Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was an English philosopher,
logicianMathematical logic is a subfield of mathematics with close connections to computer science and philosophical logic. The field includes both the mathematical study of logic and the applications of formal logic to other areas of mathematics...
,
mathematicianA mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and/or research is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with particular problems related to logic, space, transformations, numbers and more general ideas which encompass these concepts...
,
historianAn historian is an individual who studies and writes about history, and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all events in time...
, and social critic. Although he spent the majority of his life in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, he was born in
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
, where he also died.
Russell led the British "revolt against
idealismIdealism is the philosophical theory that maintains that the ultimate nature of reality is based on mind or ideas. It holds that the so-called external or "real world" is inseparable from mind, consciousness, or perception...
" in the early 1900s. He is considered one of the founders of
analytic philosophyAnalytic philosophy is a generic term for a style of philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century...
along with his protégé
WittgensteinLudwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language....
and his elder
FregeFriedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege was a German mathematician who became a logician and philosopher. He was one of the founders of modern logic, and made major contributions to the foundations of mathematics. As a philosopher, he is generally considered to be the father of analytic philosophy, for his...
, and is widely held to be one of the 20th century's premier logicians. He co-authored, with A. N. Whitehead,
Principia MathematicaThe Principia Mathematica is a 3-volume work on the foundations of mathematics, written by Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell and published in 1910, 1912 & 1913...
, an attempt to ground mathematics on logic. His philosophical essay "
On Denoting"On Denoting", written by Bertrand Russell, is one of the most significant and influential philosophical essays of the 20th century. It was published in the philosophy journal Mind in 1905; then reprinted, in both a special 2005 anniversary issue of the same journal and in Russell's Logic and...
" has been considered a "paradigm of philosophy." Both works have had a considerable influence on
logicLogic, from the Greek λογική is the art and science of reasoning. More specifically, it is defined by the Penguin Encyclopedia to be "The formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning". As a discipline, logic dates back to Aristotle, who established its...
,
mathematicsMathematics is the science and study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions....
,
set theoryThe modern study of set theory was initiated by Cantor and Dedekind in the 1870s. After the discovery of paradoxes in informal set theory, numerous axiom systems were proposed in the early twentieth century, of which the Zermelo–Fraenkel axioms, with the axiom of choice, are the best-known.The...
,
linguisticsLinguistics is the scientific study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of meaning...
, and philosophy.
He was a prominent
anti-warThe term anti-war usually refers to the opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many activists...
activistActivism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social change, political change, economic justice, or environmental wellbeing...
, championing
free tradeFree trade is a type of trade policy that allows traders to act and transact without interference from government. According to the law of comparative advantage the policy permits trading partners mutual gains from trade of goods and services....
between nations and
anti-imperialismAnti-imperialism, strictly speaking, is a term that may be applied to a movement opposed to any form of colonialism or imperialism. Generally, anti-imperialism includes opposition to wars of conquest, particularly of non-contiguous territory or people with a different language or culture. In short...
. Russell was imprisoned for his pacifist activism during World War I, campaigned against
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
, for
nuclear disarmamentNuclear disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated....
, criticised Soviet
totalitarianismTotalitarianism is a political system where the state, usually under the control of a single party or faction, recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible...
and the United States of America's involvement in the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
.
In 1950, Russell was awarded the
Nobel Prize in LiteratureThe Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
, "in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and
freedom of thoughtFreethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or any other dogma...
."
Ancestry
Bertrand Russell was born on 18 May 1872 at Ravenscroft (now Cleddon Hall),
TrellechTrellech is a village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales at , near Monmouth and the location of an archaeological site...
,
MonmouthshireMonmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
, into a liberal family of the English aristocracy.
His paternal grandfather,
John Russell, 1st Earl RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
, was the third son of
John Russell, 6th Duke of BedfordJohn Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford KG, PC, LLD, FSA , known as Lord John Russell until 1802, was a British Whig politician and notably served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Ministry of All the Talents...
, and had twice been asked by Queen Victoria to form a government, serving her as
Prime MinisterA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. The position is usually held by, but need not always be held by, a politician. In many systems, the prime minister selects and can dismiss other members of the cabinet, and...
in the 1840s and 1860s.
The Russells had been prominent in England for several centuries before this, coming to power and the peerage with the rise of the
Tudor dynastyThe House of Tudor was a prominent European royal house that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch Henry Tudor, descended paternally from the rulers of the Welsh principality of Deheubarth, and maternally from a legitimised branch of the English royal...
. They established themselves as one of Britain's leading
WhigThe Whigs are often described as one of the two original political parties in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to the mid-19th centuries. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
(Liberal) families, and participated in every great political event from the
Dissolution of the MonasteriesThe Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, denotes the administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, nunneries and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their income, disposed...
in 1536–40 to the
Glorious RevolutionThe Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England in 1688 by a union of Parliamentarians with an invading army led by the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau who, as a result, ascended the English throne as William III of England...
in 1688–89 to the Great Reform Act in 1832.
Russell's mother Katherine Louisa (1844–1874) was the daughter of
Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of AlderleyEdward John Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley PC , known as The Lord Eddisbury between 1848 and 1850, was a British politician.-Background:...
, and was the sister of Rosalind Howard, Countess of Carlisle.
Russell's parents were radical for their times. Russell's father,
Viscount AmberleyJohn Russell, Viscount Amberley was the eldest son of John Russell, 1st Earl Russell. As such, from 1861 he took his father's junior title of Viscount Amberley, but he did not live to inherit the earldom; this passed, after his death, to his eldest son John Francis Stanley Russell, 2nd Earl Russell...
