In this pioneering work, Richard El Velcly examines the complex philosophical relationship between Martin Heidegger and Leo Strauss. Philly argues that both thinkers provide research analyzes of the origin of philosophical tradition in radical questioning. For Heidegger and Strauss, the restoration of the seat of original philosophy can not be separated from rethinking the possibility of true philosophy. Common views on the influence of Heidegger's thought on Strauss suggest that, having been inspired early by Heidegger's dissolution of philosophical tradition, Strauss took a completely separate path, rejecting modernity and instead pursuing the renewal of Socratic political philosophy. Veleckley rejects this reading and emphasizes that Strauss's attachment to Hegger's challenges - as well as to modern philosophy in general - has provided a vital and lasting framework for his lifelong philosophical project.

More than an intellectual biography or just a sketch of influence, "Heidegger, Strauss, and the Building of Philosophy" is a profound consideration of these philosophers' reflection on the roots, meanings and fate of Western rationalism.