Strauss: A Philosophical Supremacy

Strauss is a, as I like to characterize him, a philosophical supremacist. So Strauss comes down on the side of philosophy. He grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family. If he had a conversion experience, because he spoke about philosophy as in terms of conversion from time to time, then his was a conversion to the life of philosophy. And that required a sensible and respectful departure from his religious tradition.