A short, CRITICAL History of Philosophy (Chapter 50)

Isaiah Berlin's Curious But Important Role In Post-War Philosophy

The impulse to be a famous philosopher bears a kinship with the analogous desire to be a stand-up comic. Each is awakened by an unyielding need to be heard and accepted. Both the self-professed sage and the neurotic joke-teller ache for applause and adulation. Each occupation is male-dominated. Both attract the dissatisfied and the morose. Rarely do you see a handsome or naturally winning figure who is acclaimed as a giant in philosophy or in stand-up. And worldly success does not bring them happiness.

Granted all this, it’s understandable that while Isaiah Berlin had an urge to express his philosophical ideas, he had little inclination to set them to paper and to achieve fame by declaring his beliefs. For he did not quite fit the mold. One might say that he achieved half the fame of a “great” philosopher because he possessed half the required personality traits.