An Outline of Philosophy

Bertrand Russell

Jan 2023 · Open Road Media

About this ebook

The Nobel Prize–winning British scholar offers readers an introduction to philosophy and explores how we acquire knowledge from the world around us.

British philosopher Bertrand Russell believed philosophy was concerned with the universe as a whole. In An Outline of Philosophy, he analyzes the differences between the physical world as defined by modern science and the reality we perceive as humans. He looks at methods of gaining knowledge, learning in infants and animals, as well as the role of linguistic ability. Finally, Russell discusses great philosophers from the past and how some of them might approach the question of humanity’s place in the universe.

Originally published in 1927, An Outline of Philosophy was considered quite controversial. However, Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950 “in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought.”

“A book of real value. . . . The writing is nearly always of the delightful clarity that we have learned to expect.” —The Times Literary Supplement 

“A book which we cannot afford to miss if we think at all.” —The Spectator

About the author

Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, social reformer, and pacifist. Although he spent the majority of his life in England, he was born in Wales, where he also died. Russell led the British “revolt against Idealism” in the early twentieth century and is one of the founders of analytic philosophy along with his protégé Wittgenstein and his elder Frege. He co-authored, with A. N. Whitehead, Principia Mathematica, an attempt to ground mathematics on logic. His philosophical essay “On Denoting” has been considered a “paradigm of philosophy.” Both works have had a considerable influence on logic, mathematics, set theory, linguistics and analytic philosophy. 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, for nuclear disarmament. He criticized Soviet totalitarianism and the United States of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. 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.”