Bertrand Russell's life
Bertrand Russell (1872- 1970) was a famous bourgeois thinker and social activist in the 20th century. He wrote more than 40 works and more papers or other articles in his life. His achievements in many aspects have profoundly influenced western philosophy.
"Lonely childhood
1872 On May 8th, Russell was born into an aristocratic family in Trelleke, monmouth, England. His grandfather, Earl john russell, served as Prime Minister twice, and was the leader of 1832 who fought for the passage of the British reform bill. When Russell was two years old, his mother died. About a year later, his father and sister also died. Grandparents voluntarily assume the responsibility of raising children. Russell's grandmother has liberal political views and often teaches Russell to reflect on his thoughts and behaviors. Grandma is a devout Puritan, and strict and simple family education makes Russell depressed. He takes a bath in cold water every morning. Adults never give fruit or drink beer. So Russell was introverted when he was young and was not sent to school. I was taken care of by foreign nannies and tutors since I was a child, learning German, French and Italian. Russell's grandfather has an extremely rich library, which he often hides in and absorbs the knowledge of literature, history and geography extensively. He has the habit of thinking hard, which is undoubtedly influenced by his grandmother. By his own admission, he has been bored with life since he was five years old. He often walks alone in the garden, and sometimes he has suicidal thoughts because of boredom. Russell's childhood was very important to him.
When Russell 1 1 was years old, he studied Euclidean geometry with his brother. At that time, he could only accept the definition, but doubted the reliability of the axiom. This doubt determines the style and goal of Russell's philosophical career, that is, to explore the certainty and doubt of "how much and how much we can know" in a skeptical and cautious style.
1890 10, Russell was admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge University, and entered the garden of education with fresh air and active thoughts. However, his teacher had little influence on him, but he benefited a lot from his interaction with his classmates. Soon, he met Whitehead, Moore, Mactaggart and economist Keynes, and soon he became the most popular one among them. In the third academic year, although Russell passed the degree examination with excellent results, he vowed never to study mathematics that only focused on skills and ignored the proof of basic theories, and instead studied philosophy. He is determined to establish a philosophical system like Hegel and devote himself to the cause of philosophy.
When Russell graduated from university, he believed in the philosophy of Hegel and Kant. 1893, he wrote a paper on mathematical philosophy "On Geometry", trying to mend Kant's theory that the form of time and space is innate comprehensive judgment, which made him qualified as a researcher at Cambridge University.
At that time, Germany's mathematical theory was very advanced, and a fundamental change was brewing. When Russell thoroughly mastered these theories, he resolutely gave up his long-admired idealism and turned to realism, determined to seek a correct mathematical theory.
1900 in July, when Pi Nuo Russell, the founder of symbolic logic, read Pi Nuo's works, he felt that many questions were suddenly answered. 10 In June, he and Whitehead co-wrote Principles of Mathematics. Published in 19 10,1910/,19 12. This book is epoch-making in the history of logical development. Since then, logic has been separated from philosophy and independent. Later, German universities classified mathematical logic into the Department of Mathematics.
Russell found that in the process of people trying to lay a theoretical foundation for mathematics with logic, a basic concept "general category" that is often used to explain other concepts is self-contradictory, so he established the theory of "paradox", also known as "Russell paradox". In order to prove the "Russell Paradox", many mathematicians and logicians put forward various theoretical schemes, but they can't explain them. Russell himself interrupted the writing of Principles of Mathematics. This is further studied. Later, he put forward the "type theory" to explain this phenomenon. The influence of "type theory" is also great, which makes mathematicians realize the importance of some words and semantic research, and also gives birth to another philosophical thought of Russell, namely the principle of logical atomism.
The basic argument of Russell's logical atomism is that the world is composed of some simple special facts, and there are only simple natures and simple relationships between them. Therefore, the way to understand the essence of anything or theme is to analyze until there are no more "logical atoms" to analyze. Logical atoms are not small substances, but so-called concepts that make up things. Russell's theory had a great influence on the Vienna School in the mid-1920s and the logical semantics in the 1930s.
More important in Russell's philosophy is his "neutral monism". The general idea is that the matter that constitutes the world is neither a pure heart nor a pure thing, nor a binary opposition between heart and thing, but a thing that is indifferent to heart and thing. This neutral thing sometimes refers to events, sometimes to senses and matter, and this "world matter" is the most primitive thing that constitutes mind and matter. These views are reflected in him.
