Join us as we sit down with two faculty members of the Catholic Theological Faculty of Charles University, Prague to discuss the thoughts of Leo Strauss on education and esoteric writing.

Strauss turned to the thought of the classical tradition of antiquity and the Middle Ages, seeing it as an opportunity to break out of the crisis of modern European rationality. He saw progressive modern man as one who regards everything past as less than perfect. In a special way, this is true of education. Through education, Strauss wants to strive for an aristocracy of the spirit, that is, a nobleman who will rededicate himself to the question of justice and the acquisition of political virtues.

The esoteric writing of Strauss has always been an intriguing topic. The sco-called Tübingen scholars, however, did not accept Strauss' interpretation because, in their view, it did not live up to the systematic notion of Platonic esotericism. We explore the alleged disparity between Platonic esotericism and the esotericism of political writing in the Straussian sense and to point to a possible revision of this view.

  •  Participants of the discussion:

- Prof. Jakub Jinek, Vice-Dean for Research, Head of the Department of Philosophy and Law at Charles University, Prague
- Prof. Aleš Prázný, Associate Professor at Charles University, Prague
- Dr. William Wood, MCC Visiting Fellow

Registration!