Realism: Concepts and Historical Studies

Author: Isaiah Berlin
Translator: Pan Rongrong, Lin Mao
Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: Sense of Reality is based on the first Elizabeth Carter Moore Lecture, delivered on October 9, 1953, at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, under the title Realism in History. Some of the issues discussed by Berlin had already been addressed in other articles, such as The Hedgehog and the Fox and The Concept of Scientific History. However, this is his explicit discussion of the topic, and it clearly deserves a place in this collection. Among the nine essays included in this book, Isaiah Berlin explores some of the core ideas that have dominated European history for nearly three centuries, particularly tracing the rise and evolution of important intellectual currents such as nationalism, liberalism, and Marxism. Berlin's discussed themes include: realism in history, political judgment, the history of socialism, the essence and influence of Marxism, the radical cultural revolution stirred by Romanticism, the Russian concept of artistic responsibility, and the origins and practice of nationalism. These essays demonstrate Berlin's profound erudition and thought-provoking insights. Sense of Reality is based on the first Elizabeth Carter Moore Lecture, delivered on October 9, 1953, at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, under the title Realism in History. Some of the issues discussed by Berlin had already been addressed in other articles, such as The Hedgehog and the Fox and The Concept of Scientific History. However, this is his explicit discussion of the topic, and it clearly deserves a place in this collection. Among the nine essays included in this book, Isaiah Berlin explores some of the core ideas that have dominated European history for nearly three centuries, particularly tracing the rise and evolution of important intellectual currents such as nationalism, liberalism, and Marxism. Berlin's discussed themes include: realism in history, political judgment, the history of socialism, the essence and influence of Marxism, the radical cultural revolution stirred by Romanticism, the Russian concept of artistic responsibility, and the origins and practice of nationalism. These essays demonstrate Berlin's profound erudition and thought-provoking insights.