Isaiah Berlin

The notion of the perfect whole, the ultimate solution, in terms of which the last word should be said, forbids this, forbids the attempt to see things as they are.

Everything that lives, that is, is alive only up to a certain point: beyond that, it is dead.

To force our own 'truth' on others is a form of authoritarianism.

The multiplicity of values is a fact of life.

Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made.

If, as I believe, the ends pursued by human beings are many and not to be scientifically ordered.

The concept of liberty is, of course, ambiguous.

I do not, of course, claim that there is anything new in what I am saying.

The idea that there are some values which are good for all men always, everywhere, is a dangerous illusion.

Philosophy is not a science, but the mother of sciences.

History is a battleground of incompatible ideals.

The great controversy about morals ends in the question: where is the touchstone of truth in morals?

To have a sense of reality is to be able to discern the difference between what is and what ought to be.

The enemy of pluralism is monism.

In politics, reality and appearance are inseparable.

The pursuit of the good life is a perpetual war between incompatible ideals.

True knowledge consists in knowing things, not in seeing them.

Freedom means being able to do what one likes, provided one does not interfere with others.

The value that is of value is the value that is valued.

I have always resisted the temptation to over-simplify.