Isaiah Berlin and Charles Taylor on Johann Gottfried Herder : a comparative study
Date
2004-09-10
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
Type
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
This thesis offers a comparison, which rarely, if ever, has been made between Isaiah Berlin and Charles Taylor’s account of the ideas of Johann Gottfried Herder on the relationship of language, culture and nationality. It argues that Berlin misrepresents Herder’s ideas in emphasizing the extent to which differences in language and culture necessarily result in ethnic and national conflicts between incompatible cultural worldviews, while Taylor does correctly understand that Herder sees no reason for why such conflict between cultural entities should be inevitable either within a single state or between states. The thesis concludes by offering reasons for why Herder, properly understood, allows us to be optimistic about the future of both intrastate and interstate relationships among diverse cultural groups.
Description
Keywords
Johann Gottfried Herder, Pluralism, Multiculturalism, Expressivism, Clash of Civilizations, Isaiah Berlin, Charles Taylor
Citation
Degree
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department
Political Studies
Program
Political Studies