Leo Strauss

Leo Strauss (1899 to 1973) was a German-American political philosopher and historian of philosophy whose work greatly influenced twentieth-century political theory in the United States and the study of classical political thought. He is best known for his interpretation of ancient and medieval philosophy, his account of classical natural right, and his claim that philosophers often wrote esoterically, presenting different teachings to general and specialist readers. He argued that the modern turn in philosophy, beginning with Niccolò Machiavelli, marked a decisive break with classical thought. With Joseph Cropsey he edited the textbook History of Political Philosophy.