The Fox and the Hedgehog

A Rationale for Churchatopia

I’ve always loved foxes. They’re elusive, clever, and beautiful. I’ve always thought hedgehogs were pretty neat, too. Although I’ve never seen one in the wild, I’ve encountered a few people who had them as pets. They’re cuddly and fascinating creatures.

The Latvian-born British philosopher and political theorist Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) popularized an ancient Greek proverb including both animals: “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” From here the analogies, analysis, and lessons multiply—in personality assessments, in historical profiles, and in business practice.

Psychologist Phil Tetlock summarizes the parable of the Fox and Hedgehog this way: “Foxes have different strategies for different problems. They are comfortable with nuance; they can live with contradictions. Hedgehogs, on the other hand, focus on the big picture. They reduce every problem to one organizing principle.”

We might view these two approaches as cognitive styles, or ways of thinking and…