Annotation
What is the relationship between moral virtues and politics? And if the highest virtue is wisdom, what is its relation to the city? Should those, who seek wisdom (i.e., philosophers), try to bring their knowledge into the marketplace (and, possibly, make of it the foundation of polis) or should they rather retire to their ?gardens?? If they choose the first option, can they intervene into political life directly or do they need intermediaries, such as ?sophists? or ?intellectuals?, who will translate the philosophical knowledge (episteme) into a political opinion (doxa). Does this shift from the esoteric knowledge to the exoteric beliefs entails a concealment of the philosophical truth and selling ?noble lies? to the vulgar? Is the replacement of classical natural right by the dichotomy between the doctrine of human rights and historicism (from Herder and Hegel to Heidegger and further) irreversible, or may those, who see in classical natural right the true foundation of politics still keep some hope for better times? Close readings of selected texts by Leo Strauss is not intended to answer these questions but rather to understand their exact meaning and to clarify the implications of competing answers.