Rousseau, Leo Strauss, and Denaturalization

Abstract

Rousseau’s concept of denaturalization refers to the process of transition from the unhappy and corrupt modern man to the citizen of the Social Contract. The project is contradictory and fails. Denaturalization is incomplete and wrong. The problem, according to Strauss, comes down to choosing the right natural foundation for a “good life”. Neither the unnatural general will nor the imitation of original natural man’s way of life in the modern conditions (a renaturalization of sorts) can offer it. This requires classic natural law.