Isaiah Berlin and the Origin of Counter-Enlightenment:

On his “Existentialist” View of History

Abstract

Berlin's studies on the history of ideas have been the focus of severe criticism recently. I argue that this is due to the lack of discussion on his “existentialist view of history.” This Crocean view mediates his study of history and his liberal political philosophy on the one hand, and implies that Berlin's books on Romanticism — especially those on J. G. Hamann — reflect his intellectual path, his political concern and his own identity as a Jew, on the other. Although Berlin was sensitive to nationalism, he affirmed Zionism. The Crocean view enables us to make sense of his paradoxical attitude.