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ModernityandWhatHasBeenLost
edbyhisfellowacademicsorevensomewhatderidedbythemespeciallybecause
ofhismannerofreading"esoterically”andhisemphaticcriticismagainstthe
positivistapproachinsocialscience.Hewasalsoateacher,andateachergenu-
inelylovedbyhisstudents,ofalargegroupofpoliticalscientistswhothenhave
triedtocontinuethedetailedresearchintothehistoryofpoliticalphilosophy.
Theirstudiesofpoliticalphenomenahavethusturnedoutcompletelydifferent
fromthestudiescarriedoutbymostofthespecialistsintheirbranchofstudy.In
suchacontext,Strauss’spupilsorfollowersmighthavefeltalmostpersecuted.
Allinall,ithasbecomearguablewhetherStrausscanprimarilybeperceivedas
aprofoundthinkerandnotasa"founder”or"godfather;”orifoneisabletoread
histextswithakindofsuccessfulpatience,butalone,totrainone’smindunder
hisbooks,andfinallytograspsomefundamentalquestionsthathewasconcerned
with,withoutbeingactuallyinvolvedinthe"Straussianschool.”Andyet,asthe
intellectualaswellaspoliticalclimatehasbeguntochange,whenaheterogene-
ityofthesocialscienceshasgenerallybeenproclaimedandsomenewstriking
challengesintherealmofpoliticsandsocietyandculturehavebeennoticed,the
thinkingofLeoStraussreturnstousnotjustasaneccentriceffortinunderstand-
ingadeeppastbutasalivelySocraticstruggletounderstandlifeitself.
SointherecentyearsthequestionofmodernityasraisedbyStrauss,along
withthewholetheological-politicaldimensionthatshouldbegainedthrough
thinkingonthe"modernsolution”wenowseemtoexperience,arousedmuch
interestintheUnitedStatesandsome,too,inWesternEurope.Thereweremany
stagesofdebatewithhighlydifferentiatedlevelsofprofundity.Verylittleofithas
been,however,recognizedandseriouslyunderstoodinPoland.Thisbookwas
bornoutofourintellectualdesirethathasoriginatedsometimeago,duringour
studiesthattookplaceattheJagiellonianUniversityintheoldbeautifulcityof
Krakow.Thenweencounteredsomequestionsaboutmaintenetsandsourcesof
whatcanbecalledthemodernwayoflife,andbegantoseekpossibleanswersin
wisebooks.Wemay,moreover,havefeltourselveswitnessestoagreatpolitical
andsocialchange:Itseemedthatinourcountrythe"processoftransformation”
hadbeenbyandlargecompletedasPolandfinallyjoinedtheEuropeanUnionin
2004.Soitwasourpersonalexperiencethatmadeusinclinedtoraisethesubject
ofmodernityandputitintothecontextofthelegacyofLeoStrauss.
Thetitleofthisvolumeseemstosuggestthatmodernityisirremediablyflawed
ordevoidofsomethingofutmostimportance.Butistheanswertothequestionof
whathasbeenlostreadyathand?Someonefamiliarwiththeelaboratearguments
ofthediscontentsofmodernitymightreactwithafeelingofdismay.Afterall,
hasnotthesituationofthemodernmanbeenanalyzedendlesstimeswiththeuse
ofsuchprolificconceptsas"disenchantment,”"rationalization,”"massculture,”
"one-dimensionality,”"commercialization,”etc?Buttodismissthisquestion
simplyonthebasisthatithasbeenraisedtoofrequentlywouldnotbeintellectu-
allyresponsible.AllthemoresosinceinthecaseofStrauss’sintellectuallegacy
