Bertrand Russell

The Problems of Philosophy is a 1912 book by the philosopher Bertrand Russell, in which the author attempts to create a brief and accessible guide to the problems of philosophy. He introduces philosophy as a repeating series of (failed) attempts to answer the same questions: Can we prove that there is an external world? Can we prove cause and effect? Can we validate any of our generalizations? Can we objectively justify morality? He asserts that philosophy cannot answer any of these questions and that any value of philosophy must lie elsewhere than in offering proofs to these questions. Focusing on problems he believes will provoke positive and constructive discussion, Russell concentrates on knowledge rather than metaphysics: If it is uncertain that external objects exist, how can we then have knowledge of them but by probability. There is no reason to doubt the existence of external objects simply because of sense data. Russell guides the reader through his famous 1910 distinction between knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description and introduces important theories of Plato, Aristotle, Ren Descartes, David Hume, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and others to lay the foundation for philosophical inquiry by general readers and scholars alike. In the following pages I have confined myself in the main to those problems of philosophy in regard to which I thought it possible to say something positive and constructive, since merely negative criticism seemed out of place. For this reason, theory of knowledge occupies a larger space than metaphysics in the present volume, and some topics much discussed by philosophers are treated very briefly, if at all. - Bertrand Russell, Preface of The Problems of Philosophy (wikipedia.org)

The Problems of Philosophy is a 1912 book by the philosopher Bertrand Russell, in which the author attempts to create a brief and accessible guide to the problems of philosophy. He introduces philosophy as a repeating series of (failed) attempts to answer the same questions: Can we prove that there is an external world? Can we prove cause and effect? Can we validate any of our generalizations? Can we objectively justify morality? He asserts that philosophy cannot answer any of these questions and that any value of philosophy must lie elsewhere than in offering proofs to these questions. Focusing on problems he believes will provoke positive and constructive discussion, Russell concentrates on knowledge rather than metaphysics: If it is uncertain that external objects exist, how can we then have knowledge of them but by probability. There is no reason to doubt the existence of external objects simply because of sense data. Russell guides the reader through his famous 1910 distinction between knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description and introduces important theories of Plato, Aristotle, Ren Descartes, David Hume, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and others to lay the foundation for philosophical inquiry by general readers and scholars alike. In the following pages I have confined myself in the main to those problems of philosophy in regard to which I thought it possible to say something positive and constructive, since merely negative criticism seemed out of place. For this reason, theory of knowledge occupies a larger space than metaphysics in the present volume, and some topics much discussed by philosophers are treated very briefly, if at all. - Bertrand Russell, Preface of The Problems of Philosophy (wikipedia.org)

"Istorija zapadnoj filosofii" Bertrana Rassela khorosho izvestna ne tolko spetsialistam, no i shirokomu krugu chitatelej kak odno iz samykh udachnykh izlozhenii istorii filosofii. Ee avtor - krupnyj matematik, vydajuschijsja filosof i obschestvennyj dejatel XX veka, laureat Nobelevskoj premii v oblasti literatury. Pri podgotovke teksta utochnen perevod s anglijskogo jazyka, vosstanovleny vse propuschennye mesta, v tom chisle glava o Karle Markse. V knige tretej predstavlena zapadnaja filosofija ot Vozrozhdenija do nashikh dnej. Rekomenduetsja filosofam, istorikam, vsem interesujuschimsja istoriej filosofii.

V 1955-m godu britanskij filosof, logik i matematik Bertran Rassel vmeste s velikim fizikom A. Ejnshtejnom izdal seriju rabot, posvjaschennykh izucheniju vozmozhnykh putej reshenija mirovykh konfliktov. Zakljuchitelnuju chast raboty podpisali vse velikie uchenye mira. Etot tekst stal svoego roda itogom filosofskikh iskanij dvukh velikikh uchenykh-ateistov. V predlagaemoe izdanie vkljucheny luchshie stati uchenykh, napisannykh v samyj razgar "kholodnoj vojny", kotorye posvjascheny pobede razuma nad oruzhiem.