, was an atheist and consented to his wife's affair with their children's tutor, the biologist
Douglas SpaldingDouglas Alexander Spalding was an English biologist. He was born in Islington in London in 1841, and began life as a manual laborer. Subsequently he lived in Scotland, near Aberdeen; the philosopher Alexander Bain persuaded the University of Aberdeen to allow him to attend courses without charge....
. Both were early advocates of
birth controlBirth control is a regimen of one or more actions, devices, sexual practices, or medications followed in order to deliberately prevent or reduce the likelihood of pregnancy or childbirth...
at a time when this was considered scandalous. John Russell's atheism was evident when he asked the philosopher
John Stuart MillJohn Stuart Mill , English philosopher, political theorist, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential liberal thinker of the 19th century whose works on liberty justified freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control...
to act as Russell's secular
godfatherA godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. Judaism has this equivalent in the circumcision ceremony. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
. Mill died the year after Russell's birth, but his writings had a great effect on Russell's life.
Childhood and adolescence
Russell had two siblings:
FrankJohn Francis Stanley Russell, 2nd Earl Russell known as Frank Russell, was the elder surviving son of Viscount Amberley and his wife the Honourable Katharine Stanley, and was raised by his paternal grandparents after his non-conventional parents both died young...
(nearly seven years older than Bertrand), and Rachel (four years older). In June 1874 Russell's mother died of
diphtheriaDiphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity. A milder form of diphtheria can be restricted to the skin...
, followed shortly by Rachel, and in January 1876 his father also died of
bronchitisAcute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...
following a long period of
depressionMajor depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
. Frank and Bertrand were placed in the care of their staunchly
VictorianVictorian morality is a distillation of the moral views of people living at the time of Queen Victoria in particular, and to the moral climate of Great Britain throughout the 19th century in general that were in stark contrast to the morality of the previous Georgian period...
grandparents, who lived at
Pembroke LodgePembroke Lodge is a magnificent Georgian mansion in Richmond Park, London. It is located on high ground with spectacular views across the Thames valley to Windsor and Surrey...
in
Richmond ParkRichmond Park is a urban park within London UK. Almost three times as large as New York City's Central Park, it is Britain's largest urban walled park, and the largest of the Royal Parks in London. It is close to Richmond, Ham, Kingston upon Thames, Wimbledon, Roehampton and East Sheen....
.
John Russell, 1st Earl RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
, his grandfather, died in 1878, and was remembered by Russell as a kindly old man in a wheelchair. As a result, his widow, the Countess Russell (née Lady Frances Elliot), was the dominant family figure for the rest of Russell's childhood and youth.
The countess was from a
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Presbyterian family, and successfully petitioned a British
courtA court is a body, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes and dispense civil, criminal, or administrative justice in accordance with rules of law....
to set aside a provision in Amberley's
willA will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his estate and provides for the transfer of his property at death. For the devolution of property not disposed of by will, see inheritance and intestacy...
requiring the children to be raised as agnostics. Despite her religious conservatism, she held progressive views in other areas (accepting
DarwinismDarwinism is a term used for various movements or concepts related to ideas of transmutation of species or evolution, including ideas with no connection to the work of Charles Darwin. The meaning of Darwinism has changed over time, and varies depending on who is using the term...
and supporting
Irish Home RuleHome rule is where constituent parts of a state are given greater self-government within the administrative purview of the central government....
), and her influence on Bertrand Russell's outlook on
social justiceSocial justice is a notion used to describe a society with a greater degree of economic egalitarianism through progressive taxation, income redistribution, or even property redistribution, policies aimed toward achieving that which developmental economists refer to as equality of opportunity and...
and standing up for principle remained with him throughout his life — her favourite Bible verse, 'Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil' (Exodus 23:2), became his mantra. The atmosphere at Pembroke Lodge was one of frequent prayer, emotional repression and formality; Frank reacted to this with open rebellion, but the young Bertrand learned to hide his feelings.
Russell's
adolescenceAdolescence Adolescence Adolescence (lat adolescere, (to grow) is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development that occurs between childhood and adulthood. This transition involves biological (i.e. pubertal), social, and psychological changes, though the biological or...
was very lonely, and he often contemplated
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
. He remarked in his autobiography that his keenest interests were in sex, religion and mathematics, and that only the wish to know more mathematics kept him from suicide. He was educated at home by a series of tutors.
His brother Frank introduced him to the work of
EuclidEuclid , fl. 300 BC, also known as Euclid of Alexandria, was a Greek mathematician and is often referred to as the "Father of Geometry." He was active in Hellenistic Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I...
, which transformed Russell's life.
Also, during these formative years, he discovered the works of
Percy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded among the finest lyric poets in the English language...
. In his Autobiography, he writes that, "I spent all my spare time reading him, and learning him by heart, knowing no one to whom I could speak of what I thought or felt, I used to reflect how wonderful it would have been to know Shelley, and to wonder whether I should meet any live human being with whom I should feel so much sympathy."
University and first marriage
Russell won a scholarship to read for the Mathematical Tripos at
Trinity College, CambridgeTrinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 160 Fellows ....
, and commenced his studies there in 1890. He became acquainted with the younger
G.E. MooreGeorge Edward Moore OM, usually known as G. E. Moore, was a distinguished and influential English philosopher...
and came under the influence of
Alfred North WhiteheadAlfred North Whitehead, OM was an English mathematician who became a philosopher. He wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education. He co-authored the epochal Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell.-Life:Whitehead was born in...
, who recommended him to the
Cambridge ApostlesThe Cambridge Apostles, also known as the Cambridge Conversazione Society, is an intellectual secret society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who went on to become the first Bishop of Gibraltar....
. He quickly distinguished himself in mathematics and philosophy, graduating with a B.A. in the former subject in 1893 and adding a fellowship in the latter in 1895.
