Concepts and Categories

"The goal of philosophy is always the same, to assist men to understand themselves and thus to operate in the open, not wildly in the dark."--Isaiah Berlin.
This volume of Isaiah Berlin's essays presents the sweep of his contributions to philosophy from his early participation in the debates surrounding logical positivism to his later work, which more evidently reflects his life-long interest in political theory, the history of ideas, & the philosophy of history. Here Berlin describes his view of the nature of philosophy, & of its main task: to uncover the various models & presuppositions--the concepts & categories--that men bring to their existence & that help form that existence. Throughout, his writing is informed by his intense consciousness of the plurality of values, the nature of historical understanding, & of the fragility of human freedom in the face of rigid dogma.