Everything about Bertrand Russell totally explained
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell,
OM,
FRS (
18 May,
1872–
2 February,
1970), was a
philosopher,
historian,
logician,
mathematician, advocate for social reform, and
pacifist. Although usually regarded as
English, he was born in
Wales.
A prolific
writer, he was a populariser of
philosophy and a commentator on a large variety of topics. Continuing a family tradition in
political affairs, he was a prominent
anti-war activist, championing
free trade between nations and
anti-imperialism. He authored the essay
On Denoting and was co-author (with Alfred North Whitehead) of
Principia Mathematica, an attempt to ground
mathematics on the laws of
logic. Both works have had a considerable influence on
logic,
set theory,
linguistics and
analytic philosophy.
Bertrand Russell was born at the height of
Britain's
economic and political ascendancy. When he died almost a century later, the
British Empire had all but vanished, its power had been dissipated by two
world wars and its imperial system had been brought to an end. Among his post–Second World War political activities, Russell was a vigorous proponent of
nuclear disarmament, antagonist to
communist totalitarianism and an outspoken
critic of the
Vietnam War. Previously he'd been imprisoned and deprived of his Fellowship of Trinity College because of his activity as a vigorous peace campaigner and opponent of conscription during the First World War. Russell visited the emerging
Soviet Union which subsequently met with his disapproval and campaigned vigorously against
Adolf Hitler in the 1930s as well as being an accomplished mathematician.
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".
Biography
Bertrand Russell was born on
18 May,
1872 at Ravenscroft (now Cleddon Hall),
Trellech,
Monmouthshire,
Wales, into an
aristocratic family.
The Russells had been prominent in Britain for several centuries before this, coming to power and the peerage with the rise of the
Tudor dynasty. They established themselves as one of Britain's leading
Whig (Liberal) families, and participated in every great political event from the
Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536-40 to the
Glorious Revolution in 1688-89 to the
Great Reform Act in 1832.
Russell's mother Katherine Louisa (1844 - 1874) was the daughter of
Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley, and was the sister of
Rosalind Howard, Countess of Carlisle.
John Stuart Mill, the
Utilitarian philosopher, stood as Russell's
godfather. Mill died the following year, but his writings had a great effect upon Russell's life.
Childhood and adolescence
Russell had two siblings:
Frank (nearly seven years older than Bertrand), and Rachel (four years older). In June 1874 Russell's mother died of
diphtheria, followed shortly by Rachel, and in January 1876 his father also died of
bronchitis following a long period of
depression. Frank and Bertrand were placed in the care of their staunchly
Victorian grandparents, who lived at
Pembroke Lodge in
Richmond Park.
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, his grandfather, died in 1878, and was remembered by Russell as a kindly old man in a wheelchair. As a result, his widow, the Countess Russell (née Lady Frances Elliot), was the dominant family figure for the rest of Russell's childhood and youth. He was educated at home by a series of tutors,
University and first marriage
Russell won a scholarship to read for the
Mathematics Tripos at
Trinity College, Cambridge, and commenced his studies there in 1890. He became acquainted with the younger
G.E. Moore and came under the influence of
Alfred North Whitehead, who recommended him to the
Cambridge Apostles. He quickly distinguished himself in mathematics and philosophy, graduating with a B.A. in the former subject in 1893 and adding a fellowship in the latter in 1895.
Russell first met the American
Quaker Alys Pearsall Smith when he was seventeen years old. He became a friend of the Pearsall Smith family—they knew him primarily as 'Lord John's grandson' and enjoyed showing him off—and travelled with them to the continent; it was in their company that Russell visited the
Paris Exhibition of 1889 and was able to climb the
Eiffel Tower soon after it was completed.
He soon fell in love with the puritanical, high-minded Alys, who was a graduate of
Bryn Mawr College near
Philadelphia, and, contrary to his grandmother's wishes, he married her on
13 December,
1894. Their
marriage began to fall apart in 1901 when it occurred to Russell, while he was out on his bicycle, that he no longer loved her. She asked him if he loved her and he replied that he didn't. Russell also disliked Alys's mother, finding her controlling and cruel. It was to be a hollow shell of a marriage and they finally divorced in 1921, after a lengthy period of separation. During this period, Russell had passionate (and often simultaneous) affairs with a number of women, including Lady
Ottoline Morrell and the actress Lady
Constance Malleson.
