Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Bertrand Russell, Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy, Jazz, Green Tea, and Choco
First, we have the mathematical text only, second, this text was written by a mortal to mortals although not for all mortals, maybe only for some hundreds,and I can begin to name them rereading first chapter the Series of Natural Numbers, pp.1-10: Euclid, Pythagoras, Peano, Frege, Russell, me (or you, or anybody else reading the same pages but existing for our design now nowhere).

In the first part of the book Veblen, Whitehead, Dedekind, and Cantor join us, further Leibnits, Weierstrass, Zermelo, Kant, Sheffer, Nicod, Occam, Laplace, and Wittgenstein in the last XVlll chapter Mathematics and Logic.Usual themes look like Definition of Number, The Definition of Order, Kinds of Relations,Rational, Real, And Complex Numbers, Limits And Continuity, Functions, Descriptions, Classes, and Index pp. 207-208.Guess how many people gave their ideas to write this book?--Not more than twenty.

One question of my child's curiosity led me some weeks through all chapters: how it could help to make intelligible my own problems of explaining of 80 (!!!) interlacing triangles inside of one circumference (people didn't see it before at all during last three millennium) of more difficult star polygons than Sri Yantra (43 triangles), and now I have a strange feeling that to my taste numbers cannot be only symbols coexisting in a text and in a mind but must also have the co-ordinates in the spaces (agreement with progression) and directions where they move or not either like matter, particles, ideas, or energy according to rhythms including or not category of time. The true god is geometry.

For those who have read this note to the end and think it was pure fun I have to say jazz, Chinese green tea, and chocolate Nestle helped me a lot:)

The highest point of mathematical philosophy is a total lacking of numbers but a total sense of humour instead.Maybe, a bit of Zen too ... a lot of

Russell does an excellent job in describing the foundations of mathematics for the non-mathematician
Two of the very first courses I took in graduate school were in the foundations of mathematics, a decision that I have repeatedly praised myself for since. By learning the basic structure of mathematics, it was much easier to understand what came later. In this book, Bertrand Russell, one of the giants of mathematical philosophy, writes about the subject for a general audience.
Russell, known in mathematical circles more for his giant work "Principia Mathematica" co-authored by Alfred North Whitehead, does an excellent job in describing the foundations of mathematics for the non-mathematician. It is a difficult task, as it is hard to describe mathematics without using mathematics. While there are some sections where Russell has no choice but to mention some higher-level mathematics, he does so only when necessary and explains it well. Most people with at least some exposure to mathematics will be able to understand it. There are no proofs in the book.
As a primer on many of the basic ideas of mathematics, this book is one of the best. Russell was also a great expository writer and he demonstrates that trait here.

A Joyful, Friendly Introduction to Bertrand Russell
Okay, I have to be honest- I was a little intrepid picking up this book, and it had nothing to do with Russell's math.I had this really dogmatic atheist friend who used to endlessly quote "Why I am not a Christian," and it put me off of Bertrand Russell.

This book is a joy.It's easy to read, interesting to think about, and inexpensive.Three virtues of math books that are hard to find in combination!

A Philosophy Reading Classic
A great book by a great philosopher. Of course, much of the material was for its time advanced and revolutionary now it is more of a classic introductory text given a basic preparation in critical reading and basic mathematics to sufficiently appreciate the nuance of his thought.

Good introduction To Mathematical Logic
Bertand Russell's "Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy" provides the reader with a great understanding of mathematical philosophy in a very simple and straightforward manner. Though this is an introductory work it may not be casual reading to all who endeavor to read it. Beginning with definition of numbers and sets it expands to provide definitions of simple and complex and builds to provide a good understanding of the logic behind mathematics.While much of what is spoken about may seem very elementary the logic behind certainly is not. While the book is not nearly as expansive ad "Principia Mathematica" it is a good distillation of the bigger work and provides a great introduction to anyone wishing to explore that work. I recommend this book to anyone interested in formal logic and believe that it should be in the required reading for any formal logic introductory class.Further anyone interested in reading Goedel's work's which expand on Russell's work needs at least to read this work prior to Goedel.I find this book to be very succinct and readable and ultimately very worthy of the effort it takes to read.

-- Ted Murena
... Read more

Product Description
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) is one of the most famous and important philosophers of the twentieth century.In this account of his life and work A. C. Grayling introduces both his technical contributions to logic and philosophy, and his wide-ranging views on education, politics, war, and sexual morality.Russell is credited with being one of the prime movers of Analytic Philosophy, and with having played a part in the revolution in social attitudes witnessed throughout the twentieth-century world.This introduction gives a clear survey of Russell's achievements across their whole range. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

the most important philosopher of the 20th century
Russell was a huge influence on me when I was in high school, and is chiefly responsible for my career choice of eventually becoming a professional philosopher. So I can hardly be expected to be detached in commenting on a book attempting to cover Russell's life and philosophy. Still, Grayling pulls it off very nicely, giving the reader a good sense of the long and complex life of Bertrand Russell, his contributions to logic and mathematics, and his writings on social and moral issues (he was very politically active, and got arrested twice for anti-war activities). The last chapter is also -- I think -- a well balanced appraisal of Russell's overall contribution to modern philosophy, both directly and through the people he influenced (beginning of course with Wittgenstein, who was Russell's student). A must read if you are interested in philosophy and don't want to tackle technical commentaries on BR.

AGood survey of Russel's Work
Grayling has achieved a good survey of Russel's Work in the realm of logic and philosophy as well as his contributions to social, moral, political and educational debates. The selling point for me is the fact that he does it with so much brevity and crispness. Without going into the gory details of his philosophical and logical ideas, Grayling still strikes a good balance and makes for some intersting reading.

Highly recommended for people who'd like a quick introduction to Russel.

An elegant and marvellously readable account
Bertrand Russell thought and wrote about many things from highly technicallogic to popular questions of politics and education. In the lucid, elegantand beautifully accurate prose for which he is well known (see his otherbooks and his writings for the Financial Times Book Review, Prospectmagazine, and elsewhere), the British philosopher A. C. Grayling gives aconcise survey of Russell's entire range of thought. In the biographicalfirst chapter Russell's life and works are summarised; in the next twochapters his achievements in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, andgeneral philosophy are described with succinctness and clarity; and in thefinal chapters his popular and political thought is explained, ending withan assessment of his achievement as one of the century's greatest thinkers.Because Russell is a founding figure in analytic philosophy, anunderstanding of his work provides an introduction to contemporary debatesin philosophy also, so this little book is not only a highly pleasurable"good read", but an education in the basics of philosophy. ... Read more

Product Description
Russell examines the foundations of knowledge through a discussion of language and investigates the way a knowledge of the structure of language helps our understanding of the structure of the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A book that give you skills
Russell's An Inquiry into Meaning and Truth is a well-written book with extra in-depth details and careful examining.
This book exposes reader to a wide array of topics, which most of the time found going together, which are epistemology, philosophy of language, logic, and a hint of metaphysics.
So if the reader is not a philosophy student, s/he can still read this book to gain intermediate knowledge of philosophy of language, given that s/he has already been exposed to fundamental materials of the same topic.

