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Written at the height of the Cold War in 1959, Common Sense and Nuclear Warfare was published in an effort 'to prevent the catastrophe which would result from a large scale H-bomb war'. Bertrand Russell’s staunch anti-war stance is made very clear in this highly controversial text, which outlines his sharp insights into the threat of nuclear conflict and what should be done to avoid it. Russell’s argument, that the only way to end the threat of nuclear war is to end war itself, is as relevant today as it was on first publication. ... Read more

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First published in 1923, The Prospects of Industrial Civilization is considered the most ambitious of Bertrand Russell's works on modern society. It offers a rare glimpse into often-ignored subtleties of his political thought and in it he argues that industrialism is a threat to human freedom, since it is fundamentally linked with nationalism. His proposal for one government for the whole world as the ultimate solution, along with his argument that the global village and prevailing political democracy should be its eventual results, is both provocative and thoroughly engaging.

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Our Knowledge of the External World is a compilation of lectures Bertrand Russell delivered in the US in which he questions the very relevance and legitimacy of philosophy. In it he investigates the relationship between ‘individual’ and ‘scientific’ knowledge and questions the means in which we have come to understand our physical world. This is an explosive and controversial work that illustrates instances where the claims of philosophers have been excessive, and examines why their achievements have not been greater.

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Bertrand Russell is considered to be one of the most significant educational innovators of his time. In this influential and controversial work, Russell calls for an education that would liberate the child from unthinking obedience to parental and religious authority. He argues that if the basis of all education is knowledge wielded by love then society can be transformed. One of Bertrand Russell’s most definitive works, the remarkable ideas and arguments in On Education are just as insightful and applicable today as they were on first publication in 1926.

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TO all who are capable of new impressions and fresh thought, some modification of former beliefs and hopes has been brought by the war. What the modification has beon has depended, in each case, upon character and circumstance; but in one form or another it has been almost universal. To me, the chief thing to be learnt through the war has been a certain view of the springs of human action, what they are, and what we may legitimately hope that they will become. This view, if it is true, soems to afford a basis for political philosophy moro capable of standing erect in a time of crisis than the philosophy of traditional Liberalism has shown itself to be. The following lectures, though only one of them will deal with war, all are inspired by a view of the springs of action

Table of Contents

CHAPTER PAGE; I The Principle of Growth3; IX The State42; III "War as an Institution79; IV Property117; V Education153; VI Marriage and the Population Question 182; VII Religion and the Ciiurches 215; VIII What We Can Do245

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.

Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the difficult to read text. Read books online for free at www.forgottenbooks.org ... Read more

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Bertrand Russell was one of the twentieth century’sgreatest public intellectuals. His lifelong battle with the forces ofinjustice, ignorance, and cruelty was not always welcomed by his owngovernment, which twice imprisoned him. Russell wrote over 400 lettersto the editor—most of which are collected in this volume—toreach large numbers of the public quickly when his controversialstances made it difficult to have his articles published in thepopular press.

Yours Faithfully, Bertrand Russell allows us to see Russell at hispolemical best, dueling wittily and wisely with both ordinary citizensand the most powerful political leaders of his day, freely expressinghis insights on a wide range of subjects from war and peace to humanrights, early childhood education, sexual ethics, and religion. Theseletters tell us much about the social and political history of ourlast century, relaying an inspiring story of one man’s protractedefforts to infuse public spirit with reason and compassion. ... Read more

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Russell on Metaphysics brings together for the first time a comprehensive selection of Russell's writings on metaphysics in one volume. Russell's major and lasting contribution to metaphysics has been hugely influential and his insights have led to the establishment of analytic philosophy as a dominant stream in philosophy. Stephen Mumford chronicles the metaphysical nature of these insights through accessible introductions to the texts, setting them in context and understanding their continued importance. Russell on Metaphysics is both a valuable introduction to Bertrand Russell as a metaphysician, and an introduction to analytic philosophy and its history. ... Read more

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This beautiful record of Russell's life, from his birth in 1872 to his death in 1970, has been reprinted for a new generation of Russell enthusiasts. Images of Russell, his parents, his surroundings in Wales, Richmond, Cambridge and the United States, his wives, children, and achievements are mixed with the narratives of his life related in his own words. Often humorous, Russell's humanity and honesty shine through. Imprisoned for his outspoken opposition to the First World War, Russell was sentenced to six months. "I was much cheered," he recalls, "on my arrival, by the warder at the gate, who had to take particulars about me. He asked my religion and I replied 'agnostic'. He asked how to spell it, and remarked with a sigh: 'Well, there are many religions, but I suppose they all worship the same God.' " ... Read more

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This Halcyon Classics ebook is THE PROBLEMS OF PHILOSOPHY by British philosopher and social critic Bertrand Russell.Russell (1872-1970) led the British "revolt against idealism" in the early 1900s. He is considered one of the founders of analytic philosophy along with his predecessor Frege and his protégé Wittgenstein, and is widely held to be one of the 20th century's premier logicians.He was a prominent anti-war activist, championing free trade between nations and anti-imperialism.Russell was imprisoned for his pacifist activism during World War I, campaigned against Adolf Hitler, criticized Soviet totalitarianism, and the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War, and was an outspoken proponent of nuclear disarmament.Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950, "in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought."

