The concept of natural right and criticism of historicism in Leo Strauss

The subject of this thesis is the problem of natural right, which Leo Strauss deals within his book Natural Rights and History. Natural right is a broad concept that defines the sources of law and the freedoms enjoyed by the individual under state sovereignty. In the study, following the methodology followed by Leo Strauss in his own book, a brief narrative about the origin of the concept in ancient times and its use in the modern period is presented. Strauss thinks that the concept of natural right fundamentally contradicts the understanding of historicism and believes that these two approaches cannot co-exist in the same intellectual world. For this reason, in a world where justice and law exist, there must be natural right as the source of law; He thinks that the historicist school should be accountable on behalf of humans and nature in the field of social sciences. In the thesis, what kind of results the examination of natural right can lead to in terms of criticism of historicism is examined with a historical reading of the modern period. Key Words: historicism, natural right, natural law, conventionalism, historical school.