The problems facing China in the early 1920's were many and complex, and philosopher Bertrand Russell drew upon a year-long visit to the country to set forth his impressions regarding those problems and their possible solutions. Reading Russell's The Problem of China, almost exactly 100 years after the book was first published in 1922, gives the reader an intriguing look at a great mind grappling with massive social and political problems. ... (Paul Haspel)

This book is a collection of Russell's lectures during the early phase of WW1. These works cover different aspect of human life such as state, religion, education, marriage to name some, by going through these lectures one got to understand the real mind set of this thinker par excellence; the jest of this work is the preaching of humanity both in collective and in individual sense. Thru these pages we see a person who want person/society to thrive on its natural creative instincts, an atmosphere where there is only compassion and benevolence where there will be no fear of state authority in a negative way where children will not strait jacketed to think in some particular way and where term patriotism is not confined to one's own country/tribe/community but also to understand the feeling of other people towards their country and community. Writing style is reader friendly and narration is easy on mind the content is quiet easily communicated to the recipient which is not an easy task specially if the subject is philosophy here Russell has proved his mastery of words and communication skills. One thing is quiet interesting and that is the misjudgment on the part of Russell regarding the role of USA in the world war, he predicted that America will not go to war because it has no external danger; well two years after the delivery of this lecture USA did enter the war on the side of Britain and France this proves that mistakes could be incurred by the even the brightest of minds. this book is a must read for all the thinking minds with an intent to make this world a better place (Saad Din)

A bit dry at times but full of deep thoughts on the workings of the mind. Favorite quote on evolving every day was "Any of us confronted by a forgotten letter written some years ago will be astonished to find how much more foolish our opinions were than we had remembered them as being". (Sam Motes )

This was a concise, yet abstract vision from Bertrand Russell. Favoring what some would call "Anarchist - Guild Socialism", Russell Fleshes out with precise detail, the shortfalls and possibilities of the realms associated with socialism and anarchism (in its many various forms). Russell makes use of familiar examples and reasonable rhetorical experiments in an attempt to paint a picture of what the difference between utopian and reality actually is, all in regards of supposed and proposed roads to freedom. Without favoring one road or another, Russell takes his time to compare, contrast, and subject his personal insight into what the future of industrial societies may hold. (Eric Gulliver)

A bit dry at times but full of deep thoughts on the workings of the mind. Favorite quote on evolving every day was "Any of us confronted by a forgotten letter written some years ago will be astonished to find how much more foolish our opinions were than we had remembered them as being". (Sam Motes )

The problems facing China in the early 1920's were many and complex, and philosopher Bertrand Russell drew upon a year-long visit to the country to set forth his impressions regarding those problems and their possible solutions. Reading Russell's The Problem of China, almost exactly 100 years after the book was first published in 1922, gives the reader an intriguing look at a great mind grappling with massive social and political problems. ... (Paul Haspel)

This book is a collection of Russell's lectures during the early phase of WW1. These works cover different aspect of human life such as state, religion, education, marriage to name some, by going through these lectures one got to understand the real mind set of this thinker par excellence; the jest of this work is the preaching of humanity both in collective and in individual sense. Thru these pages we see a person who want person/society to thrive on its natural creative instincts, an atmosphere where there is only compassion and benevolence where there will be no fear of state authority in a negative way where children will not strait jacketed to think in some particular way and where term patriotism is not confined to one's own country/tribe/community but also to understand the feeling of other people towards their country and community. Writing style is reader friendly and narration is easy on mind the content is quiet easily communicated to the recipient which is not an easy task specially if the subject is philosophy here Russell has proved his mastery of words and communication skills. One thing is quiet interesting and that is the misjudgment on the part of Russell regarding the role of USA in the world war, he predicted that America will not go to war because it has no external danger; well two years after the delivery of this lecture USA did enter the war on the side of Britain and France this proves that mistakes could be incurred by the even the brightest of minds. this book is a must read for all the thinking minds with an intent to make this world a better place (Saad Din)

An Essay on the Foundations of Geometry was first published in 1897 when Bertrand Russell was 25 years old. It marks his first major foray into analytic philosophy, a movement in which Russell is one of the founding members and figurehead. It provides a brilliant insight into Russell's early philosophical thought and an engaging and authoritative introduction to the philosophical and logical foundations of geometry - a version of which was fundamental to Einstein's theory of relativity. Russell explores and introduces the concepts of geometry and their philosophical implications, including a historical overview of geometrical theory, making it an invaluable resource not only for students of philosophy but anyone interested in the origins of the thought of one of the twentieth century's most important and widely-read philosophers. This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Foreword by Michael Potter.

