Hedgehogs and Foxes

In 1953 the political philosopher Isaiah Berlin published a book in which he discussed two styles of work by scientists or academics or anyone engaged in sustained intellectual thought. The idea for these two styles came from an ancient Greek poet, and Berlin made them come to life in a lively and playful way. They are the hedgehog and the fox. As Berlin put it: "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." Over time, the hedgehog will become more well-known for its achievements, but it will be at the expense of a very boring intellectual life. In contrast, the fox will explore a wide range of topics over time, but will never become as well-known as the hedgehog.

As academics, we have seen Berlin's two characters many times among our colleagues. Although most do not do enough scholarly work to even be in the game, the most productive scholars may be found in one of the animal phyla. For Robert and Carolyn, we have been foxes for most of our careers, darting from topic to topic over time, but never really being recognized and becoming a "contenda" (to quote Marlon Brando from the film On the Waterfront).

Robert has discussed different research styles in a course on publishing in sociology, and in talks that he has given to new graduate students in his department.

This blog by Carolyn and Robert is clearly the work of a pair of "foxes," but it gives us pleasure.