The Hedgehog and the Fox (Second Edition)
An Essay on Tolstoy's View of History
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Narrated by:
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Peter Kenny
About this listen
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.
©1953, 2021 Isaiah Berlin, Henry Hardy, Michael Ignatieff (P)2021 Princeton University PressListeners also enjoyed...
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"So entertaining, as well as acute, that the reader hardly notices that it is learned, too." (Arnold Toynbee, Observer)
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- By: Marilynne Robinson
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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The spirit of our times can appear to be one of joyless urgency. As a culture we have become less interested in the exploration of the glorious mind, and more interested in creating and mastering technologies that will yield material well-being. But while cultural pessimism is always fashionable, there is still much to give us hope.
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Mostly thoughts on religious things
- By Adam Shields on 01-26-16
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Deep Thought
- 42 Fantastic Quotes That Define Philosphy
- By: Gary Cox
- Narrated by: Richard Mitchley
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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As Douglas Adams points out, if there is no final answer to the question "what is the meaning of life?" 42 is as good or bad an answer as any other. Indeed, 42 quotes might be even better! Gary Cox guides us through 42 of the most misunderstood, misquoted, provocative, and significant quotes in the history of philosophy, providing witty and compelling commentary along the way.
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Best philosophy intro ever
- By Fabian on 04-14-18
By: Gary Cox
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Seven Types of Atheism
- By: John Gray
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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For a generation now, public debate has been corroded by a shrill, narrow derision of religion in the name of an often vaguely understood “science.” John Gray’s stimulating and enjoyable new book, Seven Types of Atheism, describes the complex, dynamic world of older atheisms, a tradition that is, he writes, in many ways intertwined with and as rich as religion itself.
By: John Gray
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Fools, Frauds and Firebrands
- Thinkers of the New Left
- By: Roger Scruton
- Narrated by: Rory Barnett
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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From one of the leading critics of leftist orientations comes a study of the thinkers who have most influenced the attitudes of the New Left. Beginning with a ruthless analysis of New Leftism and concluding with a critique of the key strands in its thinking, Roger Scruton conducts a reappraisal of such major left-wing thinkers as E. P. Thompson, Ronald Dworkin, R. D. Laing, Jurgen Habermas, Gyorgy Lukacs, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jacques Derrida, Slavoj Žižek, Ralph Milliband, and Eric Hobsbawm. Scruton delivers a critique of modern left-wing thinking.
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Deconstructing the New Left
- By Wayne on 01-17-20
By: Roger Scruton
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Martin Heidegger
- By: George Steiner
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
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With characteristic lucidity and style, Steiner makes Heidegger's immensely difficult body of work accessible to the general reader. In a new introduction, Steiner addresses language and philosophy and the rise of Nazism. "It would be hard to imagine a better introduction to the work of philosopher Martin Heidegger." (George Kateb, The New Republic)
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Where is Heidegger on audible?!
- By Abdullah Taha on 10-14-19
By: George Steiner
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Philosophy: 100 Essential Thinkers
- The Ideas That Have Shaped Our World
- By: Philip Stokes
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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This engaging and accessible book invites the listener to explore the questions and arguments of philosophy through the work of 100 of the greatest thinkers within the Western intellectual tradition - covering philosophical, scientific, political, and religious thought over a period of 2500 years.
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Unpretentious, honest, with a big picture
- By Mike S. on 05-29-17
By: Philip Stokes
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Nature's God
- The Heretical Origins of the American Republic
- By: Matthew Stewart
- Narrated by: Michael Quinlan
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Where did the ideas come from that became the cornerstone of American democracy? Not only the erudite Thomas Jefferson, the wily and elusive Ben Franklin, and the underappreciated Thomas Paine, but also Ethan Allen, the hero of the Green Mountain Boys, and Thomas Young, the forgotten Founder who kicked off the Boston Tea Party. These radicals who founded America set their sights on a revolution of the mind. Derided as "infidels" and "atheists" in their own time, they wanted to liberate us not just from one king but from the tyranny of supernatural religion.
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Excellent exploration of this subject
- By Caroline on 01-13-15
By: Matthew Stewart
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A Book Forged in Hell
- Spinoza’s Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age
- By: Steven Nadler
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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When it appeared in 1670, Baruch Spinoza’s Theological-Political Treatise was denounced as the most dangerous book ever published. In A Book Forged in Hell, Steven Nadler tells the fascinating story of this extraordinary book: its radical claims and their background in the philosophical, religious, and political tensions of the Dutch Golden Age, as well as the vitriolic reaction these ideas inspired.
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Well researched, comprehensive intro to Spinoza’s work.
- By Tom on 01-27-22
By: Steven Nadler
What listeners say about The Hedgehog and the Fox (Second Edition)
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- hans sandberg
- 12-29-22
Brilliant discussion of Tolstoy's philosophy
This is a brilliant discussion of Tolstoy's approach to life, history, and his novels, in particular "War and Peace". It makes you want to re-read it one more time.
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- MM@CC
- 07-17-23
A fine job with the classic essay
I don’t really need to say much about this essay. It’s a classic and if you’re here, you’re probably already interested. But this is a good way to refresh your memory of the essay if it’s been a while. The narrator is clear and precise but a tad fast, I felt. Still overall a very good performance. It’s definitely worth it. So often when this essay is referenced in op-eds and articles, it seems like the authors have not read more than the first page. Read and listen if you want to go deeper.
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- Rich S.
- 12-14-21
The Fox Who Tried To Be A Hedgehog
This essay is on one level about Tolstoy’s success in writing War and Peace, and his failure to understand his true nature as a fox — one who know many things but understands there is no grand unified theory that makes sense of all those things. At the end of his life, taking on the trappings of a saint, Tolstoy sought to become a hedgehog, who lives by a fundamental theory that claims an understanding of life that is an idealistic fantasy divorced from everyday reality. For Tolstoy this denial of his true nature did not end well.
On a second level this is a cautionary tale of what goes wrong when people deny their true nature. If you are a fox, it is best to remain a fox and not fall under the spell of hedgehogs who claim to know all the answers.
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2 people found this helpful