Berlin, Isaiah

Berlin, Isaiah
(1909– )
British political philosopher and historian. Born in Russia and educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, Berlin held Fellowships at All Souls and New College, before becoming President of Wolfson College, Oxford, from 1966 to 1975. He is best known in political philosophy for the distinction between negative and positive liberty, drawn in his Two Concepts of Liberty (1959): that is, although any statement about liberty ought to specify both what one is free to do (positive) and what one is free from in doing it (negative), nevertheless different political philosophies give the one much more importance than the other. Thus liberalism dwells on the virtues of being free from legal and social constraint; idealist and Hegelian theories stress that the most important kinds of freedoms and opportunities can only exist in a structured society, so that the constraints needed to produce such societies may be a necessary means to the best ends. Berlin has also energetically opposed the value-free, historicist view of history of Marxism, notably in Historical Inevitability (1954).

Philosophy dictionary. . 2011.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Berlin,Isaiah — Berlin, Isaiah. 1909 1997. Russian born British political philosopher and historian best known for his distinction between positive and negative liberty and for his view that values are plural and conflicting. * * * …   Universalium

  • BERLIN, ISAIAH BEN JUDAH LOEB — (Isaiah Pick; 1725–1799), rabbi and author. Berlin was known also as Isaiah Pick after his father in law, Wolf Pick of Breslau, who supported him for many years. He was born in Eisenstadt, Hungary, but his father, an eminent talmudic scholar (who …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Berlin, Isaiah —    b. 1909, Riga (Latvia); d. 1997, Oxford    Philosopher    Isaiah Berlin was a philosopher and historian of ideas. He came to Britain from Riga, Latvia in 1920. He studied at Oxford and went on to became a fellow of All Souls (1932). During the …   Encyclopedia of contemporary British culture

  • Berlin, Isaiah ben Judah Loeb — ▪ Hungarian scholar also called  Isaiah Pick   born October 1725, Eisenstadt, Hungary [now in Austria] died May 13, 1799, Breslau, Silesia, Prussia [now Wrocław, Pol.]       Jewish scholar noted for his textual commentaries on the Talmud and… …   Universalium

  • Berlin, Isaiah ben Judah Loeb (Pick, Isaiah) — (1725 99)    German talmudist. He was born in Hungary and lived in Berlin and Breslau. He wrote on a wide range of rabbinic literature. His emendations have been added to editions of the Talmud since 1800 …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • Berlin, Isaiah — (1909 97)    British philosopher. Born in Latvia, he was the first Jewish fellow of All Souls at Oxford, and later became professor of social and political theory and president of Wolfson College, Oxford. He published a range of works concerning… …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • Isaiah Berlin — [Isaiah Berlin] (1909–97) a British writer and ↑philosopher, born in Russia. He was made a ↑knight in 1957 and a member of the ↑Order of Merit in 1971 …   Useful english dictionary

  • Berlin — (izg. bérlin), Isaiah, Sir (1909 1997) DEFINICIJA britanski politički teoretičar, povjesničar i filozof, oštar kritičar determinističkih doktrina; jedan od najistaknutijih mislilaca i teoretičara liberalizma i liberalne demokracije 20. st.… …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • Isaiah Berlin — Infobox Philosopher region = Western Philosophy era = 20th century philosophy color = #B0C4DE name = Isaiah Berlin birth = 6 June 1909 death = death date and age|df=yes|1997|11|5|1909|6|6 school tradition = Analytic notable ideas = positive and… …   Wikipedia

  • BERLIN, SIR ISAIAH — (1909–1997), English philosopher and political scientist. Born in Latvia, Berlin was taken to England as a boy. He later studied at Oxford, where he lectured in philosophy from 1932 and became the first Jewish Fellow of All Souls College in 1938 …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”