"The philosophy of mathematics will naturally be expected to deal with questions at the frontier of knowledge, as to which comparative certainty is not yet attained. But separation of such questions is hardly likely to be fruitful unless the more scientific parts of mathematics are known. A book dealing with those parts may, therefore, claim to be an introduction to mathematical philosophy..." - Bertrand Russell, from the PrefaceFirst published in 1919, Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy shows Russell drawing on his formidable knowledge of philosophy and mathematics to write a brilliant introduction to the subject. Russell explains that mathematics can be approached in two distinct directions: one that is driven by a mechanical kind of simplicity and builds towards complexity, from integers to fractions and real numbers to complex ones; and one that searches for abstractness and logical simplicity by asking what general principles underlie mathematics. From here Russell introduces and explains, in his customary pellucid prose, the definition of numbers, finitude, correlation and relation, mathematical limits, infinity, propositional descriptions and classes. Russell concludes with a fascinating summary of the relationship between mathematics and logic, of which he states "logic is the youth of mathematics." This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Foreword by Michael Potter.

Bertrand Russell wrote The Analysis of Mind during one of the most turbulent periods of his life. He began it in 1918 whilst in in prison in London for his opposition to the First World War, and completed it in Peking (now Beijing) in 1921, where he had been giving lectures at the National University. It is a vital book for understanding Russell's philosophy. He argues for a fresh conception of the mind, provided by his eclectic fusion of William James’s 'neutral monism'; the emerging theory of behaviourism, to which Russell was strongly drawn; and his own new causal theory of meaning. As such, The Analysis of Mind built a foundation for the distinctive brand of much of his later philosophical writing. In his customary sharp prose, Russell explores fundamental questions about the mind, including desire and feeling; the vexed relationship between psychological and physical laws; sensations and mental images; memory; belief; and emotions and the will. This Routledge Classics edition includes an Introduction by Thomas Baldwin.

My Philosophical Development is Russell's intellectual autobiography and provides a fascinating insight into the extraordinary energy and philosophical ambition that saw him write over 40 books. As well as offering some fascinating glimpses into the changing nature of his philosophical beliefs, Russell also reflects on the fundamental themes that governed his thinking in later life. Beginning with an account of his decisive turn against the philosophical idealism that was prevalent in Cambridge at the turn of the century, Russell takes us through his engagement with the foundations of mathematics and the writing, with A. N. Whitehead, of Principia Mathematica. Russell also provides important insights into his theory of knowledge and the mind and conscious experience, before finishing with reflections on his work on language, universals and particulars and his theory of truth. An ideal philosophical companion to Russell's own Autobiography, My Philosophical Development is testament to one of the greatest minds of the 20th century. This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Foreword by Nicholas Griffin.

The Analysis of Matter is the product of thirty years of thinking by one of the twentieth century's best-known philosophers. An inquiry into the philosophical foundations of physics, it was written against the background of stunning new developments in physics earlier in the century, above all relativity, as well as the excitement around quantum theory, which was just being developed. Concerned to place physics on a stable footing at a time of great theoretical change, Russell argues that the concept of matter itself can be replaced by a logical construction whose basic foundations are events. He is careful to point out that this does not prove that matter does not exist, but it does show that physicists can get on with their work without assuming that matter does exist. Russell argues that fundamental bits of ''matter'', such as electrons and protons, are simply groups of events connected in a certain way and their properties are all that are required for physics. This Routledge Classics edition includes the 1992 Introduction by John G. Slater.

"The philosophy of mathematics will naturally be expected to deal with questions at the frontier of knowledge, as to which comparative certainty is not yet attained. But separation of such questions is hardly likely to be fruitful unless the more scientific parts of mathematics are known. A book dealing with those parts may, therefore, claim to be an introduction to mathematical philosophy..." - Bertrand Russell, from the PrefaceFirst published in 1919, Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy shows Russell drawing on his formidable knowledge of philosophy and mathematics to write a brilliant introduction to the subject. Russell explains that mathematics can be approached in two distinct directions: one that is driven by a mechanical kind of simplicity and builds towards complexity, from integers to fractions and real numbers to complex ones; and one that searches for abstractness and logical simplicity by asking what general principles underlie mathematics. From here Russell introduces and explains, in his customary pellucid prose, the definition of numbers, finitude, correlation and relation, mathematical limits, infinity, propositional descriptions and classes. Russell concludes with a fascinating summary of the relationship between mathematics and logic, of which he states "logic is the youth of mathematics." This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Foreword by Michael Potter.