Abstract

The article presents the effort of the Leo Strauss Center to promote the study of Leo Strauss's thought primarily through the preservation and edition of the unpublished written and audio records that he left behind. The paper focuses on Strauss's seminars on Plato's "Gorgias", where he argues that the examination of rhetoric in the "Gorgias" proves to be in part an examination of its necessity, even or especially for the philosopher. And while Socrates may be genuinely critical of the sophistic rhetoric practiced and taught by Gorgias, he also points towards a new form of rhetoric that could bridge the gulf between philosophy and the city.