Classical rationality as a response to the crisis of modern rationality: a dialogue between Edmund Husserl and Leo Strauss

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36517/arf.v18i1.96934

Keywords:

Husserl. Strauss. Crisis of meaning. Crisis of the sciences.

Abstract

In this paper, we propose to investigate the possible convergence between Edmund Husserl’s conception of a “universal ethical science”, philosophical in character and oriented toward infinity, and Leo Strauss’s notion of classical natural right, understood as an inquiry into the possibility of a normative foundation for human existence. We argue that this convergence may offer an understanding of the political phenomenon that transcends strictly factual or historicist perspectives. Our central hypothesis is that, in proposing the recovery of classical natural right, Strauss seeks to respond to a problem already formulated by Husserl in his critique of historicism, especially in the essay Philosophie als strenge Wissenschaft.

Author Biographies

  • Elvis de Oliveira Mendes, Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Norte (UERN)

    Doutor em Ciência Política pela Universidade Federal Fluminense (RJ) e em Filosofia pela Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (MG), com pesquisa financiada pela Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). É membro do grupo de pesquisa Fenomenologia e Subjetividade: Humanidades, Filosofia e Psicologia, vinculado ao Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). Atualmente atua como Professor do Departamento de Filosofia da Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Norte e realiza pesquisa como professor pesquisador em estágio pós-doutoral no Departamento de Ciência Política da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Desenvolve pesquisas com foco nas áreas de Teoria Política, História da Filosofia, História das Ideias Políticas, Fenomenologia, Ontologia e Filosofia Política antiga e contemporânea.

  • Tommy Akira Goto, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU)

    Professor Associado I da Graduação, docente permanente da Pós-Graduação em Psicologia e da Pós-Graduação em Filosofia da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU), Doutor em Psicologia como Profissão e Ciência pela PUC-Campinas (2007), Mestre em Ciências da Religião pela Universidade Metodista de São Paulo (2002) e Graduado em Psicologia pela Universidade São Marcos (1998). Membro do GT de Fenomenologia da Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação em Filosofia (ANPOF); Coordenador membro do grupo Brasil do Circulo Latinoamericano de Fenomenologia (CLAFEN) e Membro-assistente da Sociedad Iberoamericana de Estudios Heideggerianos SIEH. Tem experiência profissional e docente na Psicologia e Filosofia, Epistemologia, Fenomenologia e Ciências Cognitivas, Psicologia e Educação, Psicologia Fenomenológica de Edmund Husserl e Edith Stein. Além disso tem atuado e pesquisado as seguintes áreas: Filosofia, Antropologia Filosófica, Experiência religiosa, Fenomenologia da Religião, Fenomenologia e Saúde e Psicologia Fenomenológica.

References

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Published

2026-07-14

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 1 (2026)

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Artigos

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How to Cite

Mendes, E. de O., & Goto, T. A. (2026). Classical rationality as a response to the crisis of modern rationality: a dialogue between Edmund Husserl and Leo Strauss. Argumentos - Revista De Filosofia, 18(1), 105-125. https://doi.org/10.36517/arf.v18i1.96934