On the Origin of Philosophy in Leo Strauss's Natural Right and History

The present study seeks to investigate Leo Strauss' presentation of the origin of philosophy in the first part of the third chapter of Natural Right and History (1953). We will argue that what Strauss shows here, far from being a historical reconstruction of that origin, is rather the articulation of a philosophical explanation: Strauss tacitly raises the question what is philosophy? and seeks to bring to light its original meaning. By accepting this consideration, we will see that the historical interest that the book seems to exhibit is secondary in importance, even circumstantial. Our goal here will be to clarify the reconstruction of the origin of philosophy to show that Strauss's argument constitutes his demonstration of the possibility of philosophy that, consecutively, points to a necessary debate around the idea of natural law. In this "genealogy" of philosophy Strauss permanently deals, although in a veiled manner, with the alternative that accompanies philosophy from its origin: the alternative is obedient love versus free inquiry. It will be the reader's task to recover the counterpoint at each step.