Leo Strauss’ “The Argument and the Action of Plato’s Laws”: : A critique on Plato, legislation and the problem of political authority

Abstract

The presence of Leo Strauss in the 20th century in the field of political philosophy is one of the most crucial as far as important philosophical findings go, which drastically changed the principles and aspirations of political practice and philosophical process. Through his philosophy, Strauss connected antiquity with the present, theory with practice and criticized the evils of his time. One aspect of his work, his involvement with Plato’s Laws and especially the book “The Argument and the Action of Plato’s Laws”, which may shed more light on his views, has not been sufficiently researched, at least in terms of its connection with his overall work. The aim of the present paper is to highlight the relevant research of the philosopher, to find out the reasons why Strauss chose Plato as a thinker and the Laws as a dialogue and finally to evaluate what that choice means for his philosophy.