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In the spring of 1940 amidst the Great Depression and the threat of world war a tempest in a teapot was brewing on the island of Manhattan, where the board of the City College of New York had just appointed the renowned philosopher Bertrand Russell to teach.with the appointment of this most celebrated of scholars, the board had intended to boost the school's image.Instead, it found itself suddenly embroiled in a controversy involving the city's conservative Episcopal bishop; charges that it was encouraging radical and communist views at the college; and political in-fighting between the popular liberal Mayor, Fiorello La Guardia, and corrupt Tammany Hall politicians with a hidden agenda.Journalist Thom Weidlich masterfully reconstructs this major political imbroglio, which not only captured the attention of New Yorkers but very quickly received national coverage as a cause celebre.As political theater with both farcical and dramatic elements, the denial of Russell's appointment is interesting in and of itself.But beyond its intrinsic interest, this 1940s clash between an independent thinker and the self-appointed guardians of public morality retains its relevance in light of today's cultural debates and arguments over standards of decency and political correctness.Weidlich has written an engrossing page-turner that brings history to life and makes us rethink the perennial issues of free thought and moral standards at institutions of higher learning. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

LORDY LORDY!
Weidlich's study of how and why Lord Bertrand Russell was denied a teaching job at New York's City College is definitive.

It is difficult to see how anyone else could have written a clearer explanation of the embarrassing decisions made by the college's and the city's officials in denying Russell the right to express any views whatsoever on a college campus.

I liked the smart parts
This book is a story of how our society treats people who think they are smarter than everyone else. Most of the action takes place in New York City, where John Lennon also discovered that he was not entirely welcome, possibly for some of the same reasons that Bertrand Russell was a problem. While there is some concern in this book for free speech, the opposition to Russell was mainly a problem for people who might be held responsible politically for the taxpayer dollars that Russell was so concerned about getting. The British earl (3-times-married, twice divorced) needed enough income to provide for his child of two, at a time when "probably the world's most renowned living philosopher" (p. 10) was only two years short of the mandatory retirement age. This book was written before the events of September 11, 2001, and seems totally unaware of the possibility that anyone who disagrees with the financial control exercised by New York City over global economics could hijack airplanes and use them to reduce large buildings to rubble. America is fortunate that a plane on September 11, 2001 also struck the Pentagon, so the federal government had a direct military attack which it could respond to in a like manner (air superiority being a prime consideration in superpower planning for geopolitical dominance). The military use of aircraft has become an American obsession as critical to American geopolitical machinations as intellect is a distinguishing feature in the ideology which thinks it rules in New York City and in the mind of Ralph Nader.

The index has a lot of distinguished names, including Augustine, Bruce Barton, Bismarck, Giordano Bruno, Neville Chamberlain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Euclid, Sigmund Freud, Galileo Galilei, Hegel, Werner Heisenberg, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Thomas Jefferson, James Joyce, Lenin, Martin Luther, Karl Marx, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Plato, St. Joan of Arc Holy Name Society, Socrates, Baruch de Spinoza, Stalin, Trotsky, Voltaire, Woodrow Wilson, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. There is only a single entry for the Communist Party, none for the Democratic Party, and only a few pages are cited for Young Communist League and Young People's Socialist League. I am not related in any way to the Bruce Barton whose views on religion are so well known that the president of Hunter College, George N. Shuster, a lay Catholic, could describe other Catholics as "`like a blend of' the Daughters of the American Revolution, advertising man Bruce Barton, `and a random devotee of Torquemada,' the evil medieval inquisitor. Of their moralizing, he said that Catholics could see `nothing in the universe but middle-class primness--an order to avoid shocking some imaginary schoolgirl' (these were prescient words concerning Russell's predicament)." (p. 86).

