(1909–1997)

Sir Isaiah Berlin is one of the world’s most significant liberal philosophers of the XX century. He was born in Riga, spent most of his life in Great Britain and earned world acclaim with his powerful and sophisticated discourse and interpretation of liberalism and his brilliant display of extraordinarily incisive mind and sparkling style.

His essay "Two Concepts of Liberty" left an essential impact on the development of the liberal philosophical thought: his discrimination between positive and negative liberty was the point of departure for further theoretical discourse on significance and value of political freedom. It remains one of the most read and interpreted texts of liberal philosophy. Later works by Berlin caused noteworthy response with their idea of pluralism of the human nature, behaviour, ambitions and values. They have become a source of inspiration and further research for numerous other philosophers.

Isaiah Berlin was born on 6 June, 1909, in a family of a prosperous Jewish timber merchant. When World War I broke out the Berlin family was forced to move to Petrograd where in 1917 Isaiah witnessed the revolution. This experience influenced the choice of subjects covered in Berlin’s work later in the life and became the cornerstone of his philosophy ― the idea that society needs a compromise-based, liberal social system which would minimise the risk of terrorism and totalitarianism.

In 1920 the Berlins returned to Riga but 1921 already saw them move to London where the family settled down in the Holland Park district. Isaiah graduated from St.Paul’s school and obtained a grant for studies at the Corpus Christi College at the University of Oxford where he read classics, modern languages and philosophy. Immediately upon graduation Berlin became a lecturer in philosophy at the New College, Oxford, and soon passed the examinations to become a Prize Fellow at the highly prestigious All Souls College at the University of Oxford.

Berlin’s interests were not limited to scientific work; he took an active part in the social and political life of the country. During the 1930’s he was a strong influence on the formation of philosophical thought at Oxford and worked closely with his friends and fellow philosophers Alfred Ayer and John Langshaw Austin. During World War II from 1940 to 1945 Berlin prepared weekly political press reviews and reports for the British Information Services in New York and the British Embassy in Washington, said to be read with great interest by W. Churchill. In 1946 Berlin visited Russia where he met prominent Russian writers and artists of the time, Sergey Eisenstein, Boris Pasternak, Korney Chukovsky and Anna Akhmatova among them.

After the war Berlin returned to Oxford and in 1950 was elected to a research fellowship at the All Souls Scientific Society, which permitted him to dedicate himself fully to historical, political and literary research. In 1957 he was made Professor of Social and Political Theory at the All Souls College of Oxford University. In 1967 Berlin became the President of the Wolfson College at the Oxford University and from 1974 to 1978 occupied the post of the President of the British Academy.

The prominent philosopher was the recipient of Angelli, Erasmus and Lippincott Awards for his contribution to philosophical thought as well as several state awards: in 1957 he was knighted and in 1971 awarded the Order of Merit, the highest sign of distinction in the United Kingdom. Berlin was also presented with the Jerusalem Award for lifetime contribution to the cause of individual freedom.

http://berlin.wolf.ox.ac.uk