"If, as I believe, the ends of men are many, and not all of them are in principle compatible with each other, then the possibility of conflict β and of tragedy β can never wholly be eliminated from human life, either personal or social. The necessity of choosing between absolute claims is then an inescapable characteristic of the human condition. This gives its value to freedom as Acton conceived of it β as an end in itself, and not as a temporary need, arising out of our confused notions and irrational and disordered lives, a predicament which a panacea could one day put right."
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Jews from the United KingdomAgnosticsPhilosophers from the United KingdomHistorians from the United KingdomPeople from Riga
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Isaiah Berlin
Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 β 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British political philosopher and historian of ideas, regarded as one of the leading liberal thinkers of the 20th century.
31 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Isaiah Berlin β
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