I am not a philosophy student, neither a native English speaker, I'm just a philosophy-geek - person who is fascinated with the study of philosophy and complex writing. ... Read more

Product Description
The fireworks fly when the great Bertrand Russell writes about a subject as provocative as marriage and morals. But they are a rational and devastatingly logical kind of fireworks . . . for that was the nature of the man.Russell's approach to sex and love is based on the realities of need and desire, rather than on ancient tribal and religious taboos. Marriage and Morals is a clear, unbiased look at morality, a morality that is simply one aspect of Russell's lifelong opposition to restrictive dogma and an affirmation of his unshakeable faith in the adequacy of man and the power of human intellect.

"Sufficient dynamite to blast a carload of ordinary sex popularizers from the face of the earth . . . deals most competently and completely with practically every ramification of sex and sex life and occurs in modern sociology and psychology." —New York Post

"Fundamental and clear, unbiased and persuasive. Russell writes as a humanist, defending the happiness of man against many moral prejudices, advocates his changes lucidly and wittily." —Time

Customer Reviews (11)

What to rate it?
I had an older friend who admired Bertrand Russell and felt he was the bee's knees, and I've read he's the second most quoted author on college papers, after Noam Chomsky. Sadly, I'm no expert on Bertrand Russell. I've only read a few of his quotes and some information on Google, and this book Marriage and Morals. I like to think sometimes I can do a satisfactory review but this review will suffer, too, because it's been 20 years since reading it.

Marriage and Morals is. . . an incredible display of ignorance. Monumentaly so. It might fly today, in, well, the ignorant times we live but I felt it was originally meant as satire, a work attempting to embarrass the very positions it was pretending to espouse. We're under the blinders. My honest opinion was that Bertrand Russell wasn't being serious, or honest.

Let me say: I have absolutely no disagreement with Bertrand Russell's philosophy. My review of Marriage and Morals is not in any way an indictment or a criticism of Russell's lifelong career as a scholar. I should probably repeat that. When Russell wrote this book, however, he did so in the service of the very conservatives and theologians most folks would say were Russell's enemy. That was my honest opinion reading this work. Just one man's opinion. I may well be wrong I felt it was better to give my one opinion rather than remain silent. Russell was banned from some speaking engagements and from some jobs because of this work, by the very folks who put him up to it, and rightfully so. If you'd like to read an objective and unbiased account of this, worthy of enlightenment, Google the episode.

I would compare this work to The Satanic Bible, a work where the author took what he knew of christian philosophy, and simply reversed it. There are around 500 mostly positive Amazon reviews of that book. One reviewer wrote, "I'm sure if the 100s of millions of non-practising Satanists around the world were informed that their lifestyles were 'Satanic' by definition, most would be surprised, if not amused. But so long as they're living for themselves just trying to enjoy their lives, regardless of religious dogma, seldom or never have spiritual thoughts, think that if someone harms them they have a right to avenge themselves, only spend time with people who are good for their own personal growth, and feel no guilt when indulging in any of their passions, then they fit perfectly into the Satanic lifestyle". To add some more superfluous commentary, the Bible often concedes the Earth as Satan's domicile.

My review of Marriage and Morals is definitely in the minority. Only about 1 out of 10 agree with me. . . The New York Times doesn't. It gave this work a glowing review. The New York Post wrote "sufficient dynamite to blow a carload of ordinary sex populizers off the face of the planet". Another reviewer wrote, "Wow, Bertrand Russel is a riot! This has a wonderful satirical bite, and works as an open inquiry. . . But really a little sad but impressive how much of his comments have either come to pass. Or we are still awaiting them to do so".

Later in life Russell was in an open marriage, practicing what he preached. When his wife was pregnant with another man's child, it was too much even for Russell. The champion of free love petitioned for (what I assume was a very public) divorce.

There's a long history of this. Camile Paglia claims the 'the divine' Marque de Sade was actually a satirist also. Or an alarmist of some kind. Providing a 'warning', a roadmark to where society was heading. The conspicuously named 'libertines' in his stories engaging in more and more sadistic behavior, until in the end he just lists the atrocities committed each day as a list and nothing more. He's not too far from a 'truth' anti-cigarette campaign. On his death bed de Sade wanted people to know he truly was a pervert. Perhaps it constitutes a syndrome. Mentally ill folks who blame, not the conservatives and the moralizers, but the very people who champion them and want to celebrate their 'perversion'.

I remember as a kid, during economic tough times, reading about Jimmy Carter's 'malaise' speech. I took it seriously. I had no idea Jimmy Carter was attempting to make fun of himself. Was watching an excerpt of the speech on TV recently and it certainly appeared that was what Carter was actually doing. For all of Our lives I think it's worked the opposite way. At least I think most of those on the extreme far right that you can find on Google are actually in play for team diversity.

For a view from the right, there is George Gilder's 'Men and Marriage'. It's an interesting topic. It's an important topic though I don't think George Gilder on the right has all the answers either. I just felt this book, while very informative, often drew the wrong conclusions and so was self defeating, and was intended to be.

BERTRAND RUSSELL ATTACKS TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE
Bertrand Russell
Marriage and Morals
(New York: Horace Liveright, 1929) 320 pages
(London: Allen & Unwin, 1976) 203 pages

A ground-breaking book about relationships between the sexes.
Takes a rational and unconventional look at the traditions of marriage.
Argues for freedom in relationships rather than dead duty.
Russell practiced what he preached, changing relationships frequently.

If you are interested in more recent books,
search the Internet for the following bibliography:
"The Best Books Critical of Traditional Marriage".

reinventing an institution
I picked this one up in hopes that my favorite philosopher might have some good I ideas on what marriage ought to be. I'm largely unsatisfied with the institution of marriage and knew Russell was as well. The first several chapters dealing with the history of marriage and the evolution of marriage in various cultures were fascinating (though a student of anthropology will recognize some things as dated).

