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Philosophical Essays
First published in 1910, Philosophical Essays is one of Bertrand Russell’s earliest works and marks an important period in the evolution of thought of one of the world’s most influential thinkers. This selection of seven essays displays Russell's incisiveness and brilliance of exposition in the examination of ethical subjects and the nature of truth. Insightful and highly accessible, these essays are as illuminating today as they were on first publication.
176 pages, Paperback
Published March 2, 2009
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421 people want to read
About the author
Bertrand Russell
1,243 books7,315 followersBertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS, was a Welsh philosopher, historian, logician, mathematician, advocate for social reform, pacifist, and prominent rationalist. Although he was usually regarded as English, as he spent the majority of his life in England, he was born in Wales, where he also died.
He 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."
He 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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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 25, 2010
I'm a huge fan of Russell, and I really enjoyed this book, but I have to say that it really does require a particular niche. While some Russell (though it may be only a small portion of his work) is good for everybody, this is a particularly technical piece and a heavy focus on some of Russell's contemporaries. The large focus on William James demands some level of historical awareness and the reality is, not everybody has that, or is up for it when looking for reading.
It's a great book, but does require awareness of the history, as so much of philosophy does. It's hard to recommend to anyone outside of the field.
It's a great book, but does require awareness of the history, as so much of philosophy does. It's hard to recommend to anyone outside of the field.
August 12, 2023
This “raw” philosophy is too heavy for me, I should stick to one wrapped in regular novels like those from Tolstoy and others…
March 24, 2009
I suppose this was a somewhat arbitrary title to pick out after having only read his History of Western Philosophy. However, keeping in mind that the Principia Mathematica is probably his quintessential work, I'll probably just stick to his shorter essays, and possibly Why I Am Not a Christian.
Despite having only read what can be considered historiography of philosophy by Russell, I am somewhat familiar with analytic philosophy, what's more, I understand Russell's paradox which seems to be the epitome of his methodology.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rus...
Russell takes a logical approach at subjects ranging from ethics to pragmatism. There is a rough theme here, which probably has a lot to do with the philosophical questions or doctrines of the early twentieth century, a period in which Russell was at the height of his intellectual prowess. This collection doesn't really set forth a particular set of ideas that define the analytic approach, but it does display the effectiveness of its methodology. Particularly in the essay entitled the Elements of Ethics, in which Russell analyzes every single semantical possibility of what is meant by words such as true, false, good, bad, just, unjust, etc. Before a proposition is set forth explaining an ethical truth or falsehood, Russell wants us to take into account the meaning of each word, as well as its subjective or objective reality in the context of the sentence. This occasionally makes for a rather convoluted approach at interpretation, and from what I've heard Wittgenstein's writings are the superior example of analytic philosophy. Nevertheless, this was my favorite essay in the book.
William James and the pragmatic philosophy occupy the latter half of the book. All that I can say is that after reading this I will most likely never read James, or Peirce, or any other pragmatic philosopher. It really seems to represent everything that I despise in a philosophical doctrine; vagueness, immateriality, faulty relativism, etc. Seriously, ugh.
In all honesty, I read these essays as I would if they were printed in a periodical (which, come to think of it many of them were), so I'm sure that I'm overlooking their importance. Russell was such an eclectic philosopher, so it seems like reading him in fragments might be the best way in which to appreciate his thought.
Despite having only read what can be considered historiography of philosophy by Russell, I am somewhat familiar with analytic philosophy, what's more, I understand Russell's paradox which seems to be the epitome of his methodology.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rus...
Russell takes a logical approach at subjects ranging from ethics to pragmatism. There is a rough theme here, which probably has a lot to do with the philosophical questions or doctrines of the early twentieth century, a period in which Russell was at the height of his intellectual prowess. This collection doesn't really set forth a particular set of ideas that define the analytic approach, but it does display the effectiveness of its methodology. Particularly in the essay entitled the Elements of Ethics, in which Russell analyzes every single semantical possibility of what is meant by words such as true, false, good, bad, just, unjust, etc. Before a proposition is set forth explaining an ethical truth or falsehood, Russell wants us to take into account the meaning of each word, as well as its subjective or objective reality in the context of the sentence. This occasionally makes for a rather convoluted approach at interpretation, and from what I've heard Wittgenstein's writings are the superior example of analytic philosophy. Nevertheless, this was my favorite essay in the book.
William James and the pragmatic philosophy occupy the latter half of the book. All that I can say is that after reading this I will most likely never read James, or Peirce, or any other pragmatic philosopher. It really seems to represent everything that I despise in a philosophical doctrine; vagueness, immateriality, faulty relativism, etc. Seriously, ugh.
In all honesty, I read these essays as I would if they were printed in a periodical (which, come to think of it many of them were), so I'm sure that I'm overlooking their importance. Russell was such an eclectic philosopher, so it seems like reading him in fragments might be the best way in which to appreciate his thought.
April 1, 2019
No, no me ha enseñado gran cosa. Me ha resultado "filosofía viejuna" de la de "voy a empezar por re-definir unas palabras (verdad, objeto, parte, todo...) y luego hacer unos silogismos con ellas, del derecho y del revés." Y así llegamos a joyas como que "Las partes de un todo no son realmente partes suyas. De ahí que no pueda haber un auténtico todo, puesto que nada puede ser realmente un todo a no ser que tenga realmente partes." Me rindo. ;-)
October 24, 2023
Este libro presenta distintos ensayos de Russell.
Me gustó mucho su metódica discusión sobre la ética.
En las refutaciones al pragmatismo y la teoría monista de la verdad se ve la habilidad que tiene Russell para contrarrestar con un enfoque con-los-pies-en-la-tierra las teorías grandiosistas que buscan redefinir la verdad.
Quedé menos impresionado con el ensayo sobre la verdad y la falsedad del propio Russell. El lenguaje es, a mi parecer, innecesariamente enredado y se echa de menos una buena y sencilla recapitulación en el último párrafo, como es característico en los ensayos anteriores.
Me gustó mucho su metódica discusión sobre la ética.
En las refutaciones al pragmatismo y la teoría monista de la verdad se ve la habilidad que tiene Russell para contrarrestar con un enfoque con-los-pies-en-la-tierra las teorías grandiosistas que buscan redefinir la verdad.
Quedé menos impresionado con el ensayo sobre la verdad y la falsedad del propio Russell. El lenguaje es, a mi parecer, innecesariamente enredado y se echa de menos una buena y sencilla recapitulación en el último párrafo, como es característico en los ensayos anteriores.
August 17, 2020
A mixed bag from 1910 and earlier, with a couple of gems in the form of gentlemanly and good-natured but compelling evisceration of the Pragmatist view of truth (William James, F C S Schiller, etc).
This collection of seven essays from relatively early in Russell's astonishing output consists of three on ethical themes and four on truth. These are essays on philosophical subjects for the educated but interested non-philosopher; and they stand up well for that audience (if there are many of us left) more than 100 years after they were written.
The lowlight is - perhaps surprisingly given its positive reception at the time - "A Free Man's Worship", certainly the worst writing by Russell I've come up against (and I've read most of it), which can really only be described as late Victorian quasi-Romantic verbiose bilge. Russell himself later in his life not only critiqued the content for being more Platonic than he would later subscribe to, but the overly florid style. However, even this essay - almost unreadable to the modern reader and so different from his latter succinct, crisp style - is worth reading. This is not just for completeness (the way a Wodehouse fan might seek out the maudlin The Coming of Bill to see just how close the Maestro came to losing his way) but as an interesting set of ideas, and for pure historical interest. This exact essay was for a while his best known, and widely cited for the excellence of its style.
The essays on pragmatism are excellent, classics, and surely the pragmatic view of truth has never recovered. The other essays on truth - dismantling the wholistic view, and a constructive attempt at an analytic alternative - are worth reading. The opening essay is an unremarkable but clear statement of consequentialism as the basis of ethics, and the third a well meant (and even convincing?) advocacy for the importance of mathematics for the good life.
All up, an excellent and enjoyable read, from a more civilised age.
My Kindle copy was spotted with a number of typos from the digitisation but never enough to spoil the experience.
This collection of seven essays from relatively early in Russell's astonishing output consists of three on ethical themes and four on truth. These are essays on philosophical subjects for the educated but interested non-philosopher; and they stand up well for that audience (if there are many of us left) more than 100 years after they were written.
The lowlight is - perhaps surprisingly given its positive reception at the time - "A Free Man's Worship", certainly the worst writing by Russell I've come up against (and I've read most of it), which can really only be described as late Victorian quasi-Romantic verbiose bilge. Russell himself later in his life not only critiqued the content for being more Platonic than he would later subscribe to, but the overly florid style. However, even this essay - almost unreadable to the modern reader and so different from his latter succinct, crisp style - is worth reading. This is not just for completeness (the way a Wodehouse fan might seek out the maudlin The Coming of Bill to see just how close the Maestro came to losing his way) but as an interesting set of ideas, and for pure historical interest. This exact essay was for a while his best known, and widely cited for the excellence of its style.
The essays on pragmatism are excellent, classics, and surely the pragmatic view of truth has never recovered. The other essays on truth - dismantling the wholistic view, and a constructive attempt at an analytic alternative - are worth reading. The opening essay is an unremarkable but clear statement of consequentialism as the basis of ethics, and the third a well meant (and even convincing?) advocacy for the importance of mathematics for the good life.
All up, an excellent and enjoyable read, from a more civilised age.
My Kindle copy was spotted with a number of typos from the digitisation but never enough to spoil the experience.
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December 19, 2024A Russell se la ha dado mucho palo pero de tanto en tanto uno le va adquiriendo cierto aprecio a su escritura y a su tan británica esencia. Este libro contiene ensayos de temáticas variadas en donde se deja ver su prosa de forma, aunque academicista, bastante libre. Con ella da, por ejemplo, una clase magistral al respecto de cómo se debe hacer una crítica rigurosa en los capítulos sobre el pragmatismo y la teoría monista de la verdad, donde con un respeto total por su "oponente" siempre reduce al absurdo los argumentos suponiendo sus mejores versiones.
Me veo en la obligación de rescatar el siguiente apartado del cuarto capítulo en su crítica contra el pragmatismo porque tras leerlo quedé fascinado:
El verdadero precepto de veracidad [para el pramatismo], que incluye a la vez la búsqueda de la verdad y la evitación del error, es el siguiente: «Debemos dar a toda proposición que consideramos tan aproximada como sea posible el grado de crédito que esté justificado por la probabilidad que procede de las pruebas que conocemos.» Las cuestiones siguientes —qué proposiciones debemos considerar y cuántas dificultades hay que superar hasta llegar al conocimiento de la evidencia— dependen naturalmente de nuestras circunstancias y de la importancia del problema. Pero ir por el mundo creyéndolo todo con la esperanza de que consiguientemente creeremos tanta verdad como es posible es como practicar la poligamia con la esperanza de que entre tantas mujeres encontremos alguna que nos haga felices.
Aunque son pocos los momentos tan fuertes y divertidos de leer en esta obra, el resto de argumentos son interesantes. Para quien ya ha leído ensayos de Russell es bastante recomendable, pero para quien no puede ser un poco ladrilludo.
Me veo en la obligación de rescatar el siguiente apartado del cuarto capítulo en su crítica contra el pragmatismo porque tras leerlo quedé fascinado:
El verdadero precepto de veracidad [para el pramatismo], que incluye a la vez la búsqueda de la verdad y la evitación del error, es el siguiente: «Debemos dar a toda proposición que consideramos tan aproximada como sea posible el grado de crédito que esté justificado por la probabilidad que procede de las pruebas que conocemos.» Las cuestiones siguientes —qué proposiciones debemos considerar y cuántas dificultades hay que superar hasta llegar al conocimiento de la evidencia— dependen naturalmente de nuestras circunstancias y de la importancia del problema. Pero ir por el mundo creyéndolo todo con la esperanza de que consiguientemente creeremos tanta verdad como es posible es como practicar la poligamia con la esperanza de que entre tantas mujeres encontremos alguna que nos haga felices.
Aunque son pocos los momentos tan fuertes y divertidos de leer en esta obra, el resto de argumentos son interesantes. Para quien ya ha leído ensayos de Russell es bastante recomendable, pero para quien no puede ser un poco ladrilludo.
October 25, 2019
And now I'm going to have to read James Williams.
June 10, 2020
Best gift for your worst enemy.
October 29, 2022
Beautiful proses, poverty of content.
March 25, 2024
With his run on sentences and circular thoughts, I can’t help but think these “essays” would get a bad grade today
January 15, 2025
Complicado pero instructivo
January 26, 2016
This is the first book i have read for Bertrand Russell, and - as I expected - it did not disappoint me.
The essays are eloquent: I did not find almost any challenge in understanding them, at the same time, strong vocab was used: not strange for a writer who was awarded noble prize in literature.
The essays had different topics which were a good introduction for me to know Russell's way of philosophical thinking: Element's of ethics, the free man's worship, the study of mathematics, Pragmatism,William Jame's conception of truth, the monistic theory of truth and "on the nature of truth and falsehood". Each of these essays seems like an introduction to a vast topic. In all these topics, the "mathematically influenced" Russell's way of thinking is evident.
I highly recommend this book for those who want to read an "introductory book" for Russell.
The essays are eloquent: I did not find almost any challenge in understanding them, at the same time, strong vocab was used: not strange for a writer who was awarded noble prize in literature.
The essays had different topics which were a good introduction for me to know Russell's way of philosophical thinking: Element's of ethics, the free man's worship, the study of mathematics, Pragmatism,William Jame's conception of truth, the monistic theory of truth and "on the nature of truth and falsehood". Each of these essays seems like an introduction to a vast topic. In all these topics, the "mathematically influenced" Russell's way of thinking is evident.
I highly recommend this book for those who want to read an "introductory book" for Russell.
Currently reading
August 2, 2010probably won't finish it...!
i bought it because of its translator:
شمس الدین ادیب سلطانی
i bought it because of its translator:
شمس الدین ادیب سلطانی
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May 27, 2018An interesting volume to get familiar with some of Russell's early ideas.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews