论施特劳斯如何理解霍布斯思想

How Leo Strauss Understands the Thought of Thomas Hobbes

摘要: 施特劳斯视霍布斯为现代政治哲学的奠基者，认为其思想以对人性经验的前科学考察为基础，通过考察“虚荣自负”与“恐惧暴死”两种激情的道德对立，实现了从古典“自然法”向现代“自然权利”的根本转向。施特劳斯发现，霍布斯的哲学根植于非启示、无神论的立场，其宗教批判并非理论性的，而是出于对此世幸福的追求与人为秩序的建构。本文系统梳理了列奥·施特劳斯对托马斯·霍布斯思想的理解与诠释，并通过“第二洞穴”这一概念，揭示了启蒙运动因深陷启示传统而未能真正回归古典自然哲思的困境，指出施特劳斯试图通过中世纪理性主义传统(如迈蒙尼德与法拉比)寻找超越现代性困境的路径。

Abstract: Leo Strauss regards Thomas Hobbes as the founder of modern political philosophy, arguing that his thought is grounded in a pre-scientific examination of human experience. By analyzing the moral opposition between the passions of “vainglory” and “fear of violent death,” Hobbes accomplished a fundamental shift from classical “natural law” to modern “natural right.” Strauss reveals that Hobbes’s philosophy is rooted in a non-revelatory and atheistic stance, and that his critique of religion is not theoretical but motivated by the pursuit of earthly happiness and the construction of an artificial order. This paper systematically traces Leo Strauss’s interpretation of Thomas Hobbes’s thought and, through the concept of “the second cave,” exposes the Enlightenment’s failure to genuinely return to classical natural philosophy due to its deep entrapment within the revelatory tradition. It further points out that Strauss sought to transcend the predicaments of modernity by engaging with the medieval rationalist tradition, particularly through thinkers such as Maimonides and Al-Farabi.