Table of Contents

The Leo Strauss Transcript Project

Editor’s Introduction: Strauss, Nietzsche, and the History of Political Philosophy

Editorial Headnote

1 Introduction: Nietzsche’s Philosophy, Existentialism, and the Problem of Our Age

2 Restoring Nature as Ethical Principle: Zarathustra, Prologue

3 The Creative Self: Zarathustra, Part 1, 1–8 

4 The True Individual as the Highest Goal: Zarathustra, Part 1, 9–15

5 Postulated Nature and Final Truth: Zarathustra, Part 1, 16–22

6 Truth, Interpretation, and Intelligibility: Zarathustra, Part 2, 1–12

7 Will to Power and Self- Overcoming: Zarathustra, Part 2, 15–20

8 Summary and Review: Fusing Plato and the Creative Self

9 Greek Philosophy and the Bible; Nature and History: Zarathustra, Part 2, 20–22

10 Eternal Recurrence: Zarathustra, Part 2, 21; Part 3, 1–13

11 Survey: Nietzsche and Political Philosophy

12 The Goodness of the Whole, Socratic and Heideggerian Critiques: Zarathustra, Part 3, 4–12

13 Creative Contemplation: Zarathustra, Part 3, 13

14 Restoring the Sacred and the Final Question: Zarathustra, Part 4

Notes
Index

About the Author

Leo Strauss (1899–1973) was one of the preeminent political philosophers of the twentieth century. He is the author of many books, among them The Political Philosophy of Hobbes, Natural Right and History, and Spinoza’s Critique of Religion, all published by the University of Chicago Press. Richard L. Velkley is the Celia Scott Weatherhead Professor of Philosophy at Tulane University and the author, most recently, of Heidegger, Strauss, and the Premises of Philosophy.

Reviews

“Nietzsche had a significance for Strauss that far exceeds the volume of his published comments. In these lectures on Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Strauss does with Nietzsche what he did with Plato, Maimonides, Machiavelli, and other major figures in the Western philosophical tradition. He gives a detailed commentary on Nietzsche’s most important book, allowing Nietzsche his own manner of expression and working to understand why Nietzsche wrote this way. The result is an important contribution to our understanding of Zarathustra, a meticulous laying out of Nietzsche’s teachings made possible by Strauss’s determination to follow the drama of this most unusual book.”
*Laurence Lampert, author of The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss*

"In Leo Strauss on Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, the greatest philosopher of the 20th century shares his thoughts on the greatest philosopher of the 19th. . . . it is a deeply rewarding work."
*Claremont Review of Books*

"The overall effect of [the University of Chicago Press's Leo Strauss transcript series] is similar to the effect of the ongoing publication of courses and manuscripts by Martin Heidegger: we have something 'new' long after this seemed possible. The specific impact of Strauss’s volume on Zarathustra, moreover, goes beyond what it teaches us about Nietzsche: we are reminded again of the breadth of Strauss’s comprehension of the central figures of political philosophy, and of the depth of his understanding of the human soul."
*The Review of Politics*