{"product_id":"9781350121430","title":"The Philosophy of Isaiah Berlin","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eThe Philosophy of Isaiah Berlin\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Johnny Lyons\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'I gradually came to the conclusion that I should prefer a field in which one could hope to know more at the end of one's life than when one had begun.' So thought Isaiah Berlin toward the end of the Second World War, when he decided to bid farewell to philosophy in favour of the history of ideas. In The Philosophy of Isaiah Berlin Johnny Lyons shows that Berlin's approach to intellectual history amounted to the pursuit of philosophy by other means, creating a more original and fruitful engagement with his lifelong subject. By recasting Berlin as a philosopher who took humanity and history seriously, Lyons reveals the underlying unity of his wide-ranging and disparate ideas and throws into sharp relief the enduring moral charm of his outlook.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLyons emphasises aspects of Berlin's thinking that have largely been neglected. These include his recognition of historical contingency and of the importance of truth in human affairs, his scepticism about the so-called implications of determinism for our everyday understanding of freedom, and his deeper reasons for thinking that negative liberty should be valued. This introduction to Berlin's thought, and particularly its examination of these mainly overlooked elements of his outlook, reveals a new Berlin, one with surprising and urgent contemporary relevance to the debates that continue to dominate philosophy, politics and intellectual history today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A thorough and trenchant piece of scholarship, moving over a vast range to match that of Berlin himself.... The Philosophy of Isaiah Berlin should pique the interest of those who perhaps need to do some soul-searching and return to a philosophical justification for the liberalism.... A book like Lyons’s serves a function beyond the explication of the thought of one of liberalism’s most contemplative, meticulous and erudite defenders. \" - \u003ci\u003eLord Alderdice, former Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1998-2004, leader of the Alliance Party of Norther Ireland 1987-98 and currently Senior Research Fellow at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[A] deeply impressive book ... Broad in its field of references - the book quotes poets and novelists and journalists as well as a huge range of philosophers - it's an exemplary work of humanistic thought.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Critic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“One couldn't wish for a more enlightening or readable account of Berlin's philosophy.  Beginners will learn from this excellent book and Berlin aficionados will be stimulated by it. It is hard to imagine anyone reading Lyons on Berlin and not wanting to read more Berlin or, for that matter, more Lyons. Highly recommended.” —\u003ci\u003eQuassim Cassam, Professor of Philosophy, University of Warwick, UK\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781350121430\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40739304800462,"sku":"9781350121430","price":30.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_a5936a20-52f2-4c51-bd53-f908e811e261.jpg?v=1641361334","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781350121430","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}