Russell first met the American
QuakerThe Religious Society of Friends is a religious movement, whose members are known as Friends or Quakers. The roots of this movement are with some 17th century Christian English dissenters, but today the movement has branched out into many independent national and regional organizations, called...
Alys Pearsall SmithAlys Whitall Pearsall Smith was the first wife of Bertrand Russell.Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of Robert Pearsall Smith and Hannah Whitall Smith, prominent figures in the Holiness movement in America and the Higher Life movement in Great Britain...
when he was seventeen years old. He became a friend of the Pearsall Smith family—they knew him primarily as 'Lord John's grandson' and enjoyed showing him off—and travelled with them to the continent; it was in their company that Russell visited the Paris Exhibition of 1889 and was able to climb the
Eiffel TowerThe Eiffel Tower is a 19th century iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris that has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The Eiffel Tower, which is the tallest building in Paris, is the single most visited paid monument in...
soon after it was completed.
He soon fell in love with the puritanical, high-minded Alys, who was a graduate of
Bryn Mawr CollegeBryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia...
near Philadelphia, and, contrary to his grandmother's wishes, he married her on 13 December 1894. Their
marriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
began to fall apart in 1901 when it occurred to Russell, while he was out on his bicycle, that he no longer loved her. She asked him if he loved her and he replied that he didn't. Russell also disliked Alys's mother, finding her controlling and cruel. It was to be a hollow shell of a marriage and they finally divorced in 1921, after a lengthy period of separation.
During this period, Russell had passionate (and often simultaneous) affairs with a number of women, including Lady Ottoline Morrell and the actress Lady Constance Malleson.
Early career
Russell began his published work in 1896 with
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
Social DemocracySocial democracy is a political ideology of the political left and centre-left on the classic political spectrum. Social democracy emerged in the late 19th century from the socialist movement and continues to exert influence worldwide....
, a study in politics that was an early indication of a lifelong interest in political and social theory. In 1896, he taught German social democracy at the
London School of EconomicsThe London School of Economics and Political Science, commonly referred to as the London School of Economics or LSE, is a specialist constituent college of the University of London in London, England....
, where he also lectured on the science of power in the autumn of 1937. He was also a member of the
Coefficients dining club The Coefficients was a dining club founded in 1902 at a dinner given by the Fabian campaigners Sidney and Beatrice Webb. It was a forum for the meeting of British socialist reformers and imperialists of the Edwardian era...
of social reformers set up in 1902 by the
FabianThe Fabian Society is a British intellectual socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up...
campaigners Sidney and
Beatrice WebbMartha Beatrice Webb was an English sociologist, economist, socialist and reformer, usually referred to in association with her husband, Sidney Webb...
.
In 1905 he wrote the essay "
On Denoting"On Denoting", written by Bertrand Russell, is one of the most significant and influential philosophical essays of the 20th century. It was published in the philosophy journal Mind in 1905; then reprinted, in both a special 2005 anniversary issue of the same journal and in Russell's Logic and...
", which was published in the philosophical journal
MindMind is a British journal, currently published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Mind Association, which deals with philosophy in the analytic tradition. It was founded by Alexander Bain in 1876 with George Croom Robertson as editor at University College London. With the death of...
. Russell became a fellow of the
Royal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence...
in 1908. The first of three volumes of
Principia MathematicaThe Principia Mathematica is a 3-volume work on the foundations of mathematics, written by Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell and published in 1910, 1912 & 1913...
, written with Whitehead, was published in 1910, which, along with the earlier
The Principles of Mathematics, soon made Russell world famous in his field. In 1911, he became acquainted with the Austrian engineering student
Ludwig WittgensteinLudwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language....
, whom he viewed as a genius and a successor who would continue his work on logic. He spent hours dealing with Wittgenstein's various phobias and his frequent bouts of despair. This was often a drain on Russell's energy, but Russell continued to be fascinated by him and encouraged his academic development, including the publication of Wittgenstein's
Tractatus Logico-PhilosophicusTractatus Logico-Philosophicus is the only book-length philosophical work published by the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein during his lifetime. It is an ambitious project to identify the relationship between language and reality and to define the limits of science.He wrote it as a soldier...
in 1922.
First World War
During the
First World WarWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, Russell was one of a very small number of intellectuals engaged in
pacifist activitiesOpposition to World War I was mainly by left-wing groups, but there was also opposition by Christian Pacifist and Nationalist groups.The trade union and socialist movements had declared before the war their determined opposition to a war which they said could only mean workers killing each other in...
, and, in 1916, he was dismissed from
Trinity CollegeTrinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 160 Fellows ....
following his conviction under the Defence of the Realm Act. A later conviction resulted in six months' imprisonment in
Brixton prisonHM Prison Brixton is a local men's prison, located in Brixton area of the London Borough of Lambeth, in inner-South London, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
(see
Bertrand Russell's views on societyThe aspects of Bertrand Russell views on society cover the changing viewpoints of philosopher/mathematician and social activist Bertrand Russell , from his early writings in 1896 and long-term political or social activism, until his death in February 1970.-Activism:Political and social activism...
). Russell was released from prison in September 1918.
Between the wars, and second marriage
In August 1920, Russell traveled to
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
as part of an official delegation sent by the British government to investigate the effects of the
Russian RevolutionThe Russian Revolution is the collective term for the series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. In the first revolution of February 1917 the Czar was deposed and replaced by a Provisional government...
. He met Lenin and had an hour-long conversation with him. In his autobiography, he mentions that he found Lenin rather disappointing, and that he sensed an "impish cruelty" in him. He also cruised down the Volga on a steam-ship. Russell's lover
Dora BlackDora Black, Lady Russell was a British author, a feminist and socialist campaigner, and the second wife of the eminent philosopher Bertrand Russell....
also visited Russia independently at the same time — she was enthusiastic about the revolution, but Russell's experiences destroyed his previous tentative support for it.
