Bertrand Russell: Life, Works, and Contributions to Philosophy and Society

This paper discusses the life, works, and contributions of Bertrand Russell, one of the most prominent philosophers of the 20th century. It covers his campaigns against social issues, his famous books, his contributions to analytical philosophy, and his involvement in politics. The paper also highlights his views on education and the importance of evidence-based beliefs.

Running head: PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Abstract
This paper will discuss the works of Bertrand Russell. After studying his life and works it
becomes evident that he is one of the most prominent philosophers during his time. He led
campaigns against several social issues such as nuclear war, world war, freedom of marriage, he
was also an advocate of the rights of the women and promoted the “freedom of thought”. Some
of his famous books are “Principia Mathematics”, “Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays”,
“The Problems of Philosophy”, “A Free man's worship, and other essays” among others.

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Bertrand Arthur William Russell also known as Bertrand Russell, he was born in Britain
and was one of the most celebrated philosophers of that time, he was also a mathematician,
social critic and a historian. Russell was born in a highly distinguished aristocratic families of
United Kingdom in the year 1872 and was educated at Cambridge University. Russell also
considered himself to be a liberal and a socialist although he accepted the fact that he was never
a firm believer of any of those theories. In the year 1890, he received a scholarship to study for
the subject Mathematics Tripos at “Trinity College”, Cambridge, there he met G. E. Moore and
also became influenced by Alfred North Whitehead, and he referred him to the “Cambridge
Apostles” (Cambridge's secret society of elite intellectual). He distinguished himself in the field
of mathematics and philosophy, he graduated with a B.A. in mathematics in the year 1893 and
later also added a fellowship in philosophy in the year 1895. He always believed that ideas could
bring about a huge change in the world.
Bertrand Russell is considered as the greatest philosophers of the 20th century and an
immensely talented person in logics since the time of Aristotle (Fritz). The “analytical
philosophy” was the most popular form of philosophy during the 20th century and it became
more popular with the help of Bertrand Russell. Russell and A.N Whitehead developed the logic
system; they broke out the system of logic from the theories of Aristotle and established a
different theory based on the works of the Dedekind, Cantor, Peano and Frege. He wrote a
number of books based on a vast range of topics, few of his works are, “German Social
Democracy”, “An Essay on the Foundations of Geometry”, “A Critical Exposition of the
Philosophy of Leibniz”, “War Crimes in Vietnam” and “The Autobiography of Bertrand
Russell”. Some other mentionable books of Russell are “Principles of Mathematics”, “Principia
Mathematica” ( published along with A.N. Whitehead), “Anti-Suffragist Anxieties”, “The

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Problems of Philosophy”, “Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy”, “Sceptical Essays”, “Why
I Am Not a Christian”, and “A History of Western Philosophy”. Being one of the country’s most
prominent intellectuals Bertrand Russell won Nobel Prize for Literature in the year 1950"in
recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and
freedom of thought". Russell was involved, in several social and political issues during his own
time (Candlish). He supported the suffragist movement, freedom of religious thoughts and
morals, and the idea regarding government of the world; he vehemently continued propaganda
against the World War I and War in Vietnam, political persecution and nationalism. He also
went to jail for his anti-war ideologies and his anti-nuclear weapons beliefs.
One of the most popular works of Russell is in the subject of logic, his discovery of
“Russell Paradox” and his works regarding the “theory of types” added great value to the field of
mathematics. He believed that “that mathematics is, in some significant sense, reducible to
formal logic” (Madigan). The work of Russell in the field of analytical philosophy is one of the
most prominent ones. In a way, Russell relied on logic to clarify the issues related to
mathematics in similar way he also used logic to define the tenets of analytical philosophy
(Roos). He founded the Analytical Philosophy and he also made many important contributions in
a variety of subjects like ethics, epistemology, political theories and metaphysics. Rudolf Carnap
and the Vienna Circle was significantly influenced by the advances made by Russell in logic and
metaphysics.
Russell believed that, it is the task of the philosopher to develop an ideal language, which
will also be logical. A language that will show the way the world functions in such a manner so
that the human beings will not fall prey to “imprecise surface” and “structure of natural
language”. Russell wrote that “Ordinary language is totally unsuited for expressing what physics