Early career
Russell began his published work in 1896 with
German Social Democracy, a study in politics that was an early indication of a lifelong interest in political and social theory. In 1896, he taught German social democracy at the
London School of Economics, where he also lectured on the science of power in the autumn of 1937. He was also a member of the
Coefficients dining club of social reformers set up in 1902 by the
Fabian campaigners
Sidney and
Beatrice Webb.
Russell became a fellow of the
Royal Society in 1908.
First World War
During the
First World War, Russell engaged in
pacifist activities, and, in 1916, he was dismissed from
Trinity College following his conviction under the
Defence of the Realm Act. A later conviction resulted in six months' imprisonment in
Brixton prison (see
Activism below). Russell was released from prison in September 1918.
Between the wars, and second marriage
In August 1920, Russell traveled to
Russia as part of an official delegation sent by the British government to investigate the effects of the
Russian Revolution. During the course of his visit, he met
Lenin and had an hour-long conversation with him. (In his autobiography, he mentions that he found Lenin rather disappointing, and that he sensed an "impish cruelty" in him.) He also cruised down the Volga on a steam-ship. Russell's lover
Dora Black also visited Russia independently at the same time — she was enthusiastic about the revolution, but Russell's experiences destroyed his previous tentative support for it.
Russell subsequently lectured in
Beijing on philosophy for one year, accompanied by Dora. When the couple visited
Japan on their return journey, Dora notified the world that "Mr. Bertrand Russell, having died according to the Japanese press, is unable to give interviews to Japanese journalists." The press were not amused and didn't appreciate the sarcasm.
On the couple's return to England on
26 August,
1921, Dora was six months pregnant, and Russell arranged a hasty divorce from Alys, marrying Dora six days after the divorce was finalised, on
27 September,
1921. Their children were
John Conrad Russell, 4th Earl Russell, born on
16 November,
1921 and
Katharine Jane Russell (now Lady Katharine Tait) born on
29 December,
1923. Russell supported himself during this time by writing popular books explaining matters of
physics,
ethics, and
education to the
layman. Some scholars have suggested that at this point he'd an affair with Vivien Eliot, wife of
T. S. Eliot.
Together with Dora, he also founded the experimental
Beacon Hill School in 1927. After he left the school in 1932, Dora continued it until 1943.
Upon the death of his elder brother Frank, in 1931, Russell became the 3rd Earl Russell. He once said that his
title was primarily useful for securing
hotel rooms.
Russell's marriage to Dora grew increasingly tenuous, and it reached a breaking point over her having two children with an American
journalist, Griffin Barry. Dewey and
Horace M. Kallen edited a collection of articles on the CCNY affair in
The Bertrand Russell Case. He soon joined the
Barnes Foundation, lecturing to a varied audience on the history of philosophy; these lectures formed the basis of
A History of Western Philosophy. His relationship with the eccentric
Albert C. Barnes soon soured, and he returned to Britain in 1944 to rejoin the faculty of Trinity College.
Later life
During the 1940s and 1950s, Russell participated in many broadcasts over the
BBC, particularly the
Third Programme, on various topical and philosophical subjects. By this time in his life, Russell was world famous outside of academic circles, frequently the subject or author of
magazine and
newspaper articles, and was called upon to offer up opinions on a wide variety of subjects, even mundane ones. En route to one of his lectures in
Trondheim, Russell was one of 24 survivors (among a total of 43 passengers) in a
plane crash in Hommelvik in October 1948.
A History of Western Philosophy (1945) became a best-seller, and provided Russell with a steady income for the remainder of his life.
In the
King's Birthday Honours of
June 9,
1949, Russell was awarded the
Order of Merit, and the following year he was awarded the
Nobel Prize for Literature. He wrote a great many letters to world leaders during this period. He also became a hero to many of the youthful members of the
New Left. During the 1960s, in particular, Russell became increasingly vocal about his disapproval of what he felt to be the American government's near-genocidal policies. In
1963 he became the inaugural recipient of the
Jerusalem Prize, an award for writers concerned with the freedom of the individual in society. In October
1965 he tore up his
Labour Party card because he feared the party was going to send soldiers to support the Vietnam War.
The next day,
1 February, he spent at his home,
Plas Penrhyn, in
Penrhyndeudraeth,
Merionethshire,
Wales quietly. However, on the morning of
2 February Russell said he didn't feel well and remained in bed until just before noon. That evening, whilst reading, he suddenly fell ill. His wife and nurse, after calling his doctor, got him to bed and gave him
oxygen, but it was to no avail. Bertrand Russell died of
influenza before the doctor arrived.
