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ModernityandWhatHasBeenLost
tionthatseemstounderlieStrauss’soeuvreisthequestionofaninevitablecon-
ictbetweenpoliticsandphilosophy(andthesetwotermshavetobeunderstood
asthetwowaysoflife).Thiscanbealsodepictedinclassicaltermsasaproblem
ofrelationbetween"thecave,”whichmeansthepoliticalcommunity,ontheone
hand,andthestruggletoascendfromthecave,ledbySocraticphilosophers,on
theotherhand.Wemaythussaythattheconditiosinequanonofphilosophyis
thecaveitself.Ifso,thedefenseofthephilosophicwayoflifeshouldbeprima-
rilyunderstoodasthedefenseofanecessarygroundforanypossiblephilosophi-
calenterpriseor,toputitinotherwords,ofthecommonsensicalperceptionof
politicalthingswhichhassomethingtodowiththefaithindivinesourceofthe
lawofaparticularcommunity.Fromacertainpointofview,aStraussiandepic-
tionofwhatphilosophyoriginallywas,ofSocrates’wayoflife,maybeconstrued
asembarrassinglyidealistic.ArmadapresentsStrauss’sjudgmentofthe"modern
solution”asbeingcontranaturam.Thenaturalconditionsaretobefoundonly
withinclosedsocieties,notaworld-statebut,Straussadmits,thisnaturalorder
cannotbesimplyrestoredintheextremelyunfavorablesituationthatweexperi-
encetoday.ArmadaconcludesthatStrauss’sgureofSocraticphilosopheras
aneducatorisdeliberatelyidealizedinordertoredeemtheclaimsofpoliticsor
politicallifeormaybehumanlifeassuch.HeviewstheStraussianconcernabout
politicsassubstantiallyprecedingtheconcernaboutthephilosophiclifeasas-
cribedtoNietzsche.Inotherwords,livinginthecavecomesbeforeliving"under
thesky.”Andevenwiththehighestestimationforthephilosophyasitmaybe,as
prudentasdetachedorconcerningabouttheeternal,thereisstillaneedforthe
lawgivenbya(seriousandsensible)prophet-legislator.
JürgenGebhardtinthechapterentitledModernChallengesPlatonicRe-
sponses:Strauss,Arendt,VoegelindiscussesLeoStraussinthecompanyofsuch
thinkersasHannahArendt,EricVoegelin,andMichaelOakeshott.Allofthem
reactedtothecrisisoftheEuropeanworld.Gebhardtclaimswecanseethatthe
theoreticalunderstandingbehindtheworksofthethinkersinquestionisthat
ofPlato’simageofthecity.Theyfocusedonthecriticalunderstandingofthe
disorderoftheirtimes.Hespeaksintermsof"platonicresponses”becauseall
thesethinkerscreatedaparadigmoforderbasedontheirreflexiveunderstand-
ingofthehumanpredicamentoraconceptionofrepresentativehumanityinthe
senseofthereflexiveparadigmoftheplatoniccity.Thedebateontheso-called
declineofpoliticaltheorythatbeganinthe1950sandallegedlyendedin1971
withRawls’sATheoryofJusticewasanintellectualblunderpartlyduetoplain
ignorance,butalsotothefactthatmanyofthethinkersinquestionwereGer-
manémigrésformedbytheGermanphilosophyandrepresentinganorientation
thatmighthavebeenthreateningtosomebasicpremisesofAmericanpolitical
science.Thesethinkersdifferedsignificantly,butonecandiscerncertainagree-
ments.Straussanalyzedthecrisisofmodernityusingthethree-wavehypothesis
andfocusingontheMachiavellianmodificationofapre-modernpoliticalphi-