Russell has always been keen on the discussion of political theory and actively participated in various political activities. As early as 1895, after his first marriage, he took his wife to travel around Europe. He studied the economy and democracy of German society. He also praised the Producers' Party Manifesto and the three-volume Das Kapital as great masterpieces with great literary talent. At that time, he was in contact with the leaders of the Social Democratic Party, Marxists Baerbel and Liebknecht. During the First World War, he actively engaged in anti-war activities. He joined the Association against Conscription and delivered a series of speeches calling for peace. Give sincere help to those who refuse to participate in the evil war. 19 16 was fined for writing anti-war leaflets 100. As he refused to pay, the court auctioned his books at Cambridge University as collateral. Then Trinity College also dismissed him from the faculty. In 2008, he wrote an editorial for an anti-war newspaper. He was sentenced to write and study in a small room in Brixton prison. After the war, Russell visited the Soviet Union and met with Lenin, Trotsky and Gorky. He expressed sympathy for the goals that the producers believed in, but also expressed concern about the political and social lifestyle of the Soviet Union. 19438+0920 August, Russell visited China. He always sympathizes with the oppressed people. He stood up in Ying Bu War.
1934, his book "Freedom and Courage:1814 ~1914" came out, which expounded his political thoughts in detail and systematically, and put forward that political, economic and historical figures are three important aspects of social and political history. 46638.686666666667
With the rise of Hitler, Russell opposed the Nazi way, but he also opposed any steps that led to war. His attitude changed in 1939, and he thought that "the war against the Nazis was necessary". /kloc-0 was elected as an academician of the British Academy of Sciences in 1949, and/kloc-0 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950.
Since the 1950s, Russell has become a brave soldier defending peace. 1953, the United States tested a hydrogen bomb, which changed his political views. He advocated that he would rather fight a war than live under dictatorship, which showed his concern about future wars. 1In February, 954, Russell published "The Danger Facing Mankind" in the BBC, and 00000000000006 severely condemned the bikini hydrogen bomb test. At the beginning of 1955, he drafted and published the famous Russell-Einstein nuclear ban statement signed by scientists from all over the world. In 2008+096 1 year, 89-year-old Mrs. Russell Kay took part in a demonstration against the US government's development of nuclear weapons in London. Later, during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, he strongly appealed to the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union to hold high-level talks to avoid war.
Russell is not a producer. Until Stalin died in 1953, he never relaxed his criticism of the Soviet Union. Later, his attitude softened. However, during the Vietnam War, he provided funds and organized a mock trial of American leaders for war crimes. The war tribunal presided over by Sartre and Aitke Deutscher opened in Stockholm in May 1967. He also prosecuted in detail the activities of the American army. 1968, the Soviet Union invaded the Czech Republic, and Russell strongly protested. As an international peace fighter, he has become a banner for leftist students and the masses in many western countries.
Russell's four marriages are full of legends.
1894 65438+In February, after Russell graduated from Cambridge University, she married a beautiful American girl, Alice, who was five years older than Russell and was born in an American civilian family. This marriage aroused strong opposition from his aristocratic family, who used various means to block this incompatible combination, including arranging Russell to work in the British Embassy in Paris, in order to break up the young couple. Without family, he resolutely held a wedding and went to Germany and Italy for their honeymoon. This marriage lasted from 1894 to his second marriage. He had several love experiences, including an affair with the gorgeous Mrs. Otelline Morrel, Mrs. constance Malleson and the famous actor Collette O 'Neill.
192 1 In September, Russell returned to England from China and divorced Alice after ten years. A week later, he married Dora. 1927, they rented their brother's villa and established Bijiashan Primary School, practicing his "tolerance" educational philosophy. Because the economic source only depends on Russell's manuscript fee and the prejudice of local public opinion,
193 1 year, due to the death of her brother, Russell became the third Earl of Russell, and then she entered the church for the third time, and Betty, the secretary, held him.
At the age of 80, Russell began to write novels. It is also because of his writing that at the end of 1952, Russell divorced his third wife Betty and married an English biographer, Eddis Finch. This is his fourth and last marriage.
Russell's marriage in his later years was peaceful and comfortable. His first wife, Alice, took care of Russell faithfully for more than 50 years. After Russell won the Medal of Honor, she wrote a warm congratulatory letter to Russell, preparing to organize Russell's 78th birthday. However, when she hoped to see Russell again, she unfortunately broke her leg on the stairs and died a week later. Her wish to see Russell didn't come true.
Russell was thin and had black hair when he was young. When a man reaches middle age, he becomes thinner, his eyes are bright, he smiles, his hair is gray, and he looks like a philosopher, giving people a cold and cordial feeling.
Russell is a gentle and even shy person. As a friend, partner and conversationalist, he is pleasant.
