Russell Bertrand: Quotes, Morals, Problems and History of Western Philosophy

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

The life of Russell Bertrand is almost a century of European history. He was born during the heyday of the British Empire, witnessed two world wars, revolutions, saw how the colonial system became obsolete, and lived to see the era of nuclear weapons.

Today he is known as an outstanding philosopher. Russell Bertrand's quotes can often be found both in scientific works and in ordinary journalism. Head of the British philosophy of subjective idealism, founder of English realism and neopositivism, author of The History of Western Philosophy, logician, mathematician, public figure, organizer of the British anti-war movement and the Pugwash conferences. It seems that he managed everywhere, even despite the fact that he lived far from the simplest time:

I, on the one hand, wanted to find out if knowledge is possible, and on the other hand, to do everything in my power to create a happier world. (B. Russell)

These were his life goals, which he decided on as a child. And Bertrand Russell reached them.

Real aristocrat

The philosopher came from an old family of aristocrats, politicians and scientists, who had been active (especially political) in the life of the country since the 16th century. The most famous came from the family was John Russell (Bertrand's grandfather), who twice headed the government of Queen Victoria.

Bertrand Russell was born on May 18, 1872 to Viscount Amberley and Katherine Russell. But it so happened that at the age of four he became an orphan. After Bertrand's parents died, his older brother Frank and sister Rachel were taken in by their grandmother (Countess Russell). She was strictly puritanical.

From an early age, Bertrand began to show a keen interest in natural science (at the same time, he was interested in all areas of this science). Usually he spent his free time reading books. It's good that the seed had a large library (at Pembroke Lodge), and the boy had something to please himself.

Youth

In 1889, Bertrand Russell entered Trinity College, Cambridge. In his second year, he was elected to the discussion society "Apostles". It included not only students, but also teachers. With some members of the society (including J. Moore, J. McTaggart), Russell later began to cooperate fruitfully.

As the son of a lord of one of the most influential families, Bertrand was appointed British diplomatic representative in Berlin and Paris. While in Germany hetook up the study of German philosophy, the legacy of Marx, communicated with famous socialists of that time. He liked the ideas of left reformism. They represented a gradual restructuring of the state in the best traditions of democratic socialism.

Dates only

In 1896, the world saw the first significant work of Russell - "German Social Democracy". In the same year he returned to England and became a lecturer at the London School of Economics.

In 1900 he took an active part in the World Philosophical Congress (France, Paris). In 1903, together with Whitehead, he published the book "Principles of Mathematics", due to which he received international recognition. In 1908 he became a member of the Royal and Fabian Societies.

During the First World War, he became a hostage of socio-political problems of a philosophical nature. He thought a lot about war and peace, and while England was preparing to take part in the battles, Russell was imbued with the spirit of pacifism. In 1916, he published a pamphlet calling for refusal of military service, later he openly expressed this idea in the Times newspaper, for which he was convicted.

Imprisonment

1917 - publishes the book "Political Ideals". He believed that true democracy must be guided by socialism. On 1918-03-01, he writes the article "The German Peace Offer", in which he condemns the policy of the Bolsheviks, Lenin and America's entry into the war. 1918 - Bertrand Russell was imprisoned in Brixton Prison for six months.

Travel time

BIn his time, the philosopher visited Soviet Russia and China. In May 1920 he was an honored guest in the Soviet Republic, where he spent a whole month. In October of the same year, the Society of New Scientists invited Bertrand to China, where he stayed until June 1921. In 1920, the Bertrand Russell Society was formed at Peking University and began publishing Russell's Monthly. His philosophical ideas had a strong influence on the youth.

Family life

In 1921, Russell marries (this is the second marriage) Dora Winifred, who accompanied him to Russia. In this marriage, two children were born. Union with first wife Alice was childless. It was then that he began to get involved in pedagogy, to study innovative ways of education. Being in this environment for a long time, he wrote in 1929 the book "Marriage and Morality" (Bertrand Russell). Three years later, another thematic work is published - "Education and Social System". Together with his wife, he opened the Bacon Hill School, which existed until the outbreak of the war.

For the book "Marriage and morality" Bertrand Russell received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

True, this happened only 20 years later, as his pedagogical ideas were not accepted by his contemporaries. Bertrand Russell's book "Marriage and Morality" describes that students should have greater freedom in self-expression, they should be brought up without coercion, children should not know the feeling of fear and "be citizens of the universe." Russell insisted that children should not be divided according to social status and origin, everyone shouldtreat equally.

Work, work, work

In 1924, Russell published the pamphlet Icarus, which warned of the dangers lurking in the rampant growth of knowledge and technological progress. Only 30 years later, it became clear that Bertrand's worst fears had become a reality.

Bertrand, like many prominent figures of his time, left behind an autobiography. There he mentioned that he devoted his whole life to making people reconcile with each other. The philosopher has always tried to unite and harmonize the desires of people, to save humanity from its impending doom and inglorious extinction. During this period he writes books:

• Prospects for Industrial Civilization (1923);
• Education and We alth (1926);
• "The Conquest of Happiness" (1930);
• The Origin of Fascism (1935);
• "Which path leads to peace?" (1936);
• Power: A New Social Analysis (1938).