Upon his death, his peerages descended on his eldest son, John, Viscount Amberley, who thence became the fourth Earl. It should also be observed that Wittgenstein exerted considerable influence on Russell, especially in leading him to conclude, much to his regret, that mathematical truths were purely
tautological truths. Evidence of Russell's influence on Wittgenstein can be seen throughout the
Tractatus, which Russell was instrumental in having published. Russell also helped to secure Wittgenstein's
doctorate and a faculty position at
Cambridge, along with several fellowships along the way. However, as previously stated, he came to disagree with Wittgenstein's later linguistic and analytic approach to philosophy dismissing it as "trivial," while Wittgenstein came to think of Russell as "superficial and glib," particularly in his popular writings. Russell's influence is also evident in the work of
A. J. Ayer,
Rudolf Carnap,
Alonzo Church,
Kurt Gödel,
David Kaplan,
Saul Kripke,
Karl Popper,
W. V. Quine,
John R. Searle, and a number of other philosophers and logicians.
Some see Russell's influence as mostly negative, primarily those who have been critical of Russell's emphasis on science and logic, the consequent diminishing of metaphysics, and of his insistence that ethics lies outside of philosophy. Russell's admirers and detractors are often more acquainted with his pronouncements on social and political matters, or what some (for example, biographer
Ray Monk) have called his "
journalism," than they're with his technical, philosophical work. There is a marked tendency to conflate these matters, and to judge Russell the philosopher on what he himself would certainly consider to be his non-philosophical opinions. Russell often cautioned people to make this distinction.
Russell left a large assortment of writing. From his adolescent years, Russell wrote about 3,000 words a day, with relatively few corrections; his first draft nearly always was his last draft, even on the most complex, technical matters. His previously unpublished work is an immense treasure trove, and scholars are continuing to gain new insights into Russell's thought.
Activism
Political and social
activism occupied much of Russell's time for most of his long life, which makes his prodigious and seminal writing on a wide range of technical and non-technical subjects all the more remarkable.
Russell remained politically active to almost literally the end of his life, writing and exhorting world leaders and lending his name to various causes. Some maintain that during his last few years he gave his youthful followers too much license and that they used his name for some outlandish purposes that a more attentive Russell wouldn't have approved. There is evidence to show that he became aware of this when he fired his private secretary,
Ralph Schoenman, then a young firebrand of the radical left.
Pacifism, war and nuclear weapons
Despite the ready image still provided by popular culture, Russell was never a complete
pacifist. He resisted specific wars, protesting against them in specific ways, on the grounds that they were contrary to the interests of civilization, and thus immoral. Indeed, in his
1915 article on "
The Ethics of War
", he defended wars of colonization on the same utilitarian grounds: he felt conquest was justified if the side with the more advanced civilization could put the land to better use. So, when it's said, rightly, that Russell opposed nearly all wars between modern nations, it must be understood in this sense.
Russell's activism against British participation in
World War I led to fines, a loss of freedom of travel within Britain, and the non-renewal of his fellowship at
Trinity College,
Cambridge. He was attacked as a 'traitor' in the press, treated like a security risk by his own government, and many of his closest friends deserted him. He was eventually sentenced to prison in
1918 on the tenuous grounds that he'd interfered in British Foreign Policy — he'd argued that British workers should be wary of the United States Army, for it had experience in strike-breaking. He was released after serving six months, but was still closely supervised until the end of the war.
Russell was fairly consistently opposed to the continued existence of nuclear weapons from the time of their first use. However, on
November 20,
1948,
in a public speech at
Westminster School, addressing a gathering arranged by the New Commonwealth, Russell shocked some observers with comments that seemed to suggest a
preemptive nuclear strike on the
Soviet Union might be justified. Russell apparently argued that the threat of war between the
United States and the
Soviet Union would enable the United States to force the Soviet Union to accept the
Baruch Plan for international atomic energy control. (Earlier in the year he'd written in the same vein to
Walter W. Marseille.) Russell felt this plan "had very great merits and showed considerable generosity, when it's remembered that America still had an unbroken nuclear monopoly." (
Has Man a Future?,
1961). However Nicholas Griffin of McMaster University, in his book
The Selected Letters of Bertrand Russell: The Public Years, 1914-1970, has claimed (after obtaining a transcript of the speech) that Russell's wording implies he didn't advocate the actual use of the atom bomb, but merely its diplomatic use as a massive source of leverage over the actions of the Soviets. Griffin's interpretation was disputed by
Nigel Lawson, the former British Chancellor, who was present at the speech, claims it was quite clear that Russell was advocating an actual First Strike. Whichever interpretation is correct, Russell later relented, instead arguing for mutual disarmament by the nuclear powers, possibly linked to some form of
world government.
