Works of Bertrand Russell-Free-Samples for Students-Myassignment

Question: Discuss about the works of Bertrand Russell. Answer: 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 al ways 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 Problems of Philosophy, Introduction to M athematical Philosophy, Sceptical Essays, Why I Am Not a Christian, and A History of Western Philosophy. Being one of the countrys 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 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 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 Jesui t 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 knownMans 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 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: Russells 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 langu age 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 readers 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 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 hi References: Ayer, A. J. "16. Russell and Moore: The Analytical Heritage." (2016). Blackwell, Kenneth. "43. The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell, vol. I, Cambridge Essays 188899." (2016). Candlish, Stewart.The Russell/Bradley Dispute and Its Significance for Twentieth Century Philosophy. Springer, 2016. Dummett, Michael.Origins of analytical philosophy. AC Black, 2014. Dunham, William. "Bertrand Russell at Bryn Mawr."The Mathematical Intelligencer38.3 (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, 19051908." (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. 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 Now120 (2017): 6-8.