Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Arthur William Russell was a noted British philosopher, logician, mathematician, Historian and Social Critic. A Welsh by birth, Bertrand Russell spent most of his lifetime in England. In the 1900s he initiated the British to revolt against idealism. Along with Gottlob Frege and Ludwig Wittgenstein Bertrand Russell founded analytical philosophy. In the book Principia Mathematica he attempted to find a logic base for mathematics along with A. N. Whitehead. His works had lot of impact on subjects like logic, mathematics, set theory, linguistics, philosophy, epistemology and metaphysics.

Bertrand Russell was born on 18^th May, 1872, in the family of earls. Bertrand lost his parents and sibling Rachel during his childhood. He and his brother Frank were brought up by their strict Victorian Grandparents. The prayers and other formalities were disliked by both Bertrand and Frank. Russell had a lonely adolescence that frequently frustrated him into thoughts of suicide. His interests were sex, religion and mathematics and the love to know more about mathematics abate him from thoughts of ending his life. His marriage with Alys, whom he married against his grandmother’s wishes soon fell apart and was followed by a series of affairs with a number of people. After a hasty divorce from Alys, he married Dora who was six months pregnant.

Russell began his career in 1896 by teaching German Social Democracy in the London School of Economics. Later he started a deep study on the foundations of Mathematics at Trinity where he discovered Russell’s paradox that challenged the base of set theory. He published his first major work, ‘The Principles of Mathematics’ which also contributed to logic. After serving as lecturer in the University of Cambridge, later in life, he participated in many programs of the BBC related to various topics apart from philosophy in the late forties. In the late fifties he engaged himself in political activities like nuclear disarmament and condemning the Vietnam War. 

During the 1920s Bertrand Russell wrote a lot of books on physics, ethics and layman to education. Russell opposed Hitler’s dominance and concluded that Hitler taking all of Europe was a permanent threat to democracy. His work, ‘A History of Western Philosophy’ became a best seller and subsequently steady income for his remaining life. Russell died of Influenza in 2^nd February 1970. According to his will, religious ceremony was avoided and his ashes were scattered over the Welsh mountains. For Russell private life was full of disturbances and professional life was flooded with achievements.

Questions:

• What is the name of Russell’s first wife?
• Which is the best seller in Russell’s work?