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The Hedgehog and the Fox
- Author
- Isaiah Berlin
- Narrator
- Peter Kenny
- Publisher
- Princeton University Press
- Publish Date
- 18 May 2021
- Run Time
- 2 hours 37 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
This compelling audiobook narrated by Peter Kenny presents Isaiah Berlin's acclaimed essay on Tolstoy and historical understanding
"The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." This ancient Greek aphorism, preserved in a fragment from the poet Archilochus, describes the central thesis of Isaiah Berlin's masterly essay on Leo Tolstoy and the philosophy of history, the subject of the epilogue to
War and Peace. Although there have been many interpretations of the adage, Berlin uses it to mark a fundamental distinction between human beings who are fascinated by the infinite variety of things and those who relate everything to a central, all-embracing system. Applied to Tolstoy, the saying illuminates a paradox that helps explain his philosophy of history: Tolstoy was a fox, but believed in being a hedgehog. One of Berlin's most celebrated works, this extraordinary essay offers profound insights about Tolstoy, historical understanding, and human psychology.
Critics Review
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"Berlin's stunning command of the resources of scholarship, his sensitivity to literature and to character, and his eloquence as a writer give this essay the luster of a virtuoso performance."
Atlantic
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"[Berlin] has a deep and subtle feeling for the puzzle of Tolstoy's personality, and he writes throughout . . . with a wonderful eloquence."---William Barrett, New York Times
New York Times
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Isaiah Berlin
- Narrator
- Peter Kenny
- Duration
- 2 hours 37 minutes
- Release Date
- 18 May 2021
- ISBN
- 9780691226903
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Princeton University Press
- Genre
- Philosophical traditions and schools of thought, Literature: history and criticism
Synopsis
This compelling audiobook narrated by Peter Kenny presents Isaiah Berlin's acclaimed essay on Tolstoy and historical understanding "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." This ancient Greek aphorism, preserved in a fragment from the poet Archilochus, describes the central thesis of Isaiah Berlin's masterly essay on Leo Tolstoy and the philosophy of history, the subject of the epilogue to War and Peace. Although there have been many interpretations of the adage, Berlin uses it to mark a fundamental distinction between human beings who are fascinated by the infinite variety of things and those who relate everything to a central, all-embracing system. Applied to Tolstoy, the saying illuminates a paradox that helps explain his philosophy of history: Tolstoy was a fox, but believed in being a hedgehog. One of Berlin's most celebrated works, this extraordinary essay offers profound insights about Tolstoy, historical understanding, and human psychology.
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