Quotes of Isaiah Berlin - somelinesforyou

“ Men would no longer be victims of nature or of their own largely irrational societies: reason would triumph; universal harmonious cooperation, true history, would at last begin. For if this was not so, do the ideas of progress, of history, have any meaning? Is there not a movement, however tortuous, from ignorance to knowledge, from mythical thought and childish fantasies to perception of reality face to face, to knowledge of true goals, true values as well as truths of fact? Can history be a mere purposeless succession of events, caused by a mixture of material factors and the play of random selection, a tale full of sound and fury signifying nothing? This was unthinkable. The day would dawn when men and women would take their lives in their own hands and not be selfseeking beings or the playthings of blind forces that they did not understand. It was, at the very least, not impossible to conceive that such an earthly paradise could be; and if conceivable we could, at any rate, try to march towards it. That has been at the centre of ethical thought from the Greeks to the Christian visionaries of the Middle Ages, from the Renaissance to progressive thought in the last century; and indeed, is believed by many to this day. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ The view that the truth is one and undivided, and the same for all men everywhere at all times, whether one finds it in the pronouncements of sacred books, traditional wisdom, the authority of churches, democratic majorities, observation and experiment conducted by qualified experts, or the convictions of simple folks uncorrupted by civilisationthis view, in one form or another, is central to western thought, which stems from Plato and his disciples. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ The view that the truth is one and undivided, and the same for all men everywhere at all times, whether one finds it in the pronouncements of sacred books, traditional wisdom, the authority of churches, democratic majorities, observation and experiment conducted by qualified experts, or the convictions of simple folks uncorrupted by civilisationthis view, in one form or another, is central to western thought, which stems from Plato and his disciples. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ The very desire for guarantees that our values are eternal and secure in some objective heaven is perhaps only a craving for the certainties of childhood or the absolute values of our primitive past. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Ideally, what we are calling for is a relationship of good neighbors, but given the number of bigoted terrorist chauvinists on both sides, this is impracticable. The solution must lie somewhat along the lines of reluctant toleration. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Only barbarians are not curious about where they come from, how they came to be where they are, where they appear to be going, whether they wish to go there, and if so, why, and if not, why not. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Only barbarians are not curious about where they come from, how they came to be where they are, where they appear to be going, whether they wish to go there, and if so, why, and if not, why not. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Only barbarians are not curious about where they come from, how they came to be where they are, where they appear to be going, whether they wish to go there, and if so, why, and if not, why not. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ The fundamental sense of freedom is freedom from chains, from imprisonment, from enslavement by others. The rest is extension of this sense, or else metaphor. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Only barbarians are not curious about where they come from, how they came to be where they are, where they appear to be going, whether they wish to go there, and if so, why, and if not, why not. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Only barbarians are not curious about where they come from, how they came to be where they are, where they appear to be going, whether they wish to go there, and if so, why, and if not, why not. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Only barbarians are not curious about where they come from, how they came to be where they are, where they appear to be going, whether they wish to go there, and if so, why, and if not, why not. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ The fundamental sense of freedom is freedom from chains, from imprisonment, from enslavement by others. The rest is extension of this sense, or else metaphor. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Ideally, what we are calling for is a relationship of good neighbors, but given the number of bigoted terrorist chauvinists on both sides, this is impracticable. The solution must lie somewhat along the lines of reluctant toleration. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Lenin could listen so intently that he exhausted the speaker. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Lenin could listen so intently that he exhausted the speaker. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Philosophers are adults who persist in asking childish questions. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Lenin could listen so intently that he exhausted the speaker. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Lenin could listen so intently that he exhausted the speaker. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Only barbarians are not curious about where they come from, how they came to be where they are, where they appear to be going, whether they wish to go there, and if so, why, and if not, why not. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Ideally, what we are calling for is a relationship of good neighbors, but given the number of bigoted terrorist chauvinists on both sides, this is impracticable. The solution must lie somewhat along the lines of reluctant toleration. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Lenin could listen so intently that he exhausted the speaker. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Only barbarians are not curious about where they come from, how they came to be where they are, where they appear to be going, whether they wish to go there, and if so, why, and if not, why not. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ The fundamental sense of freedom is freedom from chains, from imprisonment, from enslavement by others. The rest is extension of this sense, or else metaphor. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ The fundamental sense of freedom is freedom from chains, from imprisonment, from enslavement by others. The rest is extension of this sense, or else metaphor. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Lenin could listen so intently that he exhausted the speaker. ”

- Isaiah Berlin

“ Only barbarians are not curious about where they come from, how they came to be where they are, where they appear to be going, whether they wish to go there, and if so, why, and if not, why not. ”

- Isaiah Berlin
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