The Hedgehog and the Fox

Resumen del libro

"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.

This new edition features a corrected text that supplants all previous versions, English translations of the many passages in foreign languages, a new foreword in which Berlin biographer Michael Ignatieff explains the enduring appeal of Berlin's essay, and a new appendix that provides rich context, including excerpts from reviews and Berlin's letters, as well as a startling new interpretation of Archilochus's epigram.

Biografía del autor

x{0026}lt;P x{0026}lt;B Michael Ignatieffx{0026}lt;/B (Toronto, 1947) es ensayista, académico y expolítico. Fue el líder del Partido Liberal de Canadá y de la oposición desde 2008 hasta 2011. Conocido por su obra como historiador, ha ocupado puestos académicos en las universidades de Toronto, Cambridge, Oxford y Harvard. Es rector y presidente de la Central European University de Budapest y fue catedrático de la Harvard Kennedy School. Entre sus libros cabe destacar x{0026}lt;I Isaiah Berlin. Su vida x{0026}lt;/I (Taurus, 1999; 2018), x{0026}lt;I El honordel guerrero: guerra étnica y concincia modernax{0026}lt;/I (Taurus, 2003; 2024) x{0026}lt;I El mal menor: ética política en una era de terrorx{0026}lt;/I (Taurus, 2005; 2018), x{0026}lt;I Fuego y cenizasx{0026}lt;/I (Taurus, 2014; 2023), x{0026}lt;I Las virtudes cotidianasx{0026}lt;/I (Taurus, 2018) y x{0026}lt;I En busca de consuelox{0026}lt;/I (Taurus, 2023). Ha sido galardonado con el Premio Princesa de Asturias de Ciencias Sociales 2024.x{0026}lt;/P