Abstract
Despite the destructive effects of 19th-century historicism, contemporary critiques of that school, as exemplified by Leo Strauss, 'What is Political Philosophy?' (1959), are inappropriate. As all human life is continuous activity, thought is never static and divorced from history. Cognition is a dialectical striving for, but never the achievement of, perfect clarity. Lasting truth about life is learned in history. To understand a text is to assess it. History, by emphasizing different aspects of eternal questions, permits but does not guarantee an ever richer understanding of life's potential.