Russell is very humorous. After winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, Russell, who had never written literary works, began to write novels. The first novel was published anonymously in 195 1, and there was a reward for guessing who the author was. As a result, no one guessed, because no one would believe that this famous philosopher, who is nearly 80 years old, is still interested in writing novels.
1970 On February 2nd, Earl Russell died at his home in Wales at the age of 98. His life is full of twists and turns, so people have different opinions about him. But he is indeed a man who has greatly influenced this century. Russell described his long, exciting and complicated life like this: "Three simple but extremely strong emotions dominate my life: the desire for love, the pursuit of knowledge and the desire for human suffering.
1970 On February 2nd, Russell died in his hometown of Wales.
Second, Bertrand Russell's literary history:
Russell pointed out in his book Memories of Time Past (1956): "A writing style is not a good style unless it is a direct and almost unconscious expression of a writer's personality, and at the same time this personality is worth expressing." After some exploration, he chose his own style, which requires that the conclusion should be passed before it can be written down directly and naturally. Flaubert and Pater are the best forgotten. "This way of writing is reflected in the personality that is obviously worth expressing, which makes Russell's works have literary value, rather than the general expression of philosophical thoughts. Although his professional works are not easy to be accepted by untrained readers, his equally sharp writing style obviously runs through all his works. Of course, George Santayana thinks that Russell's only truly valuable works are the most abstract ones. Although Santayana,
In the broad field of vision of Russell's thesis, many topics are conventional enough to make him a Nobel Prize in Literature winner. He is not only a mathematical philosopher, a scholar who studies metaphysics and epistemology, an economic critic and an interpreter of modern science, but also a moral philosopher and teacher, a philosopher of history, religion and language, and a satirist who continues to be stupid to human beings-all these are enough to achieve his mature literary career.
Many of Russell's explanations of moral arguments-some of which were first written in the 1920s-are out of date today. However, it is easy to understand why so many moralists are angered as soon as they appear. He denounced the cruel nature of human beings in a state of religious belief and sexual ignorance, which sounded like the latest enlightener to lash out at superstition and ignorance. However, Russell and the English literary aristocrats were in the same era and had many similar radical ideas. His crusade against Christianity, which is accustomed to cruelty, is similar to William albertson's harsh condemnation of the cruelty of Christ God. Russell believes that the only premise of sexual relations is loyalty and mutual attraction, which is endorsed by D.H. Lawrence. Therefore, Russell can be regarded as a lonely traditional rebel: perhaps it is best to be regarded as a wandering little shepherd. Modern contraceptives make sexual freedom possible, even far beyond what he said. At the same time, there are still outposts of power worship and religious revenge. When Russell was young, organized religion had reached the state of perfection, which made Russell regarded as one of the moralists who changed people's minds.
Among all his works, no one caused such a big conflict on moral issues than the pamphlet I Believe published by 1925, which became an important basis for 1940 new york hearing to decide that he was not suitable to teach at City College. The first paragraph of the book declares that man is a part of nature, not a separate entity; Then people are interpreted as an inversion phenomenon, and the physiology of this inversion phenomenon can be completely clarified by physics. In this way, Russell immediately became the target of all moralists. In Russell's view, the existence of God is "beyond the reach of knowledge". The terrible inquisition brought "great harm" to mankind. In order to replace the theology based on fear and ignorance, Russell put forward his own point of view: "A good life is made up of love."
Russell tends to be determinist, at least he thinks that all actions have their motives. He also believes that human beings have free will within a certain range, for example, they may do other things besides what they are willing to do. But he denied that the effect of motivation on will was not conducive to the attempt to influence others' behavior, so the idea of determinism must be right. Therefore, as a rule, Russell's definition of free will is too weak for us to praise or criticize. By his own admission, this kind of praise and criticism may become.
Russell's answer to the question of how people act can be summarized as: after proper consideration, follow the instructions of conscience. It is inevitable that a specific behavior may be objectively incorrect in the end: morality is dominated by an informed conscience. These two points-about free will and conscience-are in Basic Principles of Ethics (19 10) and Ethics and Politics.
Russell has a strong interest in educational philosophy. He not only runs a school, but also often writes books about how to educate children. His thought is close to Rousseau's theory, and the obligation to oppose the church and the state is to "cast" the young people's thoughts. On the contrary, as he said in Education (19 16), the most important thing in education is teachers' respect for students. Teachers should "mainly feel some sacred, vague and infinite things from children, some individual and particularly precious things, the gradually developing living standard and the specific fragments of silent competition in this world". The danger of school education lies in cultivating patriotic feelings that confuse history and instilling religious beliefs in young people. It is also harmful to inculcate the shallow concept of "being polite" in young people. This concept of "good manners" has no doubt about its own correctness, and thinks that proper manners are more worth looking forward to and pursuing than intellectual or artistic creation, or vitality, or any other source of progress in the world.
