Comparing Isaiah Berlin's Essay The Hedgehog And The Fox
In his famous essay “ The Hedgehog and the Fox,” Isaiah Berlin/>/> divided the world into two groups, based on an ancient Greek proverb, which pitted the two natural enemies against each other. Foxes pursue many ends at the same time and see the world in all its complexity; they are scattered or diffused, moving on many levels, never integrating their thinking into one overall concept or unifying vision. Hedgehogs, on the other hand, simplify a complex world into a single idea (mission) that unifies and guides everything. Regardless of the world’s complexity, the hedgehog reduces all challenges and dilemmas to simple ideas (missions and related goals) — anything that does not somehow relate to the hedgehog ideas holds little if any relevance. When