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really asserts, since the words of everyday life are not sufficiently abstract. Only mathematics
and mathematical logic can say as little as the physicist means to say” (Grayling).In the year
1911 he wrote “There is one great question, Can human beings know anything, and if so, what
and how? (Stone). This question is really the most essentially philosophical of all questions”. He
aimed to understand how the human beings are able to gain knowledge and to what extent
gaining knowledge is possible (Hylton). Russell was motivated by this question from the
question of the outside world, it is believed that the knowledge gained by the humans comes
from the conclusions drawn from the best explanations, if it is so then such explanations are
always fallible, there is no guarantee that the beliefs of the individuals are reliable.
Russell led a hugely successful life; along with his groundbreaking works in analytical
philosophy, he also involved himself a lot in politics. He often spoke out in favour of
internationalism and as early as the year 1904 and he also ran for Parliament in 1907 and was
unsuccessful (Dummett). In the year 1907, he fully endorsed the Liberal platform although he
stood as an independent candidate. He also believed in the inclusion of the women in the
franchise and he knew that such radical changes could only be made possible through
constitutionally recognized means, and after 3 years he published his book “Anti-Suffragist
Anxieties”(1910).
After World War I started Russell started campaigning against the war and he was
charged with a fine of 100 pounds for writing anti-war pamphlets. After he was convicted, he
was dismissed from his faculty at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a professor
(Dunham). He was imprisoned for the second time after two years, and this time he had
suggested that the American troops could be used to terrorize the strikers in Britain. Resulting in
his imprisonment, he was sentenced to Brixton Prison for five months. In the successive years

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1922 and 1923 Russell contended for parliament but was unsuccessfull this time as well, later he
and his wife Dora founded a school, which they continued through the late 1920 to early 1930s
(Stone). Russell also took part in some radical activities, which includes his support of the “post
Victorian Sexual practices”. The people easily linked him to be an atheist, and this idea was
made popular after participated in a debate with Fredick Copleston a “Jesuit philosopher” over
the existence of the Almighty. He became the third Earl after the death of his brother in the year
1931, he continued to have radical beliefs that made his life very difficult. In the late 1930s in
United States while he was teaching at UCLA , he was asked to join as a faculty member
position at City College, in New York (Ayer). The particular job offer was later cancelled in
1940 after there was a series of protests made against this decision; according to the judicial
decision, he was found to be unfit for teaching at City College on moral grounds (Blackwell).
The decision was taken somewhat based upon his atheistic views and partly because he
supported freedom of love and unconventional marriages.
In 1954, Russell made his well known“Man’s Peril” broadcasted on the BBC, taking
against the “Bikini H-bomb” tests and condemning the act. Later after one year Russell and
Albert Einstein declared the “Russell-Einstein Manifesto” demanding for ban on the nuclear war
technologies. (Jager). In the year 1958 he also became the founding president of the “Campaign
for Nuclear Disarmament” and was the “Honorary President of the Committee” in 1960.
Later in year 1961, Russell was captured and put into prison for a week this time because
of his anti-nuclear protests. This time the media coverage that he received led to the
enhancement of his reputation and some youths who were inspired by his ideologies joined him
in the protest against the anti-nuclear message. In the beginning of 1963 he also worked for
several other issues one including lobbying on the behalf of the prisoners who were imprisoned

