Isaiah Berlin, Karl Marx, and the Enlightenment

This chapter assesses Karl Marx: His Life and Environment (1939), a book which offers an important snapshot of Berlin’s early understanding of topics that he continued to pursue: the nature of Enlightenment ideas, their impact on Marx’s thought, and the ‘counter-attack’ they provoked (from Hegel amo...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Leopold, D
Other Authors: Brockliss, L
Format: Book section
Published: Oxford University Press 2016
_version_ 1826298169714016256
author Leopold, D
author2 Brockliss, L
author_facet Brockliss, L
Leopold, D
author_sort Leopold, D
collection OXFORD
description This chapter assesses Karl Marx: His Life and Environment (1939), a book which offers an important snapshot of Berlin’s early understanding of topics that he continued to pursue: the nature of Enlightenment ideas, their impact on Marx’s thought, and the ‘counter-attack’ they provoked (from Hegel amongst others). The contrast with Berlin’s later views is sometimes striking. Marx is not treated as an archetypal Enlightenment thinker (but as having affinities and contrasts with Enlightenment thought); the Enlightenment influence on his writings is identified as broadly positive (responsible for its realism, clarity, and empirical insight); and Marx is not criticized for rejecting the truth of value pluralism (but for denying the historical importance of ideas and human agency).
first_indexed 2024-03-07T04:42:46Z
format Book section
id oxford-uuid:d2381056-2572-4d6c-ae9c-93ad33b618a2
institution University of Oxford
last_indexed 2024-03-07T04:42:46Z
publishDate 2016
publisher Oxford University Press
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:d2381056-2572-4d6c-ae9c-93ad33b618a22022-03-27T08:02:17ZIsaiah Berlin, Karl Marx, and the EnlightenmentBook sectionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_3248uuid:d2381056-2572-4d6c-ae9c-93ad33b618a2Symplectic Elements at OxfordOxford University Press2016Leopold, DBrockliss, LRobertson, RThis chapter assesses Karl Marx: His Life and Environment (1939), a book which offers an important snapshot of Berlin’s early understanding of topics that he continued to pursue: the nature of Enlightenment ideas, their impact on Marx’s thought, and the ‘counter-attack’ they provoked (from Hegel amongst others). The contrast with Berlin’s later views is sometimes striking. Marx is not treated as an archetypal Enlightenment thinker (but as having affinities and contrasts with Enlightenment thought); the Enlightenment influence on his writings is identified as broadly positive (responsible for its realism, clarity, and empirical insight); and Marx is not criticized for rejecting the truth of value pluralism (but for denying the historical importance of ideas and human agency).
spellingShingle Leopold, D
Isaiah Berlin, Karl Marx, and the Enlightenment
title Isaiah Berlin, Karl Marx, and the Enlightenment
title_full Isaiah Berlin, Karl Marx, and the Enlightenment
title_fullStr Isaiah Berlin, Karl Marx, and the Enlightenment
title_full_unstemmed Isaiah Berlin, Karl Marx, and the Enlightenment
title_short Isaiah Berlin, Karl Marx, and the Enlightenment
title_sort isaiah berlin karl marx and the enlightenment
work_keys_str_mv AT leopoldd isaiahberlinkarlmarxandtheenlightenment