Bertrand Russell Bertrand Russell, 1872- 1970, was a 20th century British philosopher, mathematician, logician, historian, atheist or agnostic. He is also one of the most famous and influential scholars and pacifist social activists in the west in the last century. Russell is also considered to have established analytical philosophy with Frege, Wittgenstein and Whitehead. The Principles of Mathematics, which he co-authored with Whitehead, has great influence on logic, mathematics, theory, linguistics and analytical philosophy. From 65438 to 0950, Russell won the Nobel Prize in Literature in recognition of his "diverse and important works, his persistent pursuit of humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought".
Russell's Philosophical Thought
Russell became interested in mathematics at first, and then gradually turned to philosophy, so he also made many important achievements in mathematics. In the aspect of mathematical logic, Russell put forward Russell paradox. Russell realized in 1900 that mathematics is a part of logic. 19 10, he and his teacher alfred north whitehead published three volumes of Principles of Mathematics, in which the concepts were preliminarily and systematically sorted out.
In philosophy, Russell's greatest contribution is that he founded analytical philosophy with G E Moore. In addition, he also made contributions to epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, political philosophy and philosophy history. At Cambridge University, Russell believed in idealism and new hegelianism, but in 1898, under the influence of Moore, Russell gave up idealism and turned to realism, and soon became an advocate of "new realism". Since then, Russell has always emphasized the importance of modern logic and science and criticized idealism.
Russell's analytical philosophy was born: by transforming philosophical problems into logical symbols, philosophers can deduce and derive results more easily without being misled by inaccurate language. Russell thinks that the difference between philosophy and other natural sciences lies only in its research direction, and the content of philosophical research is broader, but their research methods should be the same. Philosophy, like mathematics, can get definite answers by applying logical methods, and the job of philosophers is to find an ideal logical language that can explain the nature of the world.
Russell's achievements and contributions
Russell enjoys a high reputation in the fields of modern western philosophy, logic and social politics.
In the academic field, he is not only the main founder of popular analytical philosophy in the 20th century, but also a logician who has made important contributions to the development of mathematical logic. His activities in the political field have great influence on the international stage.
As the main founder of analytical philosophy, Russell's influence on analytical philosophy is not only manifested in his views, but also in his direct influence on Moore and Wittgenstein, the other two founders of analytical philosophy, Carnap, the main representative of logical positivism, and Bolin, the main representative of logical pragmatism.
As a logician, Russell is even considered as the greatest logician since Aristotle. His contribution to mathematical logic is universally acknowledged, and his book Principles of Mathematics, which he cooperated with Whitehead, is recognized as the cornerstone of modern mathematical logic. His "Russell Paradox" promoted the development of logic in the 20th century, and his typology theory made great contributions to solving this paradox. The logicism he advocated-that is, the core concepts of mathematics can be defined by logical concepts-also had a certain impact on the development of mathematics.
As a social activist and social thinker, Russell devoted himself to the discussion of education, ethics, marriage, social reform, history and politics, as well as feminist movement and peace movement for decades. His discussions and activities have changed people's attitudes towards life and brought countless people into philosophy. His knowledge and achievements have blossomed and borne fruit all over the world.