In
1955 Russell released the
Russell-Einstein Manifesto, co-signed by
Albert Einstein and nine other leading scientists and intellectuals, a document which led to the first of the
Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs in
1957. In
1958, Russell became the first president of the
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. He resigned two years later when the CND wouldn't support
civil disobedience, and formed the
Committee of 100. In September
1961 he was imprisoned for a week for inciting civil disobedience, when he took part in a huge ban-the-bomb demonstration at the
Ministry of Defence but the sentence was quashed on account of his age.
During the
Cuban Missile Crisis Russell sent telegrams to
Kennedy,
Khrushchev, the
UN Secretary-General U Thant and British prime minister
Macmillan, which may have helped to prevent further escalation and a possible nuclear war. Khrushchev replied with a long letter, published by the Russian news agency
ITAR-TASS, which was mainly addressed to Kennedy and the Western world.
Increasingly concerned about the potential danger to humanity arising from nuclear weapons and other scientific discoveries, he also joined with Einstein, Oppenheimer, Rotblat and other eminent scientists of the day to establish the
World Academy of Art and Science which was formally constituted in
1960.
The
Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation began work in
1963, in order to carry forward Russell's work for peace, human rights and social justice. He began public opposition to U.S. policy in Vietnam with a letter to the
New York Times dated
March 28,
1963. By the autumn of
1966 he'd completed the manuscript of "War Crimes in Vietnam". Then, using the American justifications for the Nuremberg Trials, Russell, along with
Jean-Paul Sartre, organised what he called an international War Crimes Tribunal, a.k.a the
Russell Tribunal.
Russell was an early critic of the official story in the
John F. Kennedy assassination; his "
16 Questions on the Assassination" from
1964 is still considered a good summary of the apparent inconsistencies in that case.
Russell made a cameo appearance playing himself in the anti-war
Bollywood film "
Aman" which was released in India in
1967. This was Russell's only appearance in a feature film.
Communism and socialism
Russell initially expressed great hope in "the Communist experiment". However, when he visited the
Soviet Union and met
Lenin in
1920, he was unimpressed with the system in place. On his return he wrote a critical tract,
The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism. He was "infinitely unhappy in this atmosphere—stifled by its utilitarianism, its indifference to love and beauty and the life of impulse." He believed Lenin to be similar to a religious
zealot, cold and possessing "no love of liberty."
Sexuality
Russell wrote against
Victorian notions of morality.
Marriage and Morals (
1929) expressed his opinion that sex between a man and woman who are not married to each other isn't necessarily immoral if they truly love one another, and advocated "trial marriages" or "companionate marriage," formalised relationships whereby young people could legitimately have sexual intercourse without being expected to remain married in the long term or to have children (an idea first proposed by Judge
Ben Lindsey). This might not seem extreme by today's standards, but it was enough to raise vigorous protests and denunciations against him during his visit to the
United States shortly after the book's publication. Russell was also ahead of his time in advocating open
sex education and widespread access to
contraception. He also advocated easy
divorce, but only if the marriage had produced no children — Russell's view was that parents should remain married but tolerant of each other's sexual infidelity, if they'd children. This reflected his life at the time — his second wife Dora was openly having an affair, and would soon become pregnant by another man, but Russell was keen for their children John and Kate to have a "normal" family life.
Race
As with his views on religion, which developed considerably throughout his long life, Russell's views on the matter of race didn't remain fixed. By
1951, Russell was a vocal advocate of racial equality and intermarriage; he penned a chapter on "Racial Antagonism" in
New Hopes for a Changing World (1951), which read:
birth control. On
16 November,
1922, for instance, he gave a lecture to the General Meeting of Dr.
Marie Stopes's Society for Constructive Birth Control and Racial Progress on "Birth Control and International Relations," in which he described the importance of extending Western birth control worldwide; his remarks anticipated the population control movement of the 1960s and the role of the United Nations.
Another passage from early editions of his book
Marriage and Morals (
1929), which Russell later clarified as referring only to the situation as resulting from environmental conditioning, and which he'd removed from later editions, reads:
Russell later criticized eugenic programs for their vulnerability to corruption, and, in
1932, he condemned the "unwarranted assumption" that "Negroes are congenitally inferior to white men" (
Education and the Social Order, Chap. 3).
Responding in
1964 to a correspondent's enquiry, "do you still consider the Negroes an inferior race, as you did when you wrote
Marriage and Morals?", Russell replied:
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