Abstract

One of the most relevant essays of Leo Strauss is devoted to a deep criticism of Max Weber's attempt to elaborate a "value-free" social science. Strauss understands the notion of "Wertfreiheit" as an outcome of Weber's nihilistic attitude towards modern Western culture, which he has in common with Friedrich Nietzsche, the philosopher who gave a theoretical foundation to nihilism. In the first part of this essay Strauss's argumentation against Weberian nihilism is reconstructed, whereas in the second one his interpretation of Nietzsche's position is taken under consideration. The self-appointed task of this essay is to show how Strauss properly distin guishes between Weber and Nietzsche's apparently similar nihilistic positions, availing himself of their attitude toward relativism as an analytical tool.