In an essay originating in earlier lectures and conversations and published in 1953, British historian Isaiah Berlin posited that there are two kinds of thinkers in the world: hedgehogs and foxes. Hedgehogs tend to experience the world in terms of a single, defining idea; foxes view the world through a variety of competing ideas that cannot be reduced to one consistent framework. Berlin did not argue that one was “better” than the other, and even hinted that he offered the categorizations in the spirit of intellectual debate, not necessarily to be taken too seriously. It is an interesting question to ask one’s self: are you a fox or a hedgehog? And what if you are by nature a fox, but by faith or belief a hedgehog? Or the reverse?

This blog will unapologetically dabble. I don’t claim to be an expert (and many readers will no doubt recognize early on that I am not), nor do I even know if I’m a hedgehog or a fox, or both. The great French Enlightened philosophe Montaigne is credited with inventing the essay as a modern literary form; Montaigne famously asked, "Que sçay-je?" [“What do I know?”] and used his essais – attempts – to work out his answers.

Why subscribe?

Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and website. Never miss an update.

Stay up-to-date

You won’t have to worry about missing anything. Every new edition of the newsletter goes directly to your inbox.

Join the crew

Be part of a community of people who share your interests.

To find out more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com.