His observations on sexual education and the general unhealthiness of Victorian stigmatizing of sex was similarly interesting and frequently scathingly sarcastic. I copied a few quotes I liked:

"It would be wise to subject all unmarried women once a month to medical examination by police doctors, and to send to a penitentiary all such as were found to be not virgins...in order to avoid the risk of certain abuses, it would be necessary that all policemen and all medical men should be castrated." --on maintaining virtue at any cost--

"The first essential is that the education of girls should be such as to make them stupid and superstitious and ignorant; this requisite is already fulfilled in schools over which the churches have any control." --on maintaining virtue through ignorance--

"Sex outside of marriage is sin; sex within marriage is not sin... but is a disagreeable duty imposed on man as punishment for the Fall, and to be undertaken in the same spirit in which one submits to a surgical operation. Unfortunately, unless great pains are taken, the sexual act tends to be associated with pleasure, but by sufficient moral care this can be prevented, at any rate in the female."

However when it came to his actual views on what marriage ought to be I found him more reactionary than reasonable in several aspects. He did however explain the system of companionate marriage proposed in the 1920's and I found that suitable for my own future-hypothetical marriage.

I'd recommend this book to people interested in the history of marriage, but also in the idea that the marriage institution is a human invention and one that may better serve us with a bit of reworking and personalization.

A cogent discussion on morality
I bought this book to hear about Russell's opinion of our commonly held morals and mores. Prior to this I had gone through Russell's books on epistemology and was curious to see how he would use his knife to dissect 'morals', 'values' and 'virtues'. Russell's focus here is to identify the elements of sexual morality that would be best suited for the well being of the society and in the process he analyze and questions every aspect of the existing norms. Note that this book was published in the 1920's and since morality is a moving target both geographically and temporally, his analysis and conclusions is perhaps a bit dated.

Russell starts with an explanation of the matrilineal (pretty interesting...I myself come from a matrilineal lineage) and patriarchal systems and then moves on to look at the christian ethics. The Church, especially the Catholic church, comes under a lot of attack from Russell; the genesis of the problem, according to Russell, stems from the fact that the purpose of the marriage (as intended by St Paul) is to solely prevent the sin of fornication with no interest in the positive good of the marriage. The discussion then moves on to romantic love, women's liberation & feminism and onto a very convincing section on the effects of the taboos on the dissemination of sexual knowledge. He believes that this restriction has the effect of stunting the intellectual capacity of the children, especially girls. There is a discussion of the institution of marriage and the institution of prostitution and these leads to his next proposal - that there should be what he calls the 'Trial marriage'. A lot of ideas he puts forth may have sounded radical and heretical at the time (I read he lost a teaching offer at City College, New York due to this book), but they are very common in today's society. Actually, he does not approve hedonism in any way; In fact, he advocates a strong institution of marriage and a strong bond between the mother and father when it comes to children. There are, of course, other areas of discussion in the book that would be considered offensive in today's environment such as the discussion on Eugenics; but Russell is not dogmatically advocating any particular approach, he is exploring all avenues with the objective of maximizing human happiness and whenever he feels a route may not be advisable he retreats to make a new advance. The objective is to rationally identify what is good for the society and the individual without getting into the trappings of religions and moralists (whom Russell treats with disdain).

The analysis and observations in this book are based on western societies, I'm in search of a similar book that looks at these issues from the context of the Hindu society. I would like to understand how the society ended up being so morally stuck up whereas the religious mythology indicates that the God's (on whom the moralists base their actions) were totally otherwise.

Listening to a genius
The book is a little outdated but, as it's true for all his works,it allows you the exciting experience of seeing the world through the insight of a genius. ... Read more

Product Description

According to Bertrand Russell, science is knowledge; that which seeks general laws connecting a number of particular facts. It is, he argues, far superior to art, where much of the knowledge is intangible and assumed. In The Scientific Outlook, Russell delivers one of his most important works, exploring the nature and scope of scientific knowledge, the increased power over nature that science affords and the changes in the lives of human beings that result from new forms of science. Insightful and accessible, this impressive work sees Russell at his very best.

Customer Reviews (3)

"Not all wisdom is new, nor is all folly out of date"
This work is an attempt to define the characteristics of the scientific process, identify the techniques as in the application of it to various disciplines and finally Russell makes certain conjectures about how a scientific society might eventually end up.

The book is divided into 3 main sections,
- Scientific Knowledge
- Scientific Technique
- Scientific Society

The part that I liked the most is 'Scientific Knowledge'; especially the discussion pertaining to science, metaphysics and religion. In addition to identifying the characteristics of the scientific process (observation, inductive and deductive reasoning, experimentation, approximation etc) Russell provides a nice explanation about the limitations of this process. Topics such as the validity of the inductive reasoning, inference and the questions/concerns about the abstractness of theoretical physics is discussed in a very interesting manner. In the chapter 'Science and Religion' Russell takes on Sir Arthur Eddington and Sir James Jeans for speculating the possibility of the existence of a creator; Russell replies to Eddington's use of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle to imply the lack of causality and James Jeans thesis of "God as a Mathematician" get a fair amount of dressing down with Russell finally remarking "one does not quite see what can have been gained by creating so such muddle-headedness"

I'm not sure if I gained anything much from the section 'Scientific Technique'. When Russell wrote this book the application of science to biology, physiology and psychology was in its infancy; it does, however, give a snapshot of those early days.

The third section speculates about how a scientific society might look like in the future - a recurring theme in many of his writings; it talks about the ruling oligarchies employing science to gain control. Topics touched upon here include education, eugenics and others. The book ends with a nice chapter entitled 'Science and Values' where Russell looks down upon "power science" and says "Thus it is only in so far as we renounce the world as its lovers that we can conquer it as its technicians"

Overall, a nice book; if you have read Russell's other books related to science and society you will notice quite a bit of an overlap.

Science meets Philosophy (again)
This book is a series of essays grouped together into three sections. Scientific Knowledge is a primer on how the role it plays in overall thinking and philosophy. There is more to establishing an ideology than science and it needs to work in conjunction with the arts for example. The second section is the "How To" of the Scientific Method and the third is a scary portrayal of how a purely scientific world society might end up. It was originally published about the same time as 1984 and Brave New World all three of these writers obviously saw the potential risk of what Russell describes as science for power's sake rather than for the love of knowledge and learning.

Many years ago I read much if not all of these essays about the value of the Scientific Method (or Technique as he says). I was won over and as a student of Social Sciences I attempted to use the method to the best of my ability. I also appreciated his socially liberal outlook that can be seen throughout. Years hence, upon re-reading the book I find that I still appreciate the writing but I have been inured in my thinking that the world will be a better place with the Scientific Method playing a larger role in policy making.

Some of Russell's sentiment of 1931 does not play that well today, such as his tempered admiration for the USSR but many others should his prescient thinking. Those incident's were many but I will only present one and that is because I saw it as true but funny in a melancholy way. In the third section he describes how people in the scientific world society will have no wars and therefore will have to have death defying games in order for those personality types to be able to vent there lust. Today we have reality television.

The most influential science fiction source of all time?
Unlike the many other great literary inspirations of the science fiction writers of theof the twentieth century, this book is not a work of science fiction.