In his book The Purpose of Education (1926), Russell expounded his views on good schools and good teachers. He distinguished four basic characteristics that can be regarded as ideal qualities: vitality, courage, sensitivity and wisdom. For example, vitality can make people get rid of outdated old ideas, expand their understanding and interest in the world, and thus reduce inappropriate jealousy of others' achievements.
The highest type of courage-not only based on inhibition-requires two spiritual characteristics: self-esteem and an outlook on life that is not influenced by personal feelings. Self-esteem must avoid humbleness and insincere inferiority, and should be based on a true understanding of one's goals. Most importantly, courage must face the real world, because "a typical person with perfect courage appears in a person with many interests, and he feels that he is only a small part of this world." This is not by despising yourself. "
The third characteristic of a good education is sensitivity, especially the rare but important abstract sympathy, which helps to alleviate the distant and invisible pain. Russell said that in personal contacts, a friendly and generous person may make money by exploiting the industries of many poor people, and he has never witnessed the suffering of these poor people. He wrote: "This is the basic reason why large-scale industrialization is so cruel and why oppression of subordinate people is tolerated."
Finally, in school education, we must develop intelligence. This kind of intellectual cultivation is not through instilling faith in children, but based on their instinctive curiosity about the world. Once openness, patience and diligence are combined, curiosity will create a society composed of educated citizens.
Russell's pure literary ability-a satirical genius expressed in fluent writing-is vividly reflected in "Sketch of Intellectuals' Rubbish: An Interesting Catalogue of Stupid Behaviors of Organizations and Individuals" (1943). If jonathan swift were still alive, he would proudly claim that it was his masterpiece. The sketch of "Knowledge Garbage" humorously reveals many religious beliefs, the boasting of nationalists and the inconsistency and illogicality in sexual behavior. It fully embodies Russell's thoughts and the best characteristics of the Nobel Prize in Literature mathematician's literary appreciation.
Three. Nobel Prize in Literature's acceptance speech 1950 —— Anders Austrin, Permanent Secretary of Literature of Swedish Academy;
1946 Russell was 74 years old when his masterpiece History of Western Philosophy came out. From all kinds of profound skills in his great works, we realize how hard he worked to achieve this result. For example, when talking about philosophers before Socrates, he said: "To study a philosopher, the correct attitude should be neither humble nor humble, and put yourself in their position first."
In another part of the book, he wrote: "It is not good to forget the problems discussed in philosophy or to have various preconceived and fixed philosophical answers in your mind. For those who are currently studying philosophy, teaching us how to learn to live in doubt, rather than being insensitive to it, may be the most important topic. "
For half a century, Russell has been the center of global concern and debate because of his superb personal thoughts. In addition to regular writing and research, he is always ready for any battle and has never slackened off for a day. In human knowledge and mathematics, his research results can be compared with Newton's achievements in mechanics. But he won Nobel Prize in Literature not because of his achievements in this field, but because he was able to successfully introduce general philosophy to people. He did the right thing.
His life's works are mainly to defend the conscience of the public. As a philosopher, he pursues the British empiricism philosophy line represented by Locke and Hume. He has never been tempted by those conceptual beliefs, and he is also a fierce opponent. He thinks that we should calmly examine and discuss the philosophy of continental Europe from the standpoint of Britain. He is like this, in a rigorous attitude, do not forget to play their own acumen. Calm and witty make his works full of these characteristics and become an extraordinary writer. Even from the point of view of pure literature, his works are immortal, such as History of Western Philosophy (1946), Human Knowledge-Its Limits and Scope (1948) and My Mental Journey (1948). Of course, many of his other works on social issues are also great and immortal.
The formation of Russell's views and opinions is influenced by many factors and cannot be simply summarized. His family's position on British politics has always been influenced by Whig tradition. His grandfather, john russell, is the spokesman of the Victorian Court. Therefore, he was influenced by liberalism when he was young, and later he was hit by socialist ideological trend. Make him a social critic who weighs everything and is good at independent thinking. He warmly warned us of the danger of new bureaucracy from beginning to end. He emphasized individual rights, opposed the centralized system, and was deeply worried about the threat of the growing industrial civilization to the interests of human simple life. 1920 After his visit to the Soviet Union, he expressed disappointment and disgust at * * * productism. On the contrary, in China, he was deeply attracted by the culture of China, and thought that the quiet spirit of Taoism and the enlightenment spirit of Confucianism could be used to balance the slightly radical and barbaric styles in western culture.