My own interest in the role of the Democratic party in this book is a result of the situation for the appointment of federal judges, now that the Democrats no longer have control of the U.S. Senate, which has the power to approve such appointments and have tried to make this seem like an important role for protecting the rights of people who think that there is more to life than just getting married and having children. Prior to the appointment of George Shuster, the president of Hunter College was Eugene Colligan, "a political hack, installed when Tammany Hall, the notorious Manhattan Democratic machine, was still running the city (though not for much longer). . . . At the college's 1935 commencement exercises, the rowdy audience held placards charging `Colligan Lives Up to Mussolini's "Order of Merit"' (the fascist leader had bestowed upon him the Italian Medal of Merit for `distinguished educational accomplishment')." (p. 11). Throughout this book, the leadership of Protestant Episcopal Bishop William T. Manning of the Diocese of New York combines with the kind of politics that Democrats have spent years using, appealing to popular animus to try to avert the kind of confusion which the future is bound to run into sooner or later.

Those who learned the most about political advantages were students who had the opportunity to promote their own interests. At the time, the student body was pretty bright. ". . . and because of the Ivy League's limits on how many Jews it would take--during this period that Russell was to teach, `the City College student body represented perhaps the purest intellectual elite in the country.' Of the eight Nobel Prize winners the college has produced (more than any other public institution), three came from the class of 1937." (p. 54). Those who were there just a few years later might have resigned themselves to the belief that being born with a brain wasn't really all that great, if this book is any indication of how the world will treat you.

In the case of the Young Communist League, who "viewed it as a case of academic freedom . . . but we don't really give a hoot about Russell and this case," (p. 55) others "begged the YCL representative on the student council to keep the Communists out of the Russell controversy so they could win it. `Everything the Communists touched was the kiss of death. . . . the Hearst papers depicted the Communists fighting to get Russell in. This contributed to an extent in keeping Russell out. The irony was that the next fall, the YCL used their fighting for Russell to recruit new members among the incoming class.'" (p. 56) Now that the U.S. Supreme Court can be anyone who the President picks, we shall see how soon the people who placed obstacles in the way of those who wanted to count ballots for his opponent can be replaced by incoming justices, using the term loosely, of course, in the time-honored manner.

taxes, morality, academic freedom: guaranteed entertainment.
weidlich provides a stimulating and briskly-paced account of a seemingly minor historical event, which nonetheless serves as the springboard into a wide-ranging and meticulous consideration of deep, difficult issues: how much intellectual freedom in academia is too much? do individual taxpayers, as the ultimate funders of public academic institutions, get to answer this question? or is it their elected representatives? or neither? and can our society allow the answer to find its fundament in one particular religion's belief system? or in a morality that transcends particular religions? does such a morality exist?

the historical coverage of the russell controversy itself is thorough, carefully documented and generally unimpeachable. weidlich is conscious of the story's amusing, sometimes ridiculous components, which adds to the enjoyment. the book is worth the price for that analysis alone. the treatment of the bigger themes is gravy.

The Inquisition à la New York
Appointment Denied: the Inquisition of Bertrand Russell.By Thom Weidlich.Prometheus Books, Amherst, NY 2000.

Weidlich, a journalist and former reporter for the National Law Journal, has describedin lucid detail how famed philosopher Sir Bertrand Russell was denied aposition on the faculty of City College (CCNY) of the City of New York. The 1940 incident has been compared to the "monkey trial" of JohnScopes. I have read widely from Russell's work as well as aboutRussell and find Weidlich's book is definitive about Episcopal BishopManning's successful efforts to gain support from Catholics and politiciansto keep Russell from teaching.Also, Weidlich explains Russell's views inlayman's language that is understandable and on the mark.If the Vaticancan apologize for Galileo, one wonders when will the Episcopaliansapologize for their egregiously narrow-minded bishop?

Russell's battle a harbinger of modern politcal debate
Weidlich's cogent historical narrative crisply sets up a seminal event in New York politics, and how the members of the power structure, for various reasons, conspired to better or preserve their political positions byopposing Russell's nomination to teach philosphy at City College in the1940s.But in a larger context, Weidlich's book provides a prescientanalysis of an event that was a harbinger of things to come - of thefamiliar debate over unpopular uses for taxpayer funds, and how educationalpriorities often fall victim as a result.While the book does not aspireto be anything more than a clear picture of a 1940s New York controversy,it would seem that this clear vision has made the more timeless aspects ofthe debate rise to the surface.Appointment Denied is a must for anyonewith an interest in the political dynamic that ran New York's system ofhigher education, and the theological dynamic that still seems to governthe politics of the city -and the nation. ... Read more

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"Contains a great deal of varied and interesting writing from Russell's first decade as an independent thinker\Mthe great themes of God and freewill, immortality and conscience are rehearsed with charm and penetration\MRussell shows an exuberant delight in ingenious reasoning, expressed in the fewest possible words and in the least encumbered way, that was to remain with him as a kind of trademark |o Anthony Quinton, The Times ... Read more