Conversations with Isaiah Berlin: Recollections of a Historian of Ideas

Given all the attention being paid to the centenary of Sir Isaiah Berlin, including several books with contributors talking about him and his ideas, it seemed an ideal time (in addition to reading the second volume of his letters) to hear Berlin discourse directly. This book consists of 1988 Berlin interviews conducted by Ramin Jahanbegloo, originally for a French publication. There are five conversations included, each built around a central theme. The format is simple: a question is asked (and Jahanbegloo is very familiar with IB's work) and Berlin responds; it is all quite informal, relaxed and pleasant to follow. Many, many aspects of Berlin's life and ideas are covered. The first conversation is devoted to Berlin's background and is quite interesting. In addition to biographical details, he discusses some of writing and ideas. The second conversation ("The Birth of Modern Politics") is much more substantive, with Berlin touching upon Machiavelli, Hobbes, his theories of monism and the contributions of the "counter-enlightenment," his antipathy to Hannah Arendt, and his high opinion of Herder. Additional substantive points are addressed in the third conversation, including, Hume, German thought, some musical topics, Zionism, socialism and Marxism. Freedom is the keynote of the fourth conversation, including pluralism and Oxford philosophy. The final conversation, "Personal Impressions," demonstrates not only the incredible range of Berlin's personal contacts (everyone from Churchill to Weizman and Nehru), but also his intimate familiarity with key personages in the development of European political thought. In any book with this format, some topics get too much attention and others too little--but the overall balance is good. Also included are a helpful preface and introduction, which set the stage, and a good index. The best thing I found in reading the conversations is that Berlin is unusually relaxed and focused (perhaps he had the questions beforehand). Berlin's comments on the "lonely" study in Britain of what we call intellectual history over here, are particularly interesting. By the end, the reader has touched upon many interesting and important topics with Sir Isaiah, which is quite an experience.

This book is not for the connoisseur of Berlin's ideas and works; rather it is really a broad and introductory survey. The book is based on a series of largely unstructured conversations with Berlin about his personal past and better known works, as well as some of his views on others' famous works and ideas on philosophy. The interviewer, Ramin Jahanbegloo, cannot be faulted for his brief and often open-ended questions as he is clearly prodding Berlin to speak his mind. Berlin does seem to 'correct' the errors of his interviewer but this is to be expected from such a reknowned and learned philosopher. For those already familiar with Berlin, the responses are far from shocking: Hobbes and Machiavelli are, in fact, ethical thinkers; do be weary of those who propose rational, 100% 'final solutions'; 'total liberty can be dreadful, total equality can be equally frightful'; philosophy, if properly taught, allows one to see through 'bad arguments, deceptions, fumisme, verbal fog..'; etc. That said, it is a lighter read than any one of Berlin's books and, for anyone who is curious about Berlin's views on things, it just might a good place to start.

Isaiah Berlin is one of the great intellectual figures of the twentieth century. He has been spoken of as the second greatest talker in the history of the English language( after Samuel Johnson) Here his remarks are a trifle short and yet there is enough substance in them to fill 'forty books' of others. Some samples. "For me a great man in public life, is one who deliberately causes something important to happen, the probability of which seemed low before he took up the task. A great man is a man who gives history a turn without which it scarcely could have taken without him." "The purpose of Zionism is normalization; the creation of conditions in which the Jews could live as a nation,like the others. Alexander Kojeve whom I spoke of before once said to me." The Jews have the most interesting history of any people. Yet now they want to be what? Albania? How can they?" I said "For the Jews to be like Albania constitutesprogress. 600,000 Jews in Romania were victims- before the Nazis.They tried to escape. But 600,000 Jews in Palestine did not leave because Rommel was at their door. That is the difference. They considered Palestine to be their own country, and if they had to die they would die not like trapped animals but for the country." " I believe there is nothing more destructive of human lives than fanatical conviction about the perfect life,allied to political or military power.Our century affords terrible evidence of this truth.I believe in working for a minimally decent society.If we can go beyond this to a wider life, so much the better.But even a minimum of decency is more than we have in some countries." "But not every genius is like one's image of a genius.Pasternak was such a one. He talked marvellously, he was a little unhinged at times, but at all times a man of pure genius. Nobody could have had a more fascinating experience than to listen to him talk- in my exprience only Virginia Woolf talked something like that. She too, of course, was a trifle crazy"

Isaiah Berlin was not only a skillful writer covering fascinating topics of the History of Ideas. He was also best at enganging in a stimulating and (given his vast knowledge) educating intellectual conversation. Mr. Jahanbegloo's book is one of the few proofs of this less known aspect of Berlin. Having been out of print for a long while, the paperback edition is out there now, finally. Read how Berlin vividly describes his youth and student years, how he got into the History of Ideas, how Oxford was like after the War, what he thinks of Hannah Arendt, communism and nationalism, etc. If not Berlin's best known books, certainly his most entertaining. This poses a serious problem: you will devour it in a day and wish there was a sequel...