"No!" pacifism

In the 1930s of the last century, Bertrand worked as a lecturer at the University of Chicago and the University of California. After his elder brother died, he inherited the family title and became the third Earl Russell.

The beginning of the Second World War gave rise to doubts in Russell about the appropriateness of pacifism. After Hitler seized Poland, Bertrand abandoned this ideology, now he advocates the creation of a military alliance between England and the United States. During this difficult time for the whole world, he publishes An Inquiry into Meaning and Truth (1940), and five years laterpublishes A History of Western Philosophy for years. Bertrand Russell gained fame thanks to this work. In the US, this book hit the bestseller lists several times, and is popular not only among specialists, but also among ordinary readers.

In 1944 he returned to England and became a teacher at Trinity College, from where he was fired for anti-militarist speeches during the First World War. Thanks to his active social activities (despite his considerable age - 70 years old), he became one of the most famous Englishmen.

Work and last years of life

During his life, Russell wrote many works. Among them:

• Philosophy and Politics (1947);
• Springs of Human Action (1952);
• “Human knowledge. His scope and boundaries” (1948);
• Power and Personality (1949);
• The Impact of Science on Society (1951).

Russell opposed nuclear weapons, supported Czechoslovak reforms and was adamant when it came to war. He was respected by the common people, people enthusiastically read his new works and listened to his speeches on the radio. To reduce respect, the West began to make sharp attacks against the famous anti-militarist. Until the end of his days, Russell had to endure various allusions and statements. Most often they said that "the old man has lost his mind." There was even an offensive article in one of the most reputable newspapers. However, his social activities completely refuted these rumors. The philosopher died of influenza in Wales in 1970 (2February).

Outstanding work

Bertrand Russell's most famous work is A History of Western Philosophy. The full title of the book is "The History of Western Philosophy and Its Relation to Political and Social Conditions from Antiquity to the Present Day." This book is often used in higher education as a textbook. Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy is a summary of Western philosophy from the pre-Socratics to the early 20th century.

It is worth noting that the content of the book includes not only philosophy. The author analyzes the relevant epochs and historical context. This book was criticized more than once due to the fact that the writer overgeneralized some areas (and even excluded some altogether), and yet it was reprinted several times, and gave Russell financial independence for life.

Contents

Bertrand Russell wrote his "History of Philosophy" when the Second World War rumbled with explosions. It was based on lectures that he once read in Philadelphia (this was in 1941-1942). The work itself is divided into three books, consisting of sections, each of which is devoted to some period of the school or philosopher.

The first book of "Western Philosophy" by Bertrand Russell is devoted to ancient philosophy. The first section deals with the pre-Socratics. The author mentions such ancient philosophers as Thales, Heraclitus, Empedocles, Anaximander, Pythagoras, Protagoras, Democritus, Anaximenes, Anaxagoras, Leacippus and Parmenides.

Separate section for Socrates, Platoand Aristotle. And also, the philosophy of Aristotle is considered separately, including all his followers, cynics, stoics, skeptics, epicureans and neoplatonists.

Religion is indispensable

A separate book is devoted to Catholic philosophy. There are only two main sections: the church fathers and the scholastics. In the first section, the author mentions the development of Jewish and Islamic philosophy. Special attention is paid to the contribution to the development of the philosophical and theological thought of St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St. Benedict and Pope Gregory the First.

In the second section, in addition to the well-known scholastics, the theologian Eriugena and Thomas Aquinas are mentioned.

Essay

Biographers believe that the writing of this section of the author was inspired by the essay "Why am I not a Christian?". Bertrand Russell wrote it back in 1927 based on one of his lectures. The work begins with a definition of the term "Christian". Based on this, Russell begins to explain why he does not believe in God, immortality, and does not consider Christ the greatest and wisest among people.

If I assume that a porcelain teapot flies between Earth and Mars around the Sun in an elliptical orbit, no one will be able to refute my statement, especially if I prudently add that the teapot is so small that it is not visible even with the most powerful telescopes. But if I then said that since my assertion cannot be refuted, then it is impermissible for the human mind to doubt it, my words would have to be considered nonsense with good reason. However, if the existence of such a teapot were claimed in ancient books,memorized every Sunday as a holy truth, and precipitated in the minds of schoolchildren, then doubting its existence would become a sign of eccentricity and would attract the attention of a psychiatrist in the era of enlightenment to the doubter, or an inquisitor in earlier times. (B. Russell)

After this, the author begins to consider the arguments that confirm the existence of God. He explored this issue from the point of view of cosmology, theology, natural law and morality.