Russell subsequently lectured in
BeijingBeijing is a metropolis in northern China and the capital of the People's Republic of China...
on philosophy for one year, accompanied by Dora. While in China, Russell became gravely ill with
pneumoniaPneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the lung. Frequently, it is described as lung parenchyma/alveolar inflammation and abnormal alveolar filling with fluid ....
, and
incorrect reports of his death were published in the Japanese press. When the couple visited
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on their return journey, Dora notified the world that "Mr. Bertrand Russell, having died according to the Japanese press, is unable to give interviews to Japanese journalists." The press were not amused and did not appreciate the sarcasm.
On the couple's return to England on 26 August 1921, Dora was six months pregnant, and Russell arranged a hasty divorce from Alys, marrying Dora six days after the divorce was finalised, on 27 September 1921. Their children were John Conrad Russell, 4th Earl Russell, born on 16 November 1921 and Katharine Jane Russell (now Lady Katharine Tait) born on 29 December 1923. Russell supported himself during this time by writing popular books explaining matters of
physicsPhysics is a natural science; it is the study of matter and its motion through spacetime and all that derives from these, such as energy and force...
,
ethicsEthics is a branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality, such as what the fundamental semantic, ontological, and epistemic nature of ethics or morality is , how moral values should be determined , how a moral outcome can be achieved in specific situations , how moral...
, and
educationEducation in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual...
to the
laymanA "layman" is a person who is a non-expert in a given field of knowledge. The term originated from "laity", but over the centuries, shifted in definition....
. Some have suggested that at this point he had an affair with Vivien Eliot, wife of
T. S. EliotThomas Stearns Eliot, OM , was a poet, playwright, and literary critic. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. Among his most famous writings are The Love Song of J...
.
Together with Dora, he also founded the experimental Beacon Hill School in 1927. The school was run from a succession of different locations, including its original premises at the Russell's residence, Telegraph House, near
HartingHarting is a civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England, situated on northern flank of the South Downs. It comprises four settlements namely Nyewood plus South, East and West Harting....
,
West SussexWest Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
. After he left the school in 1932, Dora continued it until 1943.
Upon the death of his elder brother Frank, in 1931, Russell became the 3rd Earl Russell. He once said that his
titleA title is a prefix or suffix added to a person's name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may even be inserted between a first and last name...
was primarily useful for securing
hotelA hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
rooms.
Russell's marriage to Dora grew increasingly tenuous, and it reached a breaking point over her having two children with an American
journalistA journalist is a person who practises journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that are not biased.Reporters are one type of journalist...
, Griffin Barry. They separated in 1932 and finally divorced. On 18 January 1936, Russell married his third wife, an
OxfordThe University of Oxford , located in the UK city of Oxford, is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back...
undergraduate named Patricia ("Peter") Spence, who had been his children's
governessA governess is a woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not their physical needs...
since the summer of 1930. Russell and Peter had one son,
Conrad Sebastian Robert RussellConrad Sebastian Robert Russell, 5th Earl Russell was a British historian and politician. He was a son of the philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell, and a great-grandson of the 19th century British Whig Prime Minister Lord John Russell.Educated at Eton and Merton College, Oxford, Conrad...
, 5th Earl Russell, who became a prominent historian and one of the leading figures in the
Liberal DemocratThe Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems or just Liberals, are a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom, formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party; the two parties had been in alliance for seven years, from shortly after the formation of...
party.
Second World War
After the
Second World WarWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Russell taught at the
University of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private, coeducational research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by oil magnate and benefactor John D...
, later moving on to
Los AngelesLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
to lecture at the
University of California, Los AngelesThe UCLA Department of Philosophy is a constituent department of the Division of Humanities in the UCLA College of Letters and Science. From the mid-20th century, the department has been a leading and widely respected center for the study of Analytic Philosophy, especially Mathematical Logic,...
. He was appointed professor at the
City College of New YorkThe City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
in 1940, but after a public outcry, the appointment was annulled by a court judgement: his opinions (especially those relating to sexual morality, detailed in
Marriage and MoralsMarriage and Morals is a 1929 book by the philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell that questions the Victorian notions of morality regarding sex and marriage....
ten years earlier) made him "morally unfit" to teach at the college. The protest was started by the mother of a student who would not have been eligible for his graduate-level course in mathematical logic. Many intellectuals, led by
John DeweyJohn Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been very influential. Dewey, along with Charles Sanders Peirce and William James, is recognized as one of the founders of the philosophy of pragmatism and of functional psychology...
, protested his treatment.
Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a theoretical physicist. His many contributions to physics include the special and general theories of relativity, the founding of relativistic cosmology, the first post-Newtonian expansion, explaining the perihelion advance of Mercury, prediction of the deflection of...
's often-quoted aphorism that "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds..." originated in his open letter in support of Russell, during this time. Dewey and Horace M. Kallen edited a collection of articles on the CCNY affair in
The Bertrand Russell CaseThe Bertrand Russell Case edited by John Dewey and Horace M Kallen is a collection of articles on Bertrand Russell's court dismissal as Professor of Philosophy at the College of the City of New York in 1940....
. He soon joined the Barnes Foundation, lecturing to a varied audience on the history of philosophy; these lectures formed the basis of
History of Western PhilosophyA History of Western Philosophy And Its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day by the philosopher Bertrand Russell is a guide to Western philosophy from the pre-Socratic philosophers to the early 20th century...
. His relationship with the eccentric
Albert C. BarnesAlbert Coombs Barnes was an American inventor and art collector. With his fortune made from the development of the antiseptic drug Argyrol, he founded the Barnes Foundation, a museum created from his private collection of art. It has strengths in paintings by Impressionist and Modernist masters,...
soon soured, and he returned to Britain in 1944 to rejoin the faculty of Trinity College.
Later life
During the 1940s and 1950s, Russell participated in many broadcasts over the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
, particularly the
Third ProgrammeThe BBC Third Programme was a national radio network broadcast by the BBC. The network first went on air on 29 September 1946 and became one of the leading cultural and intellectual forces in Britain, playing a crucial role in disseminating the arts. It was the third national radio network...
, on various topical and philosophical subjects. By this time Russell was world famous outside of academic circles, frequently the subject or author of magazine and newspaper articles, and was called upon to offer up opinions on a wide variety of subjects, even mundane ones. En route to one of his lectures in
Trondheimis a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The city of Trondheim was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...
, Russell was one of 24 survivors (among a total of 43 passengers) in a
plane crash in HommelvikThe Bukken Bruse disaster was the crash of a flying boat upon landing at Hommelvika in Malvik municipality, nearby Trondheim, Trøndelag, Norway, on October 2 1948. The disaster killed 19 people...
in October 1948.
History of Western PhilosophyA History of Western Philosophy And Its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day by the philosopher Bertrand Russell is a guide to Western philosophy from the pre-Socratic philosophers to the early 20th century...
(1945) became a best-seller, and provided Russell with a steady income for the remainder of his life.
In a speech in 1948 Russell said that if the USSR's aggression continued, it would be morally worse to go to war after the USSR possessed an atomic bomb than before they possessed one, because if the USSR had no bomb the West's victory would come more swiftly and with fewer casualties than if there were atom bombs on both sides. At that time, only the USA possessed an atomic bomb, and the USSR was pursuing an extremely aggressive policy towards the countries in
Eastern EuropeEastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
which it was absorbing into its
sphere of influenceIn the field of international relations, a sphere of influence is an area or region over which a state or organization has significant cultural, economic, military or political influence....
. Many understood Russell's comments to mean that Russell approved of a
first strikeIn nuclear strategy, a first strike is a preemptive surprise attack employing overwhelming force. First strike capability is a country's ability to defeat another nuclear power by destroying its arsenal to the point where the attacking country can survive the weakened retaliation while the opposing...
in a war with the USSR, including Lawson, who was present when Russell spoke. Others, including Griffin who obtained a transcript of the speech, have argued that he was merely explaining the usefulness of America's atomic arsenal in deterring the USSR from continuing its domination of Eastern Europe.
In the King's Birthday Honours of 9 June 1949, Russell was awarded the Order of Merit, and the following year he was awarded the
Nobel Prize in LiteratureThe Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
. When he was given the Order of Merit, King George VI was affable but slightly embarrassed at decorating a former
jailA jail is a short-term detention facility in the United States.Jail may also refer to:*Prison or jail, a place for confinement*Jail , a program resources sandbox mechanism*Jail , a 2009 Bollywood movie...
bird, saying that "You have sometimes behaved in a manner that would not do if generally adopted." Russell merely smiled, but afterwards claimed that the reply "That's right, just like your
brotherEdward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the British dominions, and Emperor of India from 20 January 1936 until his abdication on 11 December 1936, after which he was immediately succeeded by his younger brother, George VI...
" immediately came to mind.
In 1952, Russell was divorced by Peter, with whom he had been very unhappy. Conrad, Russell's son by Peter, did not see his father between the time of the divorce and 1968 (at which time his decision to meet his father caused a permanent breach with his mother).
Russell married his fourth wife,
Edith FinchEdith Finch, Countess Russell was Bertrand Russell's fourth and last wife, and by all accounts, provided him with the marriage that made him happiest. She was born to Edward Bronson Finch, a physician, and his wife, Delia, in New York City. She was educated at Bryn Mawr College and St. Hilda's...
, soon after the divorce, on 15 December 1952. They had known each other since 1925, and Edith had taught
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
at
Bryn Mawr CollegeBryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia...
near
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth-most-populous city in the United States.In 2008, the population of the city proper was estimated to be over 1.4 million, while the metropolitan area's population of 5.8 million made it the country's fifth-largest...
, sharing a house for twenty years with Russell's old friend Lucy Donnelly. Edith remained with him until his death, and, by all accounts, their marriage was a happy, close, and loving one. Russell's eldest son, John, suffered from serious
mental illnessA mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern that occurs in an individual and is thought to cause distress or disability that is not expected as part of normal development or culture. The recognition and understanding of mental disorders has changed over time and...
, which was the source of ongoing disputes between Russell and John's mother, Russell's former wife, Dora. John's wife Susan was also mentally ill, and eventually Russell and Edith became the legal guardians of their three daughters (two of whom were later diagnosed with
schizophreniaSchizophrenia , from the Greek roots skhizein and phrēn, phren- is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by abnormalities in the perception or expression of reality...
).
Political causes
Russell spent the 1950s and 1960s engaged in various political causes, primarily related to nuclear disarmament and opposing the
Vietnam warThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
(see also
Russell Vietnam War Crimes TribunalThe Russell Tribunal, also known as the International War Crimes Tribunal or Russell-Sartre Tribunal, was a public body organized by British philosopher Bertrand Russell and hosted by French philosopher and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre...
). The 1955
Russell-Einstein ManifestoThe Russell–Einstein Manifesto was issued in London on July 9, 1955 by Bertrand Russell in the midst of the Cold War. It highlighted the dangers posed by nuclear weapons and called for world leaders to seek peaceful resolutions to international conflict...
was a document calling for nuclear disarmament and was signed by 11 of the prominent nuclear physicists and intellectuals of the time. He wrote a great many letters to world leaders during this period. He was in contact with
Lionel RogosinLionel Rogosin was a maverick independent American filmmaker who helped pioneer a form of non-fiction filmmaking influenced by the traditions of Robert Flaherty and Italian neorealism.-Early life:...
while the latter was filming his anti-war film
Good Times, Wonderful Times in the 1960s. He also became a hero to many of the youthful members of the
New LeftThe New Left were the left-wing movements in different countries in the 1960s and 1970s that, unlike the earlier leftist focus on union activism, instead adopted a broader definition of political activism commonly called social activism. The U.S...
. During the 1960s, in particular, Russell became increasingly vocal about his disapproval of what he felt to be the USA government's near-genocidal policies. In 1963 he became the inaugural recipient of the
Jerusalem PrizeThe Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society is a biennial literary award given to writers whose work has dealt with themes of human freedom, society, politics, and government...
, an award for writers concerned with the freedom of the individual in society. In October 1965 he tore up his
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
card because he feared the party was going to send soldiers to support the USA in the Vietnam War.
Final years and death
Russell published his three-volume autobiography in 1967, 1968, and 1969. On 23 November 1969 he wrote to
The TimesThe Times is a daily national newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register....
newspaper saying that the preparation for show trials in
CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
was "highly alarming". The same month he appealed to Secretary General
U ThantU Thant was a Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the United Nations, from 1961 to 1971. He was chosen for the post when his predecessor, Dag Hammarskjöld, died in September 1961."U" is an honorific in Burmese, roughly equal to "mister." "Thant" was his only name...
of the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
to support an international war crimes commission to investigate alleged torture and genocide by the USA in South Vietnam. The following month, he protested to Alexei Kosygin over the expulsion of
Aleksandr SolzhenitsynAleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was a Soviet and Russian novelist, dramatist, and historian. Through his writings he made the world aware of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labor camp system — particularly The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, his two...
from the Writers Union.
On 31 January 1970, Russell issued a statement which condemned Israeli aggression in the
Middle EastThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, southeastern Europe, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and called for Israeli withdrawal from territory occupied in 1967. The statement said that: This was Russell's final political statement or act. It was read out at the International Conference of Parliamentarians in
CairoCairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab World. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a center of the region's political and cultural life...
on 3 February 1970, the day after his death.
Russell died of
influenzaInfluenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals. The name influenza is Italian and means "influence"...
on 2 February 1970 at his home, Plas Penrhyn, in
PenrhyndeudraethPenrhyndeudraeth is a village and community in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. It is located between Traeth Mawr , the now largely reclaimed estuary of the Afon Glaslyn, and Traeth Bach , the estuary of the Afon Dwyryd...
,
MerionethshireMerionethshire is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, and a former administrative county.The administrative county of Merioneth, created under the Local Government Act 1888, was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on April 1, 1974...
,
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
. He was cremated in
Colwyn BayColwyn Bay is a town and seaside resort in Conwy county borough on the North Wales coast. The A55 road passes through the town, running parallel to the North Wales Coast Line.The town is served by Colwyn Bay railway station....
on 5 February 1970. In accordance with his will there was no religious ceremony; his ashes were scattered over the Welsh mountains later that year.
Self-assessment and summary of his own life
At the age of 84, Russell added a five-paragraph prologue to a new publication of his autobiography, giving a summary of the work and his life, titled
WHAT I HAVE LIVED FOR.
Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.
I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy—ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness—that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what—at last—I have found.
With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. A little of this, but not much, I have achieved.
Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.
This has been my life. I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me.
Titles and honours from birth
Russell held throughout his life the following styles and honours:
- from birth until 1908: The Honourable Bertrand Arthur William Russell
- from 1908 until 1931: The Honourable Bertrand Arthur William Russell, FRS
- from 1931 until 1949: The Right Honourable The Earl Russell, FRS
- from 1949 until death: The Right Honourable The Earl Russell, OM, FRS
Views on philosophy
Russell is generally credited with being one of the founders of analytic philosophyAnalytic philosophy is a generic term for a style of philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century...
. He was deeply impressed by Gottfried LeibnizGottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher, polymath and mathematician who wrote primarily in Latin and French....
(1646-1716) and wrote on every major area of philosophy except aesthetics. He was particularly prolific in the field of metaphysicsMetaphysics investigates principles of reality transcending those of any particular science. Cosmology and ontology are traditional branches of metaphysics. It is concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world...
, the logic and the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of language, ethics and epistemology. When Brand BlanshardPercy Brand Blanshard was an American philosopher known primarily for his defense of reason. A powerful polemicist, by all accounts he comported himself with courtesy and grace in philosophical controversies and exemplified the "rational temper" he advocated.-Life:Blanshard was born in...
asked Russell why he didn't write on aesthetics, Russell replied that he didn't know anything about it, "but that is not a very good excuse, for my friends tell me it has not deterred me from writing on other subjects."
Views on society
Political and social activismActivism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social change, political change, economic justice, or environmental wellbeing...
occupied much of Russell's time for most of his life, which makes his prodigious and seminal writing on a wide range of technical and non-technical subjects all the more remarkable.
Russell remained politically active to almost literally the end of his life, writing to and exhorting world leaders and lending his name to various causes. Some maintain that during his last few years he gave his youthful followers too much license and that they used his name for some outlandish purposes that a more attentive Russell would not have approved. There is evidence to show that he became aware of this when he fired his private secretary, Ralph SchoenmanRalph Schoenman is an American left-wing activist who was a personal secretary to Bertrand Russell and became general secretary of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation...
, then a young firebrand of the radical left.
