Isaiah Berlin and the Enlightenment

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, History, Criticism, & Surveys
Cover of the book Isaiah Berlin and the Enlightenment by , OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9780191086540
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: October 20, 2016
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9780191086540
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: October 20, 2016
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

Isaiah Berlin (1909-97) was recognized as Britain's most distinguished historian of ideas. Many of his essays discussed thinkers of what this book calls the 'long Enlightenment' (from Vico in the eighteenth century to Marx and Mill in the nineteenth, with Machiavelli as a precursor). Yet he is particularly associated with the concept of the 'Counter-Enlightenment', comprising those thinkers (Herder, Hamann, and even Kant) who in Berlin's view reacted against the Enlightenment's naïve rationalism, scientism and progressivism, its assumption that human beings were basically homogeneous and could be rendered happy by the remorseless application of scientific reason. Berlin's 'Counter-Enlightenment' has received critical attention, but no-one has yet analysed the understanding of the Enlightenment on which it rests. Isaiah Berlin and the Enlightenment explores the development of Berlin's conception of the Enlightenment, noting its curious narrowness, its ambivalence, and its indebtedness to a specific German intellectual tradition. Contributors to the book examine his comments on individual writers, showing how they were inflected by his questionable assumptions, and arguing that some of the writers he assigned to the 'Counter-Enlightenment' have closer affinities to the Enlightenment than he recognized. By locating Berlin in the history of Enlightenment studies, this book also makes a contribution to defining the historical place of his work and to evaluating his intellectual legacy.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Isaiah Berlin (1909-97) was recognized as Britain's most distinguished historian of ideas. Many of his essays discussed thinkers of what this book calls the 'long Enlightenment' (from Vico in the eighteenth century to Marx and Mill in the nineteenth, with Machiavelli as a precursor). Yet he is particularly associated with the concept of the 'Counter-Enlightenment', comprising those thinkers (Herder, Hamann, and even Kant) who in Berlin's view reacted against the Enlightenment's naïve rationalism, scientism and progressivism, its assumption that human beings were basically homogeneous and could be rendered happy by the remorseless application of scientific reason. Berlin's 'Counter-Enlightenment' has received critical attention, but no-one has yet analysed the understanding of the Enlightenment on which it rests. Isaiah Berlin and the Enlightenment explores the development of Berlin's conception of the Enlightenment, noting its curious narrowness, its ambivalence, and its indebtedness to a specific German intellectual tradition. Contributors to the book examine his comments on individual writers, showing how they were inflected by his questionable assumptions, and arguing that some of the writers he assigned to the 'Counter-Enlightenment' have closer affinities to the Enlightenment than he recognized. By locating Berlin in the history of Enlightenment studies, this book also makes a contribution to defining the historical place of his work and to evaluating his intellectual legacy.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming by
Cover of the book The History of Time: A Very Short Introduction by
Cover of the book The First World War: Volume I: To Arms by
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Process Philosophy and Organization Studies by
Cover of the book Scholarly Misconduct by
Cover of the book The Second World War:A Short History by
Cover of the book Investor Engagement by
Cover of the book Truth as One and Many by
Cover of the book John Ashbery and Anglo-American Exchange by
Cover of the book Prospection, well-being, and mental health by
Cover of the book Fascism: A Very Short Introduction by
Cover of the book The Biology of Freshwater Wetlands by
Cover of the book Scottish Philosophy in the Eighteenth Century, Volume I by
Cover of the book Goy by
Cover of the book The Misfortunes of Virtue and Other Early Tales by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy