Bertrand Russell

**stroller** · 28-03-2007, 09:03 AM

Another influential modern thinker, Bertrand Russell:

Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell OM FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970), was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician and advocate for social reform. A prolific writer, he was also a populariser of philosophy and a commentator on a large variety of topics, ranging from very serious issues to those less so. Continuing a family tradition in political affairs, he was a prominent anti-war activist for most of his long life, championing free trade between nations and anti-imperialism.[1][2] Millions looked up to Russell as a prophet of the creative and rational life; at the same time, his stances on many topics were extremely controversial.
Bertrand Russell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In much the same way that Russell used logic in an attempt to clarify issues in the foundations of mathematics, he also used logic in an attempt to clarify issues in philosophy. As one of the founders of analytic philosophy, Russell made significant contributions to a wide variety of areas, including metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and political theory, as well as to the history of philosophy. Underlying these various projects was not only Russell's use of logical analysis, but also his long-standing aim of discovering whether, and to what extent, knowledge is possible. "There is one great question," he writes in 1911. "Can human beings know anything, and if so, what and how? This question is really the most essentially philosophical of all questions."
Bertrand Russell (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Quotes:

"The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution."

"Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so."

"Science may set limits to knowledge, but should not set limits to imagination."

"So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence."

**sabang** · 28-03-2007, 09:19 AM

Lets not forget his seminal role in the formation of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament as well.

**DrB0b** · 28-03-2007, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by sabang

Lets not forget his seminal role in the formation of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament as well.

True. Russell was an astounding man, wrote 3000 lines every day of
his adult life and knew something worth knowing about everything. Living as
we do in a time when the most common role-models appear to be crack-using,
money-obsessed ex-pimps it's good to be reminded that there are
(or in Russells case were) some genuinely admirable people.

**in4zip** · 28-03-2007, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by DrB0b

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

Originally Posted by DrB0b

and knew something about everything

Sounds like my ex-wife.

Did she look like him?

I wage BR looked a tad better but, let's get back on the toothpick:

Nobel laureate BR is too near us to be able to judge his merits and/or extol his accomplishments, given his moneyed-aristo background that at the time, as now, was certainly a nice calling card, that attracted social approval and acceptance.

Without detracting from his true worth, the darker sides of BR should also be served up, some examples ... :
-a wacko (phobia: hereditary madness) and had a pretty fucked up family life too i.e. 1 schizophrenic son and 2 granddaughters.
-4 wives (would of thought that one so 'smart' would also be a fast learner but, I guess not...errare humanun est, perseverare diabolicum est! *or better yet "stultum est!" me thinks*
-womanizer (BR liked fucking his female students and he did not disdain fucking his friends/colleagues wives either - case of note - fucking T.S. Eliot's wife)

... to mention but a few

**DrB0b** · 28-03-2007, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by in4zip

-4 wives (would of thought that one so 'smart' would also be a fast learner but, I guess not...errare humanun est, perseverare diabolicum est! *or better yet "stultum est!" me thinks*
-womanizer (BR liked fucking his female students and he did not disdain fucking his friends/colleagues wives either - case of note - fucking T.S. Eliot's wife)

... to mention but a few

Now I'm even more convinced he's a great role model

He was consistent though, he preached what he practiced so at least
he can't be accused of being a hypocrite. Wittgenstein once beat up
a young girl because she couldn't understand logic, that's pretty dark-side
but what else can you expect of an Austrian who pretended to be German.

Virgina Woolf said that T.S Eliot lived by scratching and that his wife was
his itch so she probably had good reason to prefer BR. Vivian Eliot
went mad after she had her affair with Russell and took to marching
around London in a fascist uniform looking for Eliot. Lots of people
around Russell seemed to go crazy, especially women, could be that
he drove them crazy but I'm inclined to think he was attracted to
the mentally fragile - maybe they reminded him of his mother.

Whether or not he had a phobia about insanity is a moot point, depends
which biographer is trying to prove which point in his latest book. If
he did he had good reason considering his early life. Insanity was
probably a sign of good breeding in the aristos of the time.

Definitely none of this detracts from his works, it's not like he spent his
spare time snorting cocaine off babies bottoms or having sex with
non-consenting horses, it makes him more human to me.

**stroller** · 28-03-2007, 03:27 PM

I removed some unrelated comments and pic, don't want this to turn into a 'funny' Cap's Lounge thread on the first page already.

**in4zip** · 28-03-2007, 06:26 PM

Originally Posted by DrB0b

Now I'm even more convinced he's a great role model

well, got to agree , reluctantly, that if today's role models are of the type of pdaddy, jenlo and not exclude the pope, dear gwb and most of the other trashy eyesores served up via the boobtube, gimme DirtyDog , MtD, Stroller or Macha any day of the week

**Boon Mee** · 28-03-2007, 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by DrB0b

Now I'm even more convinced he's a great role model

Perhaps a thread on Robbie Burns is in order too?
Poet Laureate of Scotland for those of y'all w/limited schoolin'...

**stroller** · 28-03-2007, 07:20 PM

I admit I had to look Robert Burns up, I knew he was a Scottish poet, but no more...
Yes, certainly a potential candidate for a topic.
Do you want to do the honours, Booner?

**Hootad Binky** · 30-03-2007, 01:57 AM

BR is a touchstone for me for honest, clear, unbiased logic.

In wiki was trying to find a dialogue he had with Thomas Merton, to no avail, when I came across Gerard Manley Hopkins.

So, with spring blooming everywhere here in Victoria B.C., I decided to make a spring poetry thread!

**danbo** · 06-04-2007, 07:48 PM

A fine opportunity to quote this letter that was sent to the Times by T.S Eliot's wife:

My husband, T.S. Eliot, loved to recount how late one evening he stopped a taxi. As he got in, the driver said: "You're T.S. Eliot." When asked how he knew, he replied: "Ah, I've got an eye for a celebrity. Only the other evening I picked up Bertrand Russell, and I said to him: 'Well, Lord Russell, what's it all about,' and, do you know, he couldn't tell me."

I remember well an essay of Russell's on the nature of reality. Difficult concepts explained clearly for the idiot-reader (me). I will be forever grateful to him.

Not sure if this fits in this thread, but what the hell. An article by Steven Pinker on "The Mystery of Consciousness"

The Mystery of Consciousness | TIME

I had to read this one twice, but it was worth it. Intelligent, lucid, enlightening....and not a little scary.

**mad_dog** · 08-04-2007, 08:46 PM

I've never really grasped philosophy. Ideologies I can understand but philosophy just baffles me endless "but why but why" I tried to read Plato's Rebulic once but none of it made the slightest sense to me...untranslatable rammblings... Like the Bible etc

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