Isaiah Berlin
A Latvian-British social and political theorist known for his distinction between positive and negative liberty and his advocacy for value pluralism.
Quotes by Isaiah Berlin
The notion that there is a single human nature is a myth.
In the end, all that matters is human happiness.
Philosophy teaches us to act, not to speak.
The clash of doctrines is the normal state of human society.
To be free is nothing; to become free is everything.
The artist's task is to make the invisible visible.
Reason is the slave of the passions.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Individualism is the salt of liberty.
The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.
Tolerance is the virtue of a man without convictions.
The essence of humanity is to be found in the pursuit of ideals.
No man is an island, but every man is a peninsula.
The only cure for vanity is laughter, and the only fault that's laughable is vanity.
In philosophy, as in life, the journey is more important than the destination.
Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely—wait, that's not mine, but close enough for politics.
The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.
History never repeats itself, but it rhymes.
To be a philosopher is to doubt wisely.
The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.