Bertrand Russell
Pre-reading
Bertrand Russell (May 1872-February 1970) was British philosopher, mathematician, historian, writer and political activist. Russell is best known for his work in mathematical logic and analytic philosophy, and he is considered as one of the founders of analytic philosophy and is widely held to be one of the 20th century’s premier logicians. His work has had a profound influence on logic, mathematics and philosophy. Over the course of a long and prolific career, Russell has also made significant contributions to a broad range of other subjects, including linguistics, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, computer science, history, ethics, political theory, educational theory and religious studies. Generations of readers have benefited from his many popular writings on a wide variety of topics in both the humanities and the natural sciences. In 1950 Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought”.
Between 1920 and 1921, Russell was invited to come to China to visit and deliver lectures. In October 1920, Russell came to Nanjing University (then the State Southeast University) and delivered a lecture titled On philosophy, advocating seeking knowledge through logical and scientific methods. Russell was an honest admirer of Chinese culture and deeply appreciated Chinese educational tradition and sense of humor.
Prompts for Your Reading
1.What are “ ‘practical’ men” (Paragraph 3) like?
2.What kind of knowledge is the study of philosophy aimed at?
3.What are some of the questions philosophy concerns itself with?
4.What would his life and the world be like to a man who has no tincture of philosophy?
5.How does philosophic contemplation differ from self-assertion?
6.What is meant by “the abstract and universal knowledge”? What is meant by “the knowledge brought by the senses”? (Paragraph 10)