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, by a rich variety of distinguished scholars, offers a critical appraisal of Berlin's wide-ranging intellectual preoccupations and their relation to the deep, persistent questions of human life. 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, insightful portrait of a fascinating mind.