The Legacy of Isaiah Berlin

by Mark Lilla (Editor), Ronald Dworkin (Editor), Robert B. Silvers (Editor)

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.

Genres: Philosophy

208 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2001

About the author

Mark Lilla is an American political scientist, historian of ideas, journalist, and professor of humanities at Columbia University in New York City. A self-described liberal, he typically, though not always, presents views from that perspective.

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was interested in this book because of discussions of political theory that seem to relate to current trends in U.S. Positive vs Negative liberty. Definitions of freedom, equality and liberty, and how to balance liberty and equality, freedom and security, minority rights with democracy in pluralistic populations. Lots on ideology, values and nationalism.

This is the kind of book that allows me to get my head around a new, complex subject--like science or in this case, political philosophy. It's a written record of a tribute event to Isaiah Berlin, an anthology, consisting of essays on various subjects, with each ending in a transcript of discussion amongst the contributors and the panel discussion.

Dworkin was my original author of interest, but the book I checked out written by him (Sovereign Virtue) was tedious, ponderous, and out of date.

This book has all the lingo, definitions and histories of the type of friction we see a lot nowadays in 'pluralistic' democracies (some of which are cited by U.S. Republicans---good to know it isn't insanity behind their politics, just a different interpretation of negative freedom!) Issues such as the gun debate pitting freedom from getting shot against the freedom to buy and carry a gun of whatever type, wherever you want, or freedom to practice a religion that obligates you to try to get laws passed legislating your religion--or violate laws when they conflict with it.

A bonus is the last subject addressed, and that is Berlin's support for Zionism, even though he did not, in theory think nationalism was a good idea. Philosophy certainly isn't ponderous when it meets real life--real, as in concentration camps and death. The contributors who spoke from personal experience 'kept it real,' and the examination of Berlin is an excellent lens into the cognitive dissonance even the greatest thinkers experience when it's their lives and skin and families on the line. Also, the transcripts of various authors arguing their points with each other were refreshingly civil.

[James Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of essays originally presented as papers at an Institute for the Humanities conference dedicated to the work of Sir Isaiah Berlin in 1998. The papers focus on his contributions to the history of ideas, the nature of liberalism, and his advocacy for the state of Israel. The first section of essays, titled "Hedgehogs and Foxes" after Berlin's most famous essay, discusses the nature of revolutionaries, idealogical thinkers, and concludes with an assessment as to what kind of thinker Isaiah Berlin himself was. With exchanges such thinkers as Ronald Dworkin, Bernard Williams, Thomas Nagel, Richard Wollheim and Michael Walzer essay the ideas of one of the seminal intellectuals of the twentieth century.