In the fall of 1998, one year after the death of Isaiah Berlin, the New York Institute for the Humanities organized a conference to consider his intellectual legacy. The scholars who participated devoted much of their attention to the question of pluralism, which for Berlin was central to liberal values. His belief in pluralism was at the core of his philosophical writings as well as his studies of contemporary politics and the history of ideas. The papers given at the conference and collected in this volume concentrate on three aspects of Berlin's concept of pluralism. Aileen Kelly, Mark Lilla, and Steven Lukes trace the development and consequences of his distinction between "hedgehogs," thinkers who have a single, unified theory of human action and history, and "foxes," who believe in multiplicity and resist the impulse to subject humanity to a universal vision. Ronald Dworkin, Bernard Williams, Thomas Nagel, and Charles Taylor examine how liberalism can be sustained in the face of Berlin's insight that equally legitimate values, such as liberty and equality, may come into irreconcilable conflict. Avishai Margalit, Richard Wollheim, Michael Walzer, and Robert Silvers take up Berlin's advocacy for the State of Israel and his hopes for it as a place where the often contrary values of liberalism and nationalism might find harmonious resolution. The Legacy of Isaiah Berlin includes not only the panelists' contributions but also transcripts of the lively exchanges among themselves and with audience members following each session. The two days of discussion preserved here demonstrate the continuing vitality and relevance of Isaiah Berlin's thought in today's social and political debates.
Isaiah Berlin remains one of the seminal political philosophers of the twentieth century. This book explains his enduring relevance as we face the challenges of the twenty-first.
On IB's role when the CIA's role in Encounter became known , see M. Lasky to IB , 13.4.67 ; IB to S. Spender , 30.5.67 ; also Mel Lasky to Dwight MacDonald , 12.4.67 ; and IB to Melvin Lasky , 18.4.67 , in Josselson Papers , Harry ...
Like Gay, Berlin saw the Enlightenment as a progressive and modernizing movement but his verdict was much less positive. While he was always careful not to align himself with Talmon and other critics, he shared their belief that the ...
Hiruta tells the full story of the fraught relationship between these towering figures, and shows how their profoundly different views continue to offer important lessons for political thought today
This new edition features a revised text that supplants all previous versions, English translations of the many passages in foreign languages, a new foreword in which Berlin biographer Michael Ignatieff explains the enduring appeal of ...
We went to tea there a few days ago : you know Mr Walpole ? he says he admires your books immensely – a fat , rosy , happy largeish dimpled man came bouncing out to ... 3 Hugh Seymour Walpole ( 1884–1941 ) , popular novelist , Kt 1937 .
"Exhilaratingly thought-provoking".--"Times London". "These are not only wonderfully engaging lectures, but by now also a historical document of considerable importance.
Surveying the work of influential intellectuals, Exile, Statelessness, and Migration recovers the valuable plurality of their Jewish voices and develops their universal insights in the face of the crises of this new century.
In this critical introduction to the works and ideas of Isaiah Berlin, the author pays special attention to Berlin's political thinking, but brings out the connections between it and Berlin's...
This book was originally published as a special issue of Critical Review.