Selected bibliography of Russell's books
This is a selected bibliography of Russell's books in English sorted by year of first publication.
- 1896, German Social Democracy, London: Longmans, Green.
- 1897, An Essay on the Foundations of Geometry, Cambridge: At the University Press.
- 1900, A Critical Exposition of the Philosophy of Leibniz, Cambridge: At the University Press.
- 1903, The Principles of Mathematics
The Principles of Mathematics is a book written by Bertrand Russell in 1903. In it he attempts to argue his thesis that mathematics is a mere branch of logic.- External links :* Online text...
The Principles of Mathematics, Cambridge: At the University Press.
- 1905 On Denoting
"On Denoting", written by Bertrand Russell, is one of the most significant and influential philosophical essays of the 20th century. It was published in the philosophy journal Mind in 1905; then reprinted, in both a special 2005 anniversary issue of the same journal and in Russell's Logic and...
, Mind vol. 14, NS, ISSN: 00264425, Basil Blackwell
- 1910, Philosophical Essays, London: Longmans, Green.
- 1910–1913, Principia Mathematica
The Principia Mathematica is a 3-volume work on the foundations of mathematics, written by Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell and published in 1910, 1912 & 1913...
(with Alfred North WhiteheadAlfred North Whitehead, OM was an English mathematician who became a philosopher. He wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education. He co-authored the epochal Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell.-Life:Whitehead was born in...
), 3 vols., Cambridge: At the University Press.
- 1912, The Problems of Philosophy
The Problems of Philosophy is one of Bertrand Russell's attempts to create a brief and accessible guide to the problems of philosophy...
, London: Williams and Norgate.
- 1914, Our Knowledge of the External World as a Field for Scientific Method in Philosophy, Chicago and London: Open CPublishing.
- 1916, Principles of Social Reconstruction, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1916, Justice in War-time, Chicago: Open Court.
- 1917, Political Ideals, New York: The Century Co.
- 1918, Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays, London: Longmans, Green.
- 1918, Proposed Roads to Freedom: Socialism, Anarchism, and Syndicalism, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1919, Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy, London: George Allen & Unwin, (ISBN 0-415-09604-9 for Routledge paperback) (Copy at Archive.org).
- 1920, The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism,London: George Allen & Unwin
- 1921, The Analysis of Mind, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1922, The Problem of China, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1923, The Prospects of Industrial Civilization (in collaboration with Dora Russell), London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1923, The ABC of Atoms, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner.
- 1924, Icarus, or the Future of Science, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner.
- 1925, The ABC of Relativity, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner.
- 1925, What I Believe
"What I Believe" is the title of two essays by Bertrand Russell and E.M. Forster espousing humanism.Several other authors have also written works with the same title, alluding to either or both of these essays.- Forster's essay :E.M...
, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner.
- 1926, On Education, Especially in Early Childhood, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1927, The Analysis of Matter, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner.
- 1927, An Outline of Philosophy, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1927, Why I Am Not a Christian
Why I Am Not a Christian is an essay by the British philosopher Bertrand Russell hailed by The Independent as "devastating in its use of cold logic", and listed in the New York Public Library's list of the most influential books of the 20th century....
, London: Watts.
- 1927, Selected Papers of Bertrand Russell, New York: Modern Library.
- 1928, Sceptical Essays, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1929, Marriage and Morals
Marriage and Morals is a 1929 book by the philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell that questions the Victorian notions of morality regarding sex and marriage....
, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1930, The Conquest of Happiness, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1931, The Scientific Outlook, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1932, Education and the Social Order, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1934, Freedom and Organization, 1814–1914, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1935, In Praise of Idleness, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1935, Religion and Science, London: Thornton Butterworth.
- 1936, Which Way to Peace?, London: Jonathan Cape.
- 1937, The Amberley Papers: The Letters and Diaries of Lord and Lady Amberley (with Patricia Russell), 2 vols., London: Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press.
- 1938, Power: A New Social Analysis
Power: A New Social Analysis is a work in social philosophy written by Bertrand Russell. Power, for Russell, is one's ability to achieve goals. In particular, Russell has in mind social power, that is, power over people.The volume contains a number of arguments. However, four themes have a central...
, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1940, An Inquiry into Meaning and Truth, New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
- 1945, History of Western Philosophy and Its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day
A History of Western Philosophy And Its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day by the philosopher Bertrand Russell is a guide to Western philosophy from the pre-Socratic philosophers to the early 20th century...
, New York: Simon and Schuster.
- 1948, Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1949, Authority and the Individual, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1950, Unpopular Essays, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1951, New Hopes for a Changing World, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1952, The Impact of Science on Society, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1953, Satan in the Suburbs and Other Stories, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1954, Human Society in Ethics and Politics, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1954, Nightmares of Eminent Persons and Other Stories, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1956, Portraits from Memory and Other Essays, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1956, Logic and Knowledge: Essays 1901–1950 (edited by Robert C. Marsh), London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1957, Why I Am Not A Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects (edited by Paul Edwards), London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1958, Understanding History and Other Essays, New York: Philosophical Library.
- 1959, Common Sense and Nuclear Warfare, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1959, My Philosophical Development
My Philosophical Development is a book written by Bertrand Russell where he is summing up his philosophical beliefs and how they have changed during his life....
, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1959, Wisdom of the West ("editor", Paul Foulkes), London: Macdonald.
- 1960, Bertrand Russell Speaks His Mind, Cleveland and New York: World Publishing Company.
- 1961, The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell (edited by R.E. Egner and L.E. Denonn), London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1961, Fact and Fiction, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1961, Has Man a Future?, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1963, Essays in Skepticism, New York: Philosophical Library.
