Leo Strauss, Max Weber, and the Scientific Study of Politics
University of Chicago Press, 2005 - 221 ページ
Can politics be studied scientifically, and if so, how? Assuming it is impossible to justify values by human reason alone, social science has come to consider an unreflective relativism the only viable basis, not only for its own operations, but for liberal societies more generally. Although the experience of the sixties has made social scientists more sensitive to the importance of values, it has not led to a fundamental reexamination of value relativism, which remains the basis of contemporary social science. Almost three decades after Leo Strauss's death, Nasser Behnegar offers the first sustained exposition of what Strauss was best known for: his radical critique of contemporary social science, and particularly of political science.
Behnegar's impressive book argues that Strauss was not against the scientific study of politics, but he did reject the idea that it could be built upon political science's unexamined assumption of the distinction between facts and values. Max Weber was, for Strauss, the most profound exponent of values relativism in social science, and Behnegar's explication artfully illuminates Strauss's critique of Weber's belief in the ultimate insolubility of all value conflicts.
Strauss's polemic against contemporary political science was meant to make clear the contradiction between its claim of value-free premises and its commitment to democratic principles. As Behnegar ultimately shows, values—the ethical component lacking in a contemporary social science—are essential to Strauss's project of constructing a genuinely scientific study of politics.
レビュー - レビューを書く
他の版 - すべて表示
accept According Accordingly action argues argument attempt awareness basis become begins behavior believe cause character choice claim classical common concern conﬂict consequence consider consistent criticism democracy deny devotion difﬁculty discussion distinction emphasis added empirical ence ends ethics existence fact ﬁrst fundamental genuine give groups historical human idea ideals important individual insist interest interpretation issue judge kind knowledge laws leads liberal live logic maintains means moral natural right necessary norms notion objective observes one’s opinion original philosophy political philosophy political science political scientists political things position possibility practical precisely preference present principles problem question rational reason regarding rejection relativism religion requires respect response revelation rules scientiﬁc seems sense shows situation social science society Strauss suggests theoretical theory thesis things thought tion true truth understanding understood universal value judgments Weber Whereas whole