After all this, it questions the historical facts of the existence of Christ, as well as religious morality. Russell insists that religion, as it is presented in the churches, has always been, is and will be the main enemy of moral progress. Fear of the unknown is at the heart of faith, according to Russell:

Religion is based, in my opinion, first and foremost on fear. Part of it is the horror of the unknown, and part, as I have already pointed out, the desire to feel that you have a kind of older brother who will stand up for you in all troubles and misadventures. A good world needs knowledge, kindness, and courage; he does not need mournful regret about the past or the slavish constraint of a free mind by words put into use in long gone times by ignorant people. (B. Russell)

Book Three

The third book of "History" by Bertrand Russell deals with the philosophy of modern times. The first section of the book is dedicated to the philosophy that existed from the Renaissance toDavid Hume. Here the author paid attention to Machiavelli, Eramz, T. More, F. Bacon, Hobbes, Spinoza, Berkeley, Leibniz and Hume.

The second section traces the development of philosophy from the time of Rousseau to the middle of the twentieth century. The author mentions such philosophers as Kant, Rousseau, Hegel, Beuron, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Bergson, Marx, John Dewey and William James. Also, Russell did not forget to write about utilitarians, devoting an entire chapter to them.

But the last section of the book is considered the most interesting. It is called The Philosophy of Logical Analysis. Here Russell describes his views and thoughts regarding the development of history and the expediency of the existence of one direction or another.

Reaction

The author himself speaks of his book as follows:

I viewed the opening parts of my History of Western Philosophy as a history of culture, but later parts where science becomes important make it much harder to fit into that framework. I did my best, but I'm not sure I succeeded. Reviewers sometimes accused me of not writing a real story, but a biased account of events that I myself chose. But, from my point of view, a person who does not have his own opinion cannot write an interesting story - if such a person exists at all. (B. Russell)

Indeed, the reaction to his book was mixed, especially from academics. The English philosopher Roger Vernon Scruton thought the book was witty and elegantly written. However, it has drawbacks, for example, the author did not fully understand Kant, too much attentiondevoted to pre-Cartesian philosophy, generalized too many important things, and omitted something altogether. Russell himself said that his book is a work on social history, and he wanted it to be classified that way, and nothing else.

The path to truth

Another book to look at is Problems in Philosophy by Bertrand Russell, written in 1912. This work can be attributed to the early ones, and if this is so, then philosophy itself is considered here as a correct logical analysis of language. One of the most important qualities of this science is the ability to level any paradoxes, but in general it deals with problems that have not yet been mastered by science.

Moral philosopher

It is worth noting that Russell's aesthetic, social and political developments were closely interconnected with his logic, metaphysics, epistemology and philosophy of language. We can say that the entire heritage of the philosopher is a universalist approach to all issues. In science he was known as a moralist, but such a reputation in philosophy did not stick with him. In short, the ideas of ethics and morality, combined with other doctrines, strongly influenced the logical positivists, who formulated the theory of emotivism. Simply put, they said that ethical grounds are meaningless, at best they are a common manifestation of relationships and differences. Russell, on the other hand, believed that ethical foundations are vital subjects of civil discourse.

In his works, he condemns the ethics of war, religious morality, morality, speaks of emotivist concepts and ontology. Russell can be considered a pioneer of the basic formsethical anti-realism: the theory of error and emotivism. In philosophy, he defended the most diverse versions of metaethics, however, he did not present any of the theories in full.

In general, Russell rejects the selfish theory of morality. He studied history and makes strong arguments that the ethical foundations had two sources: political and interested in various kinds of condemnation (personal, moral, religious). If there were no civic ethics, then the community would perish, but without personal ethics, the existence of such a society is of no value.

Bertrand Russell quotes

Despite the fact that his ideas are constantly criticized, Russell has long been taken apart for quotes. There were many things that the philosopher was interested in. For example, in the book "Marriage and Morality" he talks about how to properly raise children, talks about what love is and what significance it plays in a person's life.

To be afraid of love is to be afraid of life, and whoever is afraid of life is three quarters dead.

Love is the main escape from the loneliness that torments most men and women during almost their entire lives.

For happiness, a person needs not only a variety of pleasures, but also hope, work in life and change.

Bertrand Russell looked at the world as a philosopher, as a moralist, as a pragmatist and romantic. Some of his statements may seem unexpected, but still their author is Russell.

Given the stupidity of most people, the widespread pointvision will be more stupid than intelligent.

Do not try to avoid temptations: in time they will begin to avoid you.

If the thoughts and forces of mankind would stop being spent on war, we could end poverty in the world in one generation.

I will never give my life for my beliefs because I may be wrong.

There is nothing more tiresome than indecision, and nothing more useless.

Boredom is a serious problem for the moralist, for at least half of all the sins of mankind are committed out of boredom.

Our emotions are inversely proportional to our knowledge: the less we know, the more inflamed.

His full name is Bertrand Arthur William Russell. Outstanding mathematician, philosopher, public figure. An atheist to the marrow of his bones, he constantly spoke out in defense of pacifism, liberalism and leftist political movements. On account of his Nobel Prize in Literature, he took an active part in the founding of English neo-realism and neo-positivism. Without fear or remorse, he always fought for freedom of speech and thought. Humanist of his time and master of English prose. It's all about him - Bertrand Russell - the philosopher of the century.