- 1963, Unarmed Victory, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1965, On the Philosophy of Science (edited by Charles A. Fritz, Jr.), Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company.
- 1967, Russell's Peace Appeals (edited by Tsutomu Makino and Kazuteru Hitaka), Japan: Eichosha's New Current Books.
- 1967, War Crimes in Vietnam, London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1967–1969, The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, 3 vols., London: George Allen & Unwin.
- 1969, Dear Bertrand Russell... A Selection of his Correspondence with the General Public 1950–1968 (edited by Barry Feinberg and Ronald Kasrils), London: George Allen and Unwin.
Note: This is a mere sampling, for Russell also wrote many pamphlets, introductions, articles and letters to the editor. His works also can be found in any number of anthologies and collections, perhaps most notably The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell, which McMaster UniversityMcMaster University is a public research university located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It bears the name of William McMaster, a prominent Canadian Senator and banker whose substantial bequeathed funds helped form the beginning of the university. The institution being incorporated under the...
began publishing in 1983. This collection of his shorter and previously unpublished works is now up to 16 volumes, and many more are forthcoming. An additional three volumes catalogue just his bibliography. The Russell Archives at McMaster UniversityMcMaster University is a public research university located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It bears the name of William McMaster, a prominent Canadian Senator and banker whose substantial bequeathed funds helped form the beginning of the university. The institution being incorporated under the...
also have more than 30,000 letters that he wrote.
Russell
- 1900, Sur la logique des relations avec des applications à la théorie des séries, Rivista di matematica 7: 115-148.
- 1901, On the Notion of Order, Mind (n.s.) 10: 35-51.
- 1902, (with Alfred North Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead, OM was an English mathematician who became a philosopher. He wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education. He co-authored the epochal Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell.-Life:Whitehead was born in...
), On Cardinal Numbers, American Journal of Mathematics 23: 367-384.
Secondary references
- John Newsome Crossley. A Note on Cantor's Theorem and Russell's Paradox, Australian Journal of Philosophy 51: 70-71.
- Ivor Grattan-Guinness
Ivor Grattan-Guinness is a historian of mathematics and logic.He gained his Bachelor degree as a Mathematics Scholar at Wadham College, Oxford, got an M.Sc in Mathematical Logic and the Philosophy of Science at the London School of Economics in 1966...
, 2000. The Search for Mathematical Roots 1870-1940. Princeton University Press.
Books about Russell's philosophy
- Bertrand Russell: Critical Assessments, edited by A. D. Irvine, 4 volumes, London: Routledge, 1999. Consists of essays on Russell's work by many distinguished philosophers.
- Bertrand Russell, by John Slater, Bristol: Thoemmes Press, 1994.
- Bertrand Russell's Ethics. by Michael K. Potter, Bristol: Thoemmes Continuum, 2006. A clear and accessible explanation of Russell's moral philosophy.
- The Philosophy of Bertrand Russell, edited by P.A. Schilpp, Evanston and Chicago: Northwestern University, 1944.
- Russell, by A. J. Ayer, London: Fontana, 1972. ISBN 0-00-632965-9. A lucid summary exposition of Russell's thought.
- The Lost Cause: Causation and the Mind-Body Problem, by Celia Green
Celia Elizabeth Green is a British writer on philosophical skepticism, twentieth-century thought, and psychology.- Biography :...
. Oxford: Oxford Forum, 2003. ISBN 0-9536772-1-4 Contains a sympathetic analysis of Russell's views on causalityCausality is the relationship between an event and a second event , where the second event is a direct consequence of the first....
.
Biographical books
- Bertrand Russell: Philosopher and Humanist, by John Lewis
John Lewis was a British Unitarian minister and Marxist philosopher and author of many works on philosophy, anthropology, and religion....
(1968)
- Bertrand Russell, by A. J. Ayer (1972), reprint ed. 1988: ISBN 0-226-03343-0
- The Life of Bertrand Russell, by Ronald W. Clark
Ronald William Clark was a British author of biography, fiction and non-fiction.Born in London, Clark was educated King's College School. In 1933, he embarked on a career as a journalist, and served as a war correspondent during the Second World War after being turned down for military service on...
(1975) ISBN 0-394-49059-2
- Bertrand Russell and His World, by Ronald W. Clark (1981) ISBN 0-500-13070-1
- Bertrand Russell: Mathematics: Dreams and Nightmares by Ray Monk
Ray Monk is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton, where he has taught since 1992.He won the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the 1991 Duff Cooper Prize for Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius. His interests lie in the philosophy of mathematics, the history of...
(1997) ISBN 0-75380-190-6
- Bertrand Russell: 1872–1920 The Spirit of Solitude by Ray Monk
Ray Monk is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton, where he has taught since 1992.He won the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the 1991 Duff Cooper Prize for Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius. His interests lie in the philosophy of mathematics, the history of...
(1997) ISBN 0-09-973131-2
- Bertrand Russell: 1921–1970 The Ghost of Madness by Ray Monk
Ray Monk is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton, where he has taught since 1992.He won the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the 1991 Duff Cooper Prize for Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius. His interests lie in the philosophy of mathematics, the history of...
(2001) ISBN 0-09-927275-X
External links
Writings available online
Audio
- Works by Bertrand Russell in audio format from LibriVox
LibriVox is an online digital library of free public domain audiobooks, read by volunteers. In October 2009, it had a catalog of 2,700 unabridged books and shorter works available to download...
- Bertrand Russell Audio Archive
- In Praise of Idleness free mp3
MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression. It is a common audio format for consumer audio storage, as well as a de facto standard of digital audio compression for the transfer and playback of music on...
recitation of Russell's essay of the same name, from the Audio Anarchy project
- Sound clips of Bertrand Russell speaking
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