Johnny Lyons Bücher

'I gradually came to the conclusion that I should prefer a field in which one could hope to know more at the end of one's life than when one had begun.' So thought Isaiah Berlin toward the end of the Second World War, when he decided to bid farewell to philosophy in favour of the history of ideas. In The Philosophy of Isaiah Berlin Johnny Lyons shows that Berlin's approach to intellectual history amounted to the pursuit of philosophy by other means, creating a more original and fruitful engagement with his lifelong subject. By recasting Berlin as a philosopher who took humanity and history seriously, Lyons reveals the underlying unity of his wide-ranging and disparate ideas and throws into sharp relief the enduring moral charm of his outlook. Lyons emphasises aspects of Berlin's thinking that have largely been neglected. These include his recognition of historical contingency and of the importance of truth in human affairs, his scepticism about the so-called implications of determinism for our everyday understanding of freedom, and his deeper reasons for thinking that negative liberty should be valued. This introduction to Berlin's thought, and particularly its examination of these mainly overlooked elements of his outlook, reveals a new Berlin, one with surprising and urgent contemporary relevance to the debates that continue to dominate philosophy, politics and intellectual history today.

A companion book to his previous publication Rowell's Run, Star Route delves deeper into the author's experiences at the Rowell's Run farm in West Virginia through letters written to his father and memories of his travels. Let this book take you back to 1973 and experience the challenges - and the beauty - of working with friends to bring the dream of a working off-grid farm to life.

"A minstrel poet and a dozen friends build a New Life on a 300 acre farm in West Virginia. With no water and electricity - and much work to be done - this book provides insight into the joys, challenges and the growth felt by those living on the farm. The act of putting pen to paper led to this compilation of musings and poems written in 1972-1974."

This book explores Isaiah Berlin's understanding of pluralism, highlighting its importance for a free society. Lyons delves into the philosophical foundations of Berlin's moral pluralism, comparing his ideas with those of notable contemporaries. This analysis enhances our understanding of both Berlin and significant twentieth-century thinkers.