As its name suggests, The Scientific Outlook, is an attempt to predict the next developments in science as seen from the perspective of the early 1930's.

The contents of this book were so outrageous and shocking in their time that they were best appreciated by those people who saw it as their business to show our destiny taking an unexpected turn, painting a picture of a time to come when things contrast radically with our current circumstances.

There are instances where such predictive storytelling is intended as a warning, attempting to offer an insight into how seemingly innocuous trends and apparently insignificant contemporary changes portend unforeseen (but not unforeseeable) catastrophic longer term outcomes.

Science fiction writing has a major category called 'technological extrapolation' in which the above occurs, and within that genre there is a subcategory called 'dystopia' which uses such crystal gazing to present a kind of 'negative utopia' where 'it all ends in tears'.

The two most famous twentieth century dystopias, two 'worlds turned upside down', are Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, and '1984' by George Orwell.

Both of these great works have very strong connections to this book, the former being substantially derived from it.

Aldous Huxley was Russell's student and published Brave New World a year after The Scientific Outlook.

Orwell was strongly influenced in '1984' by Burnham's 1940 classic 'The Managerial Revolution' which has strong parallels with 'The Scientific Outlook' (although Russell claims no direct influence on Burnham, he points out the similarity of Burnham's material, which was published nearly a decade after Russell's book).

Even if the similarity to the predictions in `The Managerial Revolution' was a freakish coincidence, the connection to Brave New world is unquestionable and the shared dystopian derivations are `of a piece' with 1984 to the extent where, if you want to `go back to the source' in an easily readable form (Russell's writing is razor sharp and witty, with all the historical context you could wish for in a popular science book) you could not ask for a better starting point in terms of understanding the technological roots of those two great novels.

An enjoyable and insightful read, essential for anyone trying to get to grips with the recent history and philosophy of science, especially in the highly controversial field of medical ethics, where it is possible to see eugenics from a standpoint which preceded its post-war ethical and political denunciation. ... Read more

Product Description
In this remarkable book, regarded by Russell as one of the most important of his career, he argues that Power is man's ultimate goal, and is, in its many guises, the single most important element in the development of any society. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Russell wanted to invent a new science of human power
Russell intended this book to found a new science, of human power, in the societal sense. Power meaning 'the production of intended effects'.

Although this book is well worth reading, five stars for breadth of content, there are innumerable difficulties; which I'll try to sketch out... starting from the chapter headings -

I THE IMPULSE TO POWER/ II LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS
These chapters try to synthesis practical needs (e.g. houses have to be built somewhere) with giving and taking orders. 'Some men's characters lead them always to command, others always to obey; between these extremes lie the mass of average human beings..' He regards people as being influenceable in three ways - direct force, economic effects - goodies vs fines - and beliefs. He goes on to look at variations on these themes...

III THE FORMS OF POWER/ IV PRIESTLY POWER/ V KINGLY POWER/ VI NAKED POWER/ VII REVOLUTIONARY POWER/ VIII ECONOMIC POWER/ IX POWER OVER OPINION
Russell identifies 'power' as a central concept, like energy in physics, presumably derived in the same way by slowly noticing phenomena have things in common. Quite often he uses metaphors evidently based on things like kinetic energy, or stored energy. It's never quite clear whether his examples are idiosyncratic, one-off, unrepeatable illustrations which are only used e.g. to show power coalescing into ever-larger units, or whether the processes they illustrate are in principle considered to be capable of recurring. For instance, he says at one point that given a totalitarian state, all the forms of power he's considered become outdated and only of historical interest. He says somewhere else China has 'always been an exception to all rules'.

His category of 'revolutionary power' was no doubt influenced by the USSR. He includes early Christianity, the Reformation and 'rights of man' revolution, I hope not too optimistically. This category incidentally also shows Russell assumes things will evolve for the better - his whole book shows developments as tending to be beneficial. Thus he says e.g. 'Monarchy consequently remained weak until it had got the better of both the Church and the feudal [i.e. Germanic] nobility'. Russell is weak on the actual physics of the world: he doesn't consider e.g. Europe as subdivided by mountains and other obstacles, and thus packed with 'defensible space', as opposed to say the steppes of Russia or prairies of north America. He is in my view weak on economic power; he regards credit as the ability to transfer a consumable surplus from group A to group B, but doesn't mention the time element - which could be centuries. Incidentally he talks about 'coloured labour': 'Let us consider.. the power of the plutocracy in a democratic country. It has been unable to introduce Asiatic labour in California, except in early days in small numbers...' For some reason, he splits 'power over opinion' from creeds. It's worth noticing this is a Christian outlook, as many 'creeds' are not of a nature that can be separated from actions - Judaism, Islam, Confucianism interlock with their followers' habits.

X CREEDS AS SOURCES OF POWER/ XI THE BIOLOGY OF ORGANIZATIONS/ XII POWERS AND FORMS OF GOVERNMENT/ XIII ORGANIZATIONS AND THE INDIVIDUAL
Russell considers 'The classic example of power through fanaticism is the rise of Islam' which added nothing to Arabic economic power or technique, but nevertheless 'won'. It's a typical example from history taken from these not very satisfactory chapters. Russell was trying to decide whether fanaticism is likely to succeed, and come up with the classic liberal denial of this possibility: 'the cases in which fanaticism has brought nothing but disaster are much more numerous than those in which it has brought even temporary success. It ruined Jerusalem in the time of Titus, and Constantinople in 1453 ... It brought about the decay of Spain.. through the expulsion of the Jews and Moors ... the most successful nations, throughout modern times, have been those least addicted to the persecution of heretics. ... it is necessary to find a compromise between two opposite truisms. The first.. is: men who agree in their beliefs can co-operate more whole-heartedly than men who disagree. The second is: men whose beliefs are in accordance with fact are more likely to succeed than men whose beliefs are mistaken. ..'

On organisations, Russell regards law and medicine purely as professions with internal rules, but is not aware of the possibilities of legal frauds and corruption and medical frauds. In Britain in the 1930s, they were unthinkable, or at least unspeakable.

XIV COMPETITION/ XV POWER AND MORAL CODES/ XVI POWER PHILOSOPHIES/ XVII THE ETHICS OF POWER
Four more chapters dealing with (roughly) peoples' attitudes to power. 'Competition for power is of two sorts: between organizations, and between individuals for leadership within an organization. Competition .. only arises when they have objects which are more or less similar, but incompatible'.

