S. Smith (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Leo Strauss, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL9780521879026.012
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