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due to political reasons with the help of “Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation”. Throughout his
entire life, Russell saw himself only as a “writer” and not a “philosopher”, he listed “Author” as
his profession. As Russell says in his Autobiography, “I resolved not to adopt a profession, but to
devote myself to writing” (Russell). When he was awarded the “Nobel Prize” for literature in the
year 1950, Russell emphasized on the topics related to his work as a social activist in his speech.
Three of the most significant social influences of Bertrand Russell are found from the
following three sources: Russell’s social activism which he was involved for quite a long time,
the social and the political issues of his time period which he addressed and the theoretical
ideologies and also his popular writings regarding philosophy and various natural sciences.
Among several popular works of Russell the following two are his best-selling books, “The
Problems of Philosophy” published in 1912 and “A History of Western Philosophy” published in
1945. These books along with other books have educated and informed the readers one
generation after another. The works of Russell related to history helped the future researchers to
a great extent from the historical figures existing before Socrates to Leibniz (Jorgensen). The
problems pointed out by Russell is still used in the form of introductory lessons and has been
used for over a century and these books has been written in very simple language and can be
understood by everyone very easily (Landini). The scientific books written by Russell such as
“The ABC of Atoms” (1923) and “The ABC of Relativity” (1925) are read rather as a work
historical interest nowadays. Even then, these books continue to impart intellectual interest
related to the scientific and philosophical advancements of the twentieth century. Russell
believed in the evidences rather than following superstition blindly, he said that “I wish to
propose for the reader’s favourable consideration,” says Russell, “a doctrine which may, I fear,
appear wildly paradoxical and subversive. The doctrine in question is this: that it is undesirable

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to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true” (Russell).
Normally enough, Russell saw an important co-relation between social progress and the role of
education in it. According to Russell, “Education is the key to the new world”.
For many years Russell has been a topic of a lot of creative works, including
“MrAppolinax” by T.S. Eliot (1917), “The Blind Man” by D.H. Lawrence (1920), Chrome
Yellow by Aldous Huxley (1921). “The World as I Found It” by Bruce Duffy (1987) and the
graphic novel “Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth” by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos
Papadimitriou (2009).
Since the death of Russell, discussion has additionally occurred over a definitive
significance of Russell's commitments, not simply to the subject of philosophy, but as well as to
the other disciplines. Others have noticed his clear early discrimination against Jews and his
support of an atomic war against Russia after World War II On the issue of a preventive war,
Russell later on went back on his words of having attempted such initiatives. In any case, in the
wake of checking on precisely the authentic record, biographer Ronald Clark arrives at an
alternate conclusion. Maybe because of such perceptions, numerous readers stay confused when
trying to examine Russell's general commitment to the scholarly existence of 20th century. All
things being equal, paying little heed to his numerous specific commitments, Russell's enduring
notoriety has additionally profited fundamentally from his steady ability to desert unsupported
speculations and obsolete convictions. Russell said: “Against my will, in the course of my
travels, the belief that everything worth knowing was known at Cambridge gradually wore off.”
“In this respect,” says Russell, “my travels were very useful to me” (Russell). Thus the
contributions of Bertrand Russell in the field of philosophy, mathematics, and the society itself is
immense and people will be forever indebted to him.

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Reference:
Ayer, A. J. "16. Russell and Moore: The Analytical Heritage." (2016).

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Blackwell, Kenneth. "43. The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell, vol. I, Cambridge Essays
1888–99." (2016).
Candlish, Stewart. The Russell/Bradley Dispute and Its Significance for Twentieth Century
Philosophy. Springer, 2016.
Dummett, Michael. Origins of analytical philosophy. A&C Black, 2014.
Dunham, William. "Bertrand Russell at Bryn Mawr." The Mathematical Intelligencer 38.3
(2016): 30-40.
Fritz Jr, Charles A. Bertrand Russell's construction of the external world. Routledge, 2014.
Grayling, A. C. Bertrand Russell. Fri tanke, 2015.
Hylton, Peter. "Problems of Philosophy as a Stage in the Evolution of Russell's Views on
Knowledge." (2015).
Jager, Ronald. The development of Bertrand Russell's philosophy. Vol. 11. Routledge, 2014.
Jorgensen, Henry. Thorstein Veblen: Victorian Firebrand: Victorian Firebrand. Routledge,
2017.
Landini, Gregory. "The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell, Volume 5: Toward Principia
Mathematica, 1905–1908." (2015): 162-178.
Madigan, Tim, and Peter Stone. "Bertrand Russell: Public Intellectual." (2016).
Roos, J. P. "False and repressed memories and autobiography." Trauma: Life Stories of
Survivors (2017): 207.

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Russell, Bertrand. The scientific outlook. Routledge, 2017.
Stone, Peter, et al. Bertrand Russell's Life and Legacy. Vernon Press, 2017.
Stone, Peter. "The Passionate Bertrand Russell." Philosophy Now 120 (2017): 6-8.