The Hedgehog And The Fox: An Essay On Tolstoy's... -

His gift for observation allowed him to see the infinite, "multiform" diversity of life and individual experience in unparalleled detail.

Berlin uses this metaphor to divide thinkers into two categories: The Hedgehog and the Fox: An Essay on Tolstoy's...

Relate everything to a single, central vision or universal organizing principle (e.g., Plato, Dante, Dostoevsky). His gift for observation allowed him to see

He desperately sought a single, all-embracing explanation for history and human existence, leading him to reject his own "fox-like" artistic insights in favor of a rigid moral system in his later life. is a celebrated essay by philosopher Isaiah Berlin,

is a celebrated essay by philosopher Isaiah Berlin, first published as a book in 1953. It is famous for its classification of thinkers based on a fragment by the ancient Greek poet Archilochus: "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing" . Core Argument: The Hedgehog vs. The Fox