Much of this material is 1930s-specific: Spanish Civil War, Stalin, Italy, and so on. Russell always takes the conventional 'western' side, which sits uneasily with philosophical objectivity. Thus there's a section on Mussolini fire-bombing in Abyssinia (but not on the British bombing Iraq at the same time). His comments are Jews are completely convention (and yet he has seen for himself Jewsih groups taking over and inventing the USSR). Hitler and Stalin are regarded as worshipping Wotan and Dialectical Materialism (in this way Russell is spared the examination of their actual deeds). 'It would be a mistake to suppose that big business, under Fascism, controls the State more than it does in England, France, or America. On the contrary, in Italy and Germany the State has used the fear of Communism to make itself supreme over big business as over everything else.' He loathes the German philosopher Fichte, and yet many British 'thinkers' had essentially similar ideas.

XVIII THE TAMING OF POWER
Russell has four preconditions - political, economic, and propaganda (shouldn't one of these be force?); and the psychological condition of people.

Russell had some mathematical skill, so it surprises me he didn't to find try some method of predicting quarrels and perhaps countering them. If group A has power measures as 100 units, and B has 75, and if A fights B, the relative and absolute power balances are likely to change. There's scope for group C to benefit, too. The great advantage of history as a guide is that the events did actually happen - if it's reliable history. Nobody uses a theoretical model of human behaviour to guess.

NB a new edition has a painfully embarrassing cover design - with an electric power plug!

Lots of good sense, little entertainment
As always, Russell shines with his clarity and unwavering good sense, but most of the book is pretty dry. The last chapter is by far the most interesting (in which he describes how to tame power) and some of his suggestions are novel even for today. I thoroughly enjoyed the last chapter but it couldn't make up for the many chapters of tiring text before it.

Broad Scope, Fascinating
Bertrand Russell's Power is very ambitious in scope.Support for his thesis that the taming of power should be of chief concern to thinking people (his favorite audience in the three Russell books I've read) includes support from references to ancient China, medieval Europe, Machiavelli, the American businessman, the rise of the Catholic Church, American reverence for the Constitution, causes of the Protestant Reformation, ancient Greece and Rome and their governments, and more.As is to be expected of Lord Russell, his writing is an edifying, entertaining glimpse into the mind of a genius.

Russell's descriptions of the motivations behind power seeking individuals and organizations, the appeal of leaders, types of power and the basis for authority are compelling.The means for acquiring and exercising power are described by Russell in a systematic, conspiratorial manner.By understanding its appeal and the methods by which it is attained, Russell argues, mankind can hope to tame power. I felt that in this book Russell sought to deliver a "world-view" a la Karl Marx, whose communist ideas were based on the belief that the source of conflict in the world was man's alienation.With a twist, Russell might say that man's (and man's organizations, which he grants develop an organic life of their own) grasping for power is the chief cause of pain, stifled freedom, and stunted progress.

It's important to keep in mind that this book was first published in 1938 - though it's not hard to do while reading since Russell continuously warns of an impending great war.He refers to WWI as the "War" and an imminent WWII as the "Great War."I think, perhaps, the great motivation for writing it may have been to explain the rise of despotic and totalitarian governments during the era preceding its publication.A defining quote is:

"No other organization rouses anything like the loyalty aroused by the national State.And the chief activity of the State is preparation for large-scale homicide.It is loyalty to this organization for death that causes men to endure the totalitarian State, and to risk the destruction of home and children and our whole civilization rather than submit to alien rule."

Russell is my favorite philosopher and I'm planning to read many more of his books.I strongly recommend his History of Western Philosophy and The Conquest of Happiness.Russell wrote so many books on such a wide variety of subjects.My qualms with Power are its over ambitious reach, the frenetic pace of the writing and Russell's disdain for business and economics.Enjoy! ... Read more

Product Description
One of the most highly-regarded political thinkers of the 20th century, Bertrand Russell's "Proposed Roads to Freedom" presumes that the Bolshevik Revolution (still very much under way as the book was published) would usher in a new social order which would spread throughout the world. In this rarely-seen book, republished for the first time, Russell weighs the respective advantages and disadvantages of Socialism, Marxism and Syndicalism.

"My own opinion - which I may as well indicate at the outset - is that pure Anarchism, though it should be the ultimate ideal, to which society should continually approximate, is for the present impossible, and would not survive more than a year or two at most if it were adopted.On the other hand, both Marxian Socialism and Syndicalism, in spite of many drawbacks, seem to me calculated to give rise to a happier and better world than that in which we live.I do not, however, regard either of them as the best practicable system.Marxian Socialism, I fear, would give far too much power to the State, while Syndicalism, which aims at abolishing the State, would, I believe, find itself forced to reconstruct a central authority in order to put an end to the rivalries of different groups of producers.The best practicable system, to my mind, is that of Guild Socialism, which concedes what is valid both in the claims of the State Socialists and in the Syndicalist fear of the State, by adopting a system of federalism among trades for reasons similar to those which are recommending federalism among nations."

This fine eBook is colorfully published in portrait orientation, footnoted on the pages where they are referenced, fully searchable and fully printable. Enjoy! (113pp) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An Idea Whose Time Has Come
I've got a copy of Bertrand Russell's original edition of "Proposed Roads to Freedom" which I read nearly four decades ago.

Guild socialism was originally an offshoot of Fabian Socialism, though arguably more radical and working class-oriented than the Fabians.

Bertrand Russell's "Proposed Roads to Freedom" may be the most accessible introduction to guild socialism. I'd highly recommend Russell's very readable and worthwhile book to anyone who may be interested.For those who might want to pursue the subject further, more in-depth writings were produced by A.R. Orage and G.D.H. Cole--see especially Cole's "Self-government in Industry."

Participatory Economics ("Parecon") is sometimes considered a form of anarchism, but seeking to balance production and consumption actually makes it a particular interpretation of guild socialism.

Several years ago I asked a Parecon author why the contribution of the guild socialists was not acknowledged.The answer was the author was unfamiliar with this earlier tradition.The new release of "Proposed Roads to Freedom" may help rectify that deficiency.It should contribute not only to the debate about socialism that has emerged in the recent transnational financial crisis, but to the debate over various socialist approaches, such as expanded social democracy, municipal libertarianism, and market socialism.Ideas that resurface independently may have merit.Guild socialism may be an idea whose time has finally come.

J. Jurie ... Read more

Product Description

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) was renowned as one of the founding figures of "analytic" philosophy, and for his lasting contributions to the study of logic, philosophy of language, philosophy of mathematics and epistemology. He was also famous for his popular works, where his humanism, ethics and antipathy towards religion came through in books such as The Problems of Philosophy, Why I am Not A Christian, and The Conquest of Happiness.

Beginning with an overview of Russell’s life and work, Gregory Landini carefully explains Russell’s philosophy, to show why he ranks as one of the giants of British and Twentieth century philosophy. He discusses Russell’s major early works in philosophy of mathematics, including The Principles of Mathematics, wherein Russell illuminated and developed the ideas of Gottlob Frege; and the monumental three volume work written with Alfred North Whitehead, Principia Mathematica, where the authors attempted to show that all mathematical theory is part of logic, understood as a science of structure.

