"The very desire for guarantees that our values are eternal and secure in some objective heaven is perhaps only a craving for the certainties of childhood or the absolute values of our primitive past"
- Isaiah Berlin
About this Quote
In this quote, theorist Isaiah Berlin is recommending that the human desire for outright and everlasting worths is perhaps a residue of youth or a reflection of the simpler, more primitive state of mind of our forefathers. He is slamming the idea that our worths need to be objectively grounded in a heavenly or magnificent order, arguing that this requirement for certainty is maybe more psychological than rational. Berlin might be recommending that we should accept the relativism of human values and adapt to our altering environments, rather than seeking outright or constant requirements. Ultimately, Berlin appears to remind us that history and psychology can provide valuable insights for our understanding of human values.
"As we read the school reports on our children, we realize a sense of relief that can rise to delight that thank Heaven nobody is reporting in this fashion on us"
"Without stirring abroad, One can know the whole world; Without looking out of the window One can see the way of heaven. The further one goes The less one knows"
