Leo Strauss on Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra

by Leo Strauss, Richard L. Velkley (Editor)

Although Leo Strauss published little on Nietzsche, his lectures and correspondence demonstrate a deep critical engagement with Nietzsche’s thought. One of the richest contributions is a seminar on Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, taught in 1959 during Strauss’s tenure at the University of Chicago. In the lectures, Strauss draws important parallels between Nietzsche’s most important project and his own ongoing efforts to restore classical political philosophy.

With Leo Strauss on Nietzsche’s “Thus Spoke Zarathustra,” eminent Strauss scholar Richard L. Velkley presents Strauss’s lectures on Zarathustra with superb annotations that bring context and clarity to the critical role played by Nietzsche in shaping Strauss’s thought. In addition to the broad relationship between Nietzsche and political philosophy, Strauss adeptly guides readers through Heidegger’s confrontations with Nietzsche, laying out Heidegger’s critique of Nietzsche’s “will to power” while also showing how Heidegger can be read as a foil for his own reading of Nietzsche. The lectures also shed light on the relationship between Heidegger and Strauss, as both philosophers saw Nietzsche as a central figure for understanding the crisis of philosophy and Western civilization.
Strauss’s reading of Nietzsche is one of the important—yet little appreciated—philosophical inquiries of the past century, both an original interpretation of Nietzsche’s thought and a deep engagement with the core problems that modernity posed for political philosophy. It will be welcomed by anyone interested in the work of either philosopher.

Genres: Philosophy

304 pages, Paperback

Published December 4, 2017

About the author

Leo Strauss was a 20th century German-American scholar of political philosophy. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Strauss later emigrated from Germany to the United States. He spent much of his career as a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, where he taught several generations of students and published fifteen books.
Trained in the neo-Kantian tradition with Ernst Cassirer and immersed in the work of the phenomenologists Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, Strauss authored books on Baruch Spinoza and Thomas Hobbes, and articles on Maimonides and Al-Farabi. In the late 1930s, his research focused on the texts of Plato and Aristotle, retracing their interpretation through medieval Islamic and Jewish philosophy, and encouraging the application of those ideas to contemporary political theory.

Reviews

[Bianca Van Zile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but transcript has gaps

[Patrick Gambill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strauss generally has good insights On Zarathustra. As a philosopher who studies history, he adds a unique perspective to the difficult text. In particular, I liked his comparisons to historical philosophers. I also thought the first half of chapter 14 was particularly insightful (this is where Strauss mentioned philosophy of science and its relationship to part 4 of Zarathustra).

I have a couple of criticisms.

1. The transcript is missing in a few spots. These jumps in the text are frustrating. Sometimes we only get half of a paragraph and without the context, this makes it harder to understand what Strauss is trying to communicate.

2. In a few spots of the lectures, Strauss lets his personal views on politics into the discussion. Given that Nietzsche explicitly denounces the state, this is a little jarring. Some of the political comparisons are relevant (especially when contrasting Nietzsche to Rousseau). Other's show Strauss's political leanings at the time of the lectures (1950s). Given Nietzsche published Zarathustra in the late 1800s, many political issues and movements were not the same as when Strauss gave his lectures. One example is when Strauss uses the word "liberal" in different contexts. When referring to the classical liberalism of Rousseau and to the liberal movement of Strauss's time, it isn't always clear which one he is criticising or contrasting. Nietzsche was familiar with Rousseau's work and gave his views in Zarathustra. This is a different meaning than the socialist, communist, and liberal movements in the 1950s. Sometimes it feels like Strauss conflates these movements with the 1800s classical liberalism that Nietzsche was familiar with. Some of this may also be confusion due to gaps in the transcript though.

[TL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strauss was recognized by figures as diverse as Benjamin, Scholem, Kojève, Lacan, and Gadamer as an incredible exegete of the history of philosophy. This text is a breathtaking confirmation of those judgments, and seems to effortlessly assert itself as one of the greatest Nietzsche interpretations of the past century. It even goes so far as to make Nietzsche's most cryptic teachings—will to power and eternal return—as lucid as seems possible. The introduction lays out some of its major themes nicely:

'(1) While retaining the nineteenth-century discovery of the "historical consciousness," Nietzsche rejected the view that the historical process is rational;
(2) he rejected the belief that a harmony between the genuine individual and the modern state is possible, thus returning to Rousseau's antinomy from Hegel's reconciliation;
(3) he held that all human life and human thought ultimately rest on horizon-forming creations that are not susceptible to rational legitimization;
(4) he proposed that the great individuals are creators of horizons, and that the will to power explains their activity;
(5) Nietzsche's call to creativity was addressed to individuals who should revolutionize their lives, not to society or the nation, but even so Nietzsche hoped that the genuine creators would form a new nobility able to rule the planet;
(6) Nietzsche "used much of his unsurpassable and inexhaustible power" of speech to make his readers loathe all existing political alternatives, without pointing the way to political responsibility, thus helping to prepare the fascist regimes.'

I simply cannot fathom why this magnificent text has (at the time of this review) a mere 18 ratings on this website. Dear reader, I exhort you to join me in rescuing these lectures from (possible) oblivion.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The chapters are series of lectures that Leo Strauss did on Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The chapters are transcribed from old recordings of these lectures. Some questions from students, or even points Strauss is making are occasionally left incomplete. However, having no philosophical background myself, I found the book to be a great resource to understanding the foundation of Nietzsche's writings. If you are like me, this book is helpful.

[Zoonanism · Rating 4 out of 5]

In these lectures Strauss deals with Nietzsche's Zarathustra at a decent enough pace for one to realize both the charm and error of that poetic work. A very good question is posed by a student in the penultimate page, which I don't think Strauss managed to answer. To paraphrase, if it could be proven that the WILL TO POWER is the fundamental phenomenon, it would still be a necessity in nature and would not be dependent upon Zarathustra's will.

[Aidan Sheeran-Hahnel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this one in STJC bookstore so it’s collector’s edition, kinda. Reading first two chapters right before spring break honestly helped my Nietzsche understanding so much.

[Suraj Alva · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of hidden gems here. Especially, if like me, you love Nietzsche's work. The only problem is that the compilation of this book is slipshod. Making it incredibly difficult to read. It's basically the penning down of Strauss' spoken word as is. I had to go over sentences (most of the work) a few times over to get at the essence. And it became extremely irritating, draining my vitality and interest to read further. But I kept at it until I didn't.

If only all good philosophers wrote like Nietzsche, content-wise and stylistically, there would be fewer 'last' men.