Landini discusses the second edition of Principia Mathematica, to show Russell’s intellectual relationship with Wittgenstein and Ramsey. He discusses Russell’s epistemology and neutral monism before concluding with a discussion on Russell’s ethics, and the relationship between science and religion.

Featuring a chronology and a glossary of terms, as well as suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter, Russell is essential reading for anyone studying philosophy, and is an ideal guidebook for those coming to Russell for the first time.

Product Description
An Unabridged, Digitally Enlarged Printing Of Volume III Of III With Additional Errata To Volumes I And II: Part V - SERIES (Continued) - Well Ordered Series - Finite And Infinite Series And Ordinals - Compact Series, Rational Series, And Continuous Series - Part VI - QUANTITY - Generalization Of Number - Vector-Families - Measurement - Cyclic Families ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Don't buy this book unless you are a collector of famous books
This book was published in 1910 and its style is not suitable for studying math, so its value is mostly as a historic perspective. In my opinion, this book belongs only in specialized libraries since it is not suitable for students and frankly I don't see what anyone would learn to use from it. I have great respect for both authors for their contribution in the mathematics, but the book is antiquated. ... Read more

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An Unabridged, Digitally Enlarged Printing Of Volume II Of III With Additional Errata To Volume I: Part III - CARDINAL ARITHMETIC - Definition And Logical Properties Of Cardinal Numbers - Addition, Multiplication And Exponentiation - Finite And Infinite - Part IV - RELATION ARITHMETIC - Ordinal Similarity And Relation-Numbers - Addition Of Relations, And The Product Of Two Relations - The Principle Of First Differences, And The Multiplication And Exponentiation Of Relations - Arithmetic And Relation-Numbers - Part V -SERIES - General Theory Of Series - On Sections, Segments, Stretches, And Derivatives - On Convergence, And The Limits Of Functions ... Read more

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Russell's classic The Principles of Mathematics sets forth his landmark thesis that mathematics and logic are identical—that what is commonly called mathematics is simply later deductions from logical premises. His ideas have had a profound influence on twentieth-century work on logic and the foundations of mathematics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

200 pages missing on the book. The policy makes me pay for shipping and receive only 1/2 of the value of the book
200 pages missing on the book from 134 to 253 - Chapters XVI to XXX. Ashame! I would like to return and the policy said that it will be only paid half of the price + I have to assume shipping costs.
With the money I spend buying books in amazon, I think this is a poor solution. Janet

Horrible edition
When an editor simply republish something out of copyright protection, the only thing he has to do is to copy the pages, all the pages. If he just do that the client will be happy. That editor was incapable of doing that simple thing. Some pages from Bertrand Russell's book are *missing*. This is simply infuriating and absolutely inexcusable. To add insult to injury, the font is so degraded as to make the reading difficult. A double rip-off.

Classic
If you are looking for a book to curl-up with for a few years, this is it.

Excellent Introduction to Mathematics and its Conceptual Structure
This is an excellent introduction to the fundamental principles and the core concepts of mathematics.There is no need to be mathematically inclined or a mathematical specialist to gain significantly from reading this book.Serious students of mathematics, logic, intellectual history, or philosophy will also gain significantly from its lucid and sharp explanations, and Bertrand's ability to question and challenge and manipulate even the most presumed unchangeable fundamental categories of mathematics.

This book is cogently written and is for the serious student and reader (yet there is no new mathematical or logical symbol system that needs to be learned, like in his and A.N. Whitehead's Principia Mathematica).A consistent theme throughout is on the philosophical nature of mathematical knowledge.

Since you cannot really get a sense of this book because there is no listing of table of contents or excerpt, etc. I though I would post some of the topics and concepts covered:

Part I - The Indefinables of Mathematics

Pure Mathematics
Symbolic Logic [includes propositional logic, calculus of classes, calculus of relations, and Peano's symbolic logic]
Implication and Formal Implication
Proper Names, Adjectives and Verbs
Denoting
Classes
Propositional Functions
The Variable
Relations
The Contradiction

Part II - Number

Definition of Cardinal Numbers
Addition and Multiplication
Finite and Infinite
Theory of Finite Numbers
Addition of Terms and Addition of Classes
Whole and Part
Infinite Wholes
Ratios and Fractions

Part III - Quantity

The Meaning of Magnitude
The Range of Quantity
Numbers as Expressing Magnitude: Measurement
Zero
Infinity, the Infinitesimal, and Continuity

Part IV - Order

The Genesis of Series
The Meaning of Order
Asymmetrical Relations
Difference of Sense and Difference of Sign
On the Difference between Open and Closed Series
Progressions and Ordinal Numbers
Dedekind's Theory of Number
Distance

Part V - Infinity and Continuity

The Correlation of Series
Real Numbers
Limits and Irrational Numbers [includes Weiserstrass's theory and Cantor's theory]
Cantor's First Definition of Continuity
Ordinal Continuity
Transfinite Cardinals
Transfinite Ordinals
The Infinitesimal Calculus
The Infinitesimal and the Improper Infinite
Philosophical Arguments Concerning the Infinitesimal
The Philosophy of the Continuum
The Philosophy of the Infinite

Part VI - Space

Dimensions and Complex Numbers
Projective Geometry
Descriptive Geometry
Metrical Geometry
Relation of Metrical to Projective and Descriptive Geometry
Definitions of Various Spaces
The Continuity of Space
Logical Arguments Against Points
Kant's Theory of Space

Part VII - Matter and Motion

Motion
Causality
Definition of a Dynamical World
Newton's Laws of Motion [discusses also causality in dynamics]
Absolute and Relative Motion
Hertz's Dynamics

Appendix A
The Logical and Arithmetical Doctrines of Frege

Appendix B
The Doctrine of Types

An interesting read after the Principia
I don't have much to say beyond what I would say about Russell: a clear writer but nothing sweeping philisophically appears here. ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1921.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

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This book describes Russell's philosophical arguments clearly and explains why some philosophers now disagree with them. ... Read more

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In his controversial book An Outline of Philosophy, first published in 1927, Bertrand Russell argues that humanity demands consideration solely as the instrument by which we acquire knowledge of the universe. From our inner-world to the outer-world, from our physical world to the universe, his argument separates modern scientific knowledge and our ‘seeming’ consciousness. These innovative perspectives on philosophy made a significant contribution to the discourse on the meaning, relevance and function of philosophy which continues to this day.

