There are several places where IB makes clear that he is struggling to maintain the fox/hedgehog distinction and knew it fails to type Tolstoy.

The impression is that IB maintains the conceit as a useful introduction to his essay. My read of this essay is that Sir Berlin knows that Tolstoy does not fit into either category. Does this make him a `polymathic' hedgehog or a fox ultimately focused on a single den? Or does the typology break down by implying only exclusive categories? Alternately, Tolstoy's biography makes a strong case for the master's desire to isolate a consistent singular philosophy. The fact that Sir Berlin limited his essay to War and Peace speaks to the polymath mind that is reflected in the breath of Tolstoy's interests and writings. I am not sure that the Hedgehog and Fox conceit fits Leo Tolstoy. That it also has important things to say about Leo Tolstoy elevates it to greater heights. I echo this acclaim and urge it as a worthy read both as an example of readable language in the service of a tightly and exhaustively written logical argument and as an insightful analysis of War and Peace. This essay is a classic and far better minds than mine have ruled it to be a masterpiece. Sir Berlin tightens his case by limiting the essay to War and Peace. Sir Isaiah Berlin applies the conceit that human thinkers are either: `hedgehogs' - focused on single topics / world views, or philosophies or 'foxes' interested in conflicting philosophies and multiple areas of interest - to Leo Tolstoy. This is an extended essay, 95 pages in this copy. To learn more about how and for what purposes Amazon uses personal information (such as Amazon Store order history), please visit our Privacy Notice. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie Preferences, as described in the Cookie Notice. Click ‘Customise Cookies’ to decline these cookies, make more detailed choices, or learn more. Third parties use cookies for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalised ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. This includes using first- and third-party cookies, which store or access standard device information such as a unique identifier. If you agree, we’ll also use cookies to complement your shopping experience across the Amazon stores as described in our Cookie Notice. We also use these cookies to understand how customers use our services (for example, by measuring site visits) so we can make improvements. We use cookies and similar tools that are necessary to enable you to make purchases, to enhance your shopping experiences and to provide our services, as detailed in our Cookie Notice.

The hedgehog and the fox berlin