Understanding Humanity with Isaiah Berlin

The central ideas of Isaiah Berlin (1909–1997) remain as alive for our century as they did for his, and his enduring importance as a thinker is matched by his reputation as an essayist of the first rank. This in-depth exploration of a selection of Berlin's most important essays, discussed by a variety of distinguished contributors, offers a scholarly and engaging appraisal of Berlin's most salient philosophical, historical and political preoccupations while relating them to the broad and persistent questions of philosophy, history, politics and culture. Each of the contributors examines Berlin's understanding of humanity through one of his essays, including 'The Hedgehog and the Fox', 'Two Concepts of Liberty', and 'Winston Churchill in 1940', together with less famous ones such as 'The Divorce between the Sciences and the Humanities' and 'The Purpose of Philosophy'. The result is a fresh, penetrating portrait of a major scholar and public intellectual.