Customer Reviews (1)

A readable outline
The definition of philosophy varies according to the philosophy we adopt,says Russell. So then --- there are some general problems which people findinteresting, and which do not belong to any of the special sciences, andthese problems raise doubts about what we consider knowledge. Thedefinition and exploration of this problems is philosophy.With thisintroduction, Russell discusses some problems: the physical world, man fromwithout (environment), man from within (consciousness, emotions, ethicsetc) and so on. An outline is clearly limited, and Russell does not includemany branches of philosophical enquiry such as metaphysical inquiry andsome aspects of authority and state. But within its constraints, the bookis still a good read. ... Read more

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In this revolutionary book, never out of print since its first publication in 1928, Russell guides us through the key philosophical issues that affect our daily life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

We must be sceptical even of our scepticism
In these brilliant essays, B. Russell unmasks idealism, `good' men (`The Harm that good men do'), behaviorism and `sinister interests' (power and wealth). He exposes Marx's ambiguities and Bentham's subversion and clarifies his vision on freedom, free thought, education, politics, science and the place of mankind in the universe.

Idealism and Hegel
For B. Russell, idealism is a desperate attempt to keep mankind at the heart of the universe: `When the earth lost its central position, man too was deposed from his eminence. It became necessary to invent a metaphysic to correct the crudities of science. This task was achieved by the `idealists', who maintain that the world of matter is an unreal appearance. `Absolute' reality is Mind or Spirit'!

Jeremy Bentham
B. Russell shows that J. Bentham's philosophy is profoundly subversive, because the latter defined a `good' man as a man who does good and as a man whose activities and opinions are not pleasing to the holders of power.

Freedom and free thought
For B. Russell, `the bare minimum of freedom - food, drink, health, housing, clothing, sex and parenthood - should override any other claim.'
Thought is free when it is exposed to free competition among beliefs.

On education
The ideal of an all-round education is out of date, because it has been destroyed by the progress of knowledge.

On Marx
Marx proves conclusively that under capitalism wage-earners have suffered terrible privatizations. He does not (attempt to) prove that they will suffer less under communism.

On behaviorism (Dr. Watson)
For Dr. Watson, one of the most important elements in the judging of personality, character and ability is the history of the individual's yearly achievements and the yearly increases he received in his earnings! Russell asks: what about Jesus Christ, Buddha ...?

Man seen from the outside
`Our planet is a microscopic dot in the visible world. On this dot, tiny lumps of impure carbon and water (men) crawl about for a few years. They divide their time between labor designed to postpone the moment of dissolution for themselves and frantic struggles to hasten it for others of their kind. Natural convulsions and disease periodically destroy millions of them. These events are considered to be misfortunes; but when men succeed in inflicting similar destruction by their own efforts, they rejoice and give thanks to God.'

These frank, sarcastic and unambiguous essays are a must read for all those who love philosophy and who want to understand the universe we live in.

Readable philosophy from a professional sceptic
Russell writes accessibly and often wittily. As philosophy goes, he is probably the most readable of all. This volume is a collection of fairly short essays covering limited remits and can easily be bitten off and digested by the lay reader. It includes some important insights, but is not as education-dense as his magisterial History of Western Philosophy. It is interesting to consider that he wrote at a time when the profession of atheism was still technically illegal under UK law.

Russell is not merely philosophising but committing advocacy - of scepticism and of rationalism. Of particular interest are his sceptical principles, which he advocates that all men adopt, and his consideration of Bentham's consequentialism, all delivered with the customary wit. The man was a national and global treasure and probably the first professional humanist and chief national atheist, a position now occupied by Richard Dawkins.

Well worth reading.

A Case for Rational Scepticism
To convey the attitude expressed in this this collection of essays, one can hardly do so more forcefully than Russell in his own introductory remarks:

"I wish to propose for the reader's favourable consideration 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 believing it true, I must, of course, admit that if such a belief became common it would completely transform our social life and political system; since both are at present faultless, this must weigh against it."

In this collection of essays Russell attempts to define and employ a moderate form scepticism that he believes to be compatible with a rational and scientific outlook. At root, he argues that we should acknowledge that even our best confirmed beliefs are likely to need revision, that we should not disregard expert opinion, and that, where there is no consensus of opinion among the experts, we (the non-experts) should suspend our judgment. Although the content of the essays in the collection varies considerably, this rationally sceptical outlook, together with Russell's well known commitment to freedom of belief and private action, provides a consistent thread througout.

Like some other collections of Russell's essays, this volume contains some that are quite dated ("Machines and Emotions", "Eastern and Western Ideals of Happiness", and "Philosophy in the Twentieth Century"). Nevertheless, the core is sound. In the handful of essays in which Russell explicitly outlines his sceptical approach to politics, religion, ethics and education ("On the Value of Scepticism", "The Harm the Good Men Do", "Free Thought and Official Propaganda", "Freedom in Society", and "Freedom Versus Authority in Education") we find timeless and compelling arguments for the application of the rational sceptical attitude.

Of this particular edition I have two criticisms. The first is a reasonably high rate of typographical errors. I have read several other Routledge Classics and I haven't noticed this to be a problem in the past. The second is a fairly unsympathetic introductory essay by John Gray, which seems to be more concerned with highlighting Russell's inconsistencies and criticising his rationalist programme than with introducing the subject matter of the volume.

But these are minor complaints. Overall this is a good, solid collection of essays by a great writer, noted philosopher, and perceptive social commentator.
... Read more

Product Description
In this harsh and unsparing book, Bertrand Russell presents the unvarnished truth about the war in Vietnam. He argues that "To understand the war, we must understand America"-and, in doing so, we must understand that racism in the United States created a climate in which it was difficult for Americans to understand what they were doing in Vietnam. According to Russell, it was this same racism that provoked "a barbarous, chauvinist outcry when American pilots who have bombed hospitals, schools, dykes, and civilian centres are accused of committing war crimes." Even today, more than forty years later, this chauvinist moral blindness permitted John McCain to run for President effectively unchallenged when he gloried in his exploits in bombing the Vietnamese. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Vietnam - some of the (very repellent) truth by a very skilful writer
Collection of essays, rather than one continuous book, published in 1967 when Russell, the philospher, was in his 90s. The magisterial introductory essay looks at the French conquest, the First World War, Ho Chi Minh and others in Paris, the Second World War including Japan, and Dien Bien Phu where the French were decisively defeated. After this the Americans took over, though of course the period was dominated politically in the USA by Jews, notably Kissinger.

Four stars because several issues are, understandably really, played down: the influence of atholicism - a tiny layer of converts in countries conquered by France became the new elite'. The influence of Jews of course is ignored - a 20th century convention. There is little on 'imperialism' - control of finance is omitted, and there isn't much detail on raw materials nd markets. And the money-making aspect of war - war profiteers, the 'warbucks' aspect - isn't spotlit.

