The first comprehensive study of Isaiah Berlin’s philosophy. Berlin was a major figure in 20th-century Anglophone thought whose philosophy is coming to new prominence.

'I gradually came to the conclusion that I should prefer a field in which one could hope to know more at the end of one’s life than when one had begun.’ So thought Isaiah Berlin toward the end of the Second World War, when he decided to bid farewell to philosophy in favour of the history of ideas. In The Philosophy of Isaiah Berlin Johnny Lyons shows that Berlin’s approach to intellectual history amounted to the pursuit of philosophy by other means, creating a more original and fruitful engagement with his lifelong subject. By recasting Berlin as a philosopher who took humanity and history seriously, Lyons reveals the underlying unity of his wide-ranging and disparate ideas and throws into sharp relief the enduring moral charm of his outlook. Lyons emphasises aspects of Berlin's thinking that have largely been neglected. These include his recognition of historical contingency and of the importance of truth in human affairs, his scepticism about the so-called implications of determinism for our everyday understanding of freedom, and his deeper reasons for thinking that negative liberty should be valued. This introduction to Berlin's thought, and particularly its examination of these mainly overlooked elements of his outlook, reveals a new Berlin, one with surprising and urgent contemporary relevance to the debates that continue to dominate philosophy, politics and intellectual history today.

"A thorough and trenchant piece of scholarship, moving over a vast range to match that of Berlin himself.... The Philosophy of Isaiah Berlin should pique the interest of those who perhaps need to do some soul-searching and return to a philosophical justification for the liberalism.... A book like Lyons’s serves a function beyond the explication of the thought of one of liberalism’s most contemplative, meticulous and erudite defenders." - Dublin Review of Books

"[A] deeply impressive book ... Broad in its field of references — the book quotes poets and novelists and journalists as well as a huge range of philosophers — it’s an exemplary work of humanistic thought." - The Critic

"As a convinced liberal, I confess that I am not an entirely objective reader when it comes to Isaiah Berlin, though this also makes me a critical reader of books about him. Johnny Lyons shows, in a most attractive and readable style, how Berlin was not just a student of the history of ideas, but a product of that history, as well as a very significant contributor to the world of ideas. If you want to get a sense, not only of the key elements of Isaiah Berlin's thinking, but of why he is so important, you could not do better than to read this new book. It not only sets out Berlin’s ideas, but gives context to them, and that provides a particular depth and richness to the work, and to an understanding of Berlin." - Lord Alderdice, former Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1998-2004, leader of the Alliance Party of Norther Ireland 1987-98 and currently Senior Research Fellow at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford, UK

"Lyons’s book is a noteworthy contribution to Berlin scholarship." - Review of Politics

"One couldn't wish for a more enlightening or readable account of Berlin's philosophy. Beginners will learn from this excellent book and Berlin aficionados will be stimulated by it. It is hard to imagine anyone reading Lyons on Berlin and not wanting to read more Berlin or, for that matter, more Lyons. Highly recommended." - Quassim Cassam, Professor of Philosophy, University of Warwick, UK

"Isaiah Berlin was an intellectual colossus who ranged over disciplines and topics with great verve and vivacity. No academic straightjacket could ever restrain his breadth of thought and thinking. The same could be said for Johnny Lyons's account of the philosophy of Isaiah Berlin as it excavates the true essence of Berlin's outlook.... A magisterial work." - Matthew Flinders, Professor of Politics and Founding Director of the Sir Bernard Crick Centre for the Public Understanding of Politics, University of Sheffield, UK

"Lyons makes the best possible case that Berlin never really abandoned philosophy, but instead switched to a different way of doing it." - David Miller, Professor of Political Theory and Fellow of Nuffield College, University of Oxford, UK

"Lyons regards philosophy as an engagement that involves more than the parsing of terms that is found so frequently today, and instead requires a wholehearted commitment to truth. From this perspective, Lyons interprets Berlin’s essays as instances of philosophical inquiry for others to emulate, as they exemplify a searching exploration of questions that are, if not timeless, persistently perplexing....Lyons’s book is a noteworthy contribution to Berlin scholarship and merits the attention of anyone interested in these issues." - Jason Ferrell, The Review of Politics