Leo Strauss, exoterismo e escrita entre linhas

Abstract

This work presents Leo Strauss’s suggestion that the great writers of the past made use of a peculiar technique, that he names metaphorically as “writing between the lines”, aiming to protect their heterodox views from political persecution while expressing openly other views that conform to generally accepted opinion. It seeks to examine what that technique is about, its writing and reading method, and its validity for the study of that great writers’ works. It begins with Strauss’s own exposition and confronts it with some objections it has received. At the end, it considers that the writing between the lines is a valid and interesting method for studying of the history of philosophy as a philosophical discipline.