This book preceded Russell's War Crimes Tribunal, published under the media-crit but not search-friendly title 'Prevent the Crime of Silence'.

Very disgusting stuff; I think this is what led Robert Faurisson to say the USAF killed more hildren than any other organistion. Note incidentally the part played by the 'Holocaust' fraud - US commentators could say, well, in comparison with the Holocaust, this wasn't much - only a few million dead.

About five years after this book, Chomsky's Backroom Boys appeared, the rather mild comment of which in retrospect seems like an apologia for Kissinger and other establishment war criminals.In fact it may not be too much to say that Chomsky's job was to minimise the secret acts of Jewish war criminals.

Should Of, Would Of, Could Of
Like some of the people that inhabit this fine work, I blame myself for not reading this book and others like it, back when Vietnam was appearing on my radar. I accepted the mainstream press version, and now regit it. Still I wonder IF I would have believed it. So into mainstream's mindset, would this have cracked that hard nut indoctrination of - America land of liberty & justice for all? Today, I don't have any doubts whatsoever on the authencity of Russells work. It is damning, it is still being perpetrated in new lands, with the same deadly consequences.
If I could pretend that I was reading this for the first time I would start with the postscript at the end & then continue with the appendix that follows. The postscript concerns a letter and the appendix is the story of some Vietnamese who lived through this period discussed. It is not for those with uneasy stomachs or those who are prone to tears. Then, having thus framed the period, begin reading and be shamed. There is no other words. Except that history is being repeated and now forwarned, become forearmed.
The author appeals to us that a united and co-ordinated resistence to the exploitation and domination, by our government upon oppressed people, must be forged. A popular struggle would then remove resources from this U.S. imperialism and, in so doing, strengthen the people of the United States itself, who are trying to understand what is really going on, and are striving to overcome their cruel leaders who have usurped their revolution and their government. He made the aforementioned appeal in January of 1966.
An enlighting read on a very dark period that still cast dark shadows over us today. A read, that is so blindly stark in reality, it may not be for those who prefer the formula Hollywood endings.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !!!!!!!! ... Read more

Product Description
Al Seckel has rescued many of Bertrand Russell's best essays on religion, free thought, and nationalism from their resting places in obscure pamphlets, hard-to-find books, and out-of print periodicals to form a superb compilation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Interesting but Hardly Relevant
Bertrand Russell's thoughts upon religion are often very interesting and exciting to read. I particularly enjoyed reading a theologian's nightmare. However hardly any of this book is philosophy on par with Russell's work in other subjects. Most of what appears to be valid in the book amounts to a critique of Christians. Very little of what Russell says is relevant to contemporary Christian philosophy in that his arguments are outdated. Very interesting but hardly any truth and substance against Christian thought.

A Theologian's Nightmare
+++++

This book consists of twenty-one essays written by Bertrand Russell (1872 to 1970) between 1912 and 1961.They were compiled and edited by Al Seckel, a member of the Bertrand Russell Society and one who has lectured extensively on Russell's life and work.According to Seckel, "the purpose of this collection is to bring together in one...volume some of Russell's most delightful thought-provoking essays on [organized] religion."

Some topics discussed are agnosticism, atheism, rationalism, churches, God, the soul, science, free thought, sin, and faith.He examines these and other topics with "rational skepticism" which is "withholding judgment where the evidence is not sufficient, or, even more so, when there is contrary evidence."

This collection of essays definitely captures the scope and depth of Russell's thinking on religion.His logic and reasoning are impeccable.I now understand why he was called "the world's most famous atheist."

The book is divided into five parts.Here are the titles of my favorite essays taken from each part:

I. (6 essays)

(1) Why I am not a Christian.
(2) The faith of a rationalist.(No supernatural reasons are needed to make humans kind.)

II. (5 essays)

(1) A debate on the existence of God. (Between Russell and a Father of the church.)

III.(2 essays)

(1) Science and religion.

IV.(6 essays)

(1) An outline of intellectual rubbish.
(2) The value of free thought.(How to become a truth-seeker and break the chains of mental slavery.)
(3) Ideas that have harmed mankind (and womankind).
(4) Ideas that have helped mankind(and womankind).

V.(2 essays)

(1) The theologian's nightmare.

Before the first essay begins, there is a brief biography of Bertrand Russell (later Lord Russell) by Seckel.It is very thorough as evidenced by the more than 55 footnotes at its end.

Finally, the only problem I had with this book is with regard to referencing.All essays are not referenced or inadequately referenced.I know that Russell in his other works extensively referenced.Thus, I'm not sure if Seckel edited out references to save space and assumed that the reader would believe everything Russell said due to his reputation.On a subject like this, I think references should have been kept in.Also, there is a bibliography at the end of the book.But it is really just a list of books written by Russell.

In conclusion, this is a fascinating collection of essays by one of most prolific and brilliant thinkers and writers of the twentieth century.Now I understand why Russell won the 1950 Nobel Prize in literature!!

**** 1/2

(essay collection published 1986;acknowledgements;biography of Bertrand Russell;5 parts or 21 chapters;main narrative 300 pages;"bibliography;"name index;subject index)

+++++

Everything I expected
After reading 'Why I am not a christian', I was excited to find that there existed an even larger collection of Mr. Russells essays. Some of the essays in this book are already in 'Why I am not a christian', including that particular essay. The others I had not read before were informative, well-structured, and balanced. He was truly a man ahead of his time.

Not impressed
As a Christian who has studied math and philosophy, I am quite familiar with Bertrand Russell's contributions to logic and philosophy, I am quite impressed with his brilliance.When I first got this book, I was afraid ofwhat kind of powerful arguments he might present against my beliefs,instead I was shocked to find his arguments poorly constructed, hispremises, shoddy, his logic full of holes. I expect much better from aman of his genius. It is quite obvious that his atheism wasn't based on areasoned analysis of philosophy, a rigorous deduction from the evidence,rather, it was the result of a strong emotional bias against Christianethics, particularly sexual ethics, period.A disappointment through andthrough. Whether you are atheist or theist, if you are looking for agood, through, reasoned arguments against God, you should look elsewherethan the writing of Bertrand Russell.

Religion understood as a terrible bar of truth
It appears in these selections that Russell was a very complex person who thought a great deal about religion. His views are not always consistent and they are pervaded by emotion. His general tendency is against religion.He especially hates Christianity as it has been practiced throughouthistory and the idea of Christian faith. He takes faith to be a set ofrelated beliefs, on substantial issues, for which one has no good reasons.This selection is light reading, but it is too unfair to be used as anintroduction to the philosophy of religion. Of course, this is one of thefeatures of Russell's thought on religion that makes him psychologicallyinteresting. ... Read more

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"Men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education."