Leo Strauss and the Quest for the Other City. Philosophical Speech within the City from al-Fārābī to Plato

The aim of this essay is to show how the knowledge of al-Fārābī was a turning point in Leo Strauss’ intellectual journey. Reading al-Fārābī’s political philosophy, Strauss recognized philosophical speech as the only place to build the perfect city and then, by means of this realization, he understood Plato’s Republic through the eyes of a medieval Islamic philosopher. In this essay I will trace the steps of Strauss’ discovery of philosophical speech from al-Fārābī’s works to Plato.