The Hedgehog And The Fox. An Essay On Tolstoy'S View Of History

Name: The Hedgehog And The Fox. An Essay On Tolstoy'S View Of History
Brand: Recyclivre
Author: Isaiah Berlin
ISBN: 9780753808672

Isaiah Berlin

05/08/1999
Phoenix (An Imprint Of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )

NC (0 avis)

Couverture de The Hedgehog And The Fox. An Essay On Tolstoy'S View Of History par Isaiah Berlin

Résumé

'The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.' This fragment of Archilochus, which gives this book its title, describes the central thesis of Isaiah Berlin's masterly essay on Tolstoy. There have been various interpretations of Archilochus' fragment; Isaiah Berlin has simply used it, without implying anything about the true meaning of the words, to outline a fundamental distinction that exists in mankind, between those who are fascinated by the infinite variety of things (foxes) and those who relate everything to a central all-embracing system (hedgehogs). When applied to Tolstoy, the image illuminates a paradox of his philosophy of history, and shows why he was frequently misunderstood by his contemporaries and critics. Tolstoy was by nature a fox, but he believed in being a hedgehog.