Isaiah Berlin

Description: (Philosopher)

Isaiah Berlin was a renowned British philosopher, social and political theorist, and a historian of ideas. Born in Livonia into a rich Russian Jewish family, he moved to England with his parents when he was twelve years old, quickly acclimatizing himself to the new environment, yet retaining his Russian Jewish identity. Proficient in Russian, English, German, Italian, Hebrew, Latin, and Ancient Greek, he spent his entire career at Oxford except for a few years during the Second World War. At the age of thirty, he published his first work, ‘Karl Marx: His Life and Environment', which was highly appreciated by scholars. However, he did not enjoy writing, and his published works were mostly produced from his conversational dictation to a tape-recorder, or through the transcription of his lectures and talks. In later years, his essays on various topics were collected in books like ‘Russian Thinkers’, ‘Concepts and Categories’, etc. He died in Oxford at the age of eighty-eight.

Overview

Birthday June 6, 1909 (Gemini)
Born In Russia
Alternative names Sir Isaiah Berlin
Died on November 5, 1997
Spouse/Ex- Aline Halban
Parents Mendel Berlin
Marie, née Volshonok

Did you know

What is Isaiah Berlin's Two Concepts of Liberty? Isaiah Berlin's Two Concepts of Liberty distinguishes between positive liberty (freedom to achieve one's potential) and negative liberty (freedom from interference by others).
What is Isaiah Berlin's critique of utopianism? Isaiah Berlin critiqued utopianism for its tendency to lead to oppression and the suppression of individual freedoms in pursuit of an ideal society.
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