Many of Russell's works have attracted many attacks. Different from other philosophers, he thinks it is natural and urgent to be a writer. Of course, his rationalism can't solve all thorny problems, nor can it be used as a panacea, even if philosophers are willing to prescribe "prescriptions". Unfortunately, there is a magical power in the world, and it will always exist, which will make you out of rational analysis or control. Russell's works, even from a purely practical point of view, did not attract too much attention to his thoughts during the two world wars. It seems that they were mainly abandoned completely. But we especially admire thinkers like him, who are full of self-confidence and dare to push others with an optimistic and firm attitude and say what others dare not say. Every time we read his works, it is as comfortable as listening to the outspoken hero in Bernard Shaw's comedy, because that.
In a word, we can say that Russell's philosophy embodies Mr. alfred nobel's original motivation for awarding prizes, and their views on life are very similar. They also believe in skepticism and utopia, and their pessimistic view of the contemporary world pattern emphasizes the idealization of human behavior. The Swedish Academy has proved that Mr. Nobel's ideas can be carried forward for him. Therefore, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the award, I decided to award the award to Russell, as an advocate of idealism and humanitarianism in our time, and as a well-deserved giant of freedom of speech and ideological emancipation.
My God-exactly 200 years ago, Jean-Jean-jean-jacques rousseau won an award from Dijon College because he said "no" when answering the question "Can art and science contribute to human morality". Although this denial is not an earth-shattering move, there is no obvious result, and Dijon College has no revolutionary purpose, today, we award Nobel Prize in Literature to you with the same respect. Because your philosophical works undoubtedly show moral civilization and perfectly carry forward the Nobel spirit, we praise you as a leader in humanitarianism and ideological emancipation. At the same time, we are deeply honored that you came to the 50th anniversary celebration meeting of the Nobel Foundation. Now, please come to the stage to accept the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature presented by His Majesty the King.
Fourth, Bertrand Russell's personal views on the trial:
1940, Bertrand Russell, a world-famous philosopher and mathematician, received a letter of appointment from the City University of new york and invited him to give lectures in the philosophy department of the school for one year, but he was deprived of this opportunity before he arrived. He was accused of being an "advocate of immoral sexual relations" and was forced to endure slander and degrading court trials.
Now it seems that Russell's crime is really ridiculous. From 1925 to 1929, Russell wrote four books about family and marriage, namely, My Faith, Education and a Happy Life, Marriage and Morality, and Education and the Modern World. In the book, Russell skillfully and objectively commented.
Russell's view of marriage and family attracted unanimous opposition from social conservative forces. Archbishop new york, Brooklyn Catholic Church, fanatical religious organizations, many patriotic groups, local leaders of the Democratic Party and major newspapers all became guardians of traditional morality, and Russell became the target of their joint attack.
Abuse, insults and personal attacks flooded the world-famous scholar. Russell was once nicknamed "moral corruption", "pagan professor", "degenerate, outrageous, treacherous, sexual hybrid advocate", "the root of evil" and "the cancer of sexual liberation". Finally, Russell's point of view was once again rejected.
The retrial is purely a show. The judge prohibited Russell from defending himself, showing unconfirmed facts, refusing to discuss the "pornographic" description in Russell's book, attacking the defendant's personality and taking moral standards as the basis of the trial. According to a code applicable to primary and secondary schools, the judge announced that Russell was disqualified from teaching at new york University, and prevented Russell's lawyers from holding hearings and appeals, arrogantly declaring that Russell was not entitled to this right.
The vicious attacks and slanders of conservative forces failed to crush Russell. Although City University of new york failed to make it, Harvard University offered him a letter of appointment. 1950, the Swiss Academic Council voted to award Nobel Prize in Literature to Russell.
Verb (abbreviation of verb) s critical reaction to Bertrand Russell s Nobel Prize;
June1950165438+10/0 When Russell learned that he had heard from Nobel Prize in Literature, he was preparing to give a speech entitled "Heart and Things" at Princeton University. There are many famous scholars in the audience, including Albert Einstein. His speech won endless applause. At that time, Russell commented: "I am very happy to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
In a sense, Russell had to share people's attention with william faulkner. Due to the delay in awarding the prize in 1949, Faulkner received the notice from Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949, and Russell issued it at the same time. Moreover, 1950 is a special year, which is the 50th anniversary of the founding of Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy Literature Award selected a writer who had never published a poem or a literary work. By equating Nobel's beliefs with Russell's,