Bertrand Russell's life
Bertrand Russell (1872- 1970), a famous bourgeois thinker and social activist in the 20th century, has written more than 40 works and many papers or other articles. His achievements in many aspects have profoundly influenced western philosophy.
"Lonely childhood
1May, 87218th, Russell was born into a noble family in Trelek, monmouth, England. His grandfather Earl john russell served as Prime Minister twice, and was the leader who fought for the passage of the 1832 British Reform Act. Russell's mother died when he was two years old, and his father and sister died about a year later. 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. Grandmother was a devout Puritan, and Russell was oppressed by strict and simple family education. He takes a bath in cold water every morning. Adults never give fruit or drink beer. So Russell was introverted when he was young. He was not sent to school, and was taken care of by foreign nannies and tutors since childhood, learning German, French and Italian. Russell's grandfather has an extremely rich collection of books. He often hides in it, absorbing knowledge of literature, history and geography. He has the habit of thinking hard, which is undoubtedly influenced by his grandmother. By his own admission, he has been bored 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 Russell's childhood provided neural factors and primitive soil for the formation of his withdrawn, arrogant, suspicious and changeable personality and unique dependence thought.
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 we can know and how much we know" in a skeptical and cautious style.
1890 10, Russell was admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge University, thus entering an educational garden with fresh air and active thoughts. However, the teacher had little influence on him, but his interaction with his classmates benefited him a lot. Soon, he got to know the famous figures of the school, such as Whitehead, Moore, Mactaggart and economist Keynes, and soon 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 the philosophy of mathematics, based on geometry, trying to correct Kant's theory that the form of time and space is a priori comprehensive judgment. This qualifies him 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 gave up his long-cherished idealism and turned to realism, determined to seek a correct mathematical theory.
1900 In July, I met Pi Nuo, the founder of symbolic logic. After reading Pi Nuo's works, Russell felt that many questions were suddenly answered. In June 5438+10 in the same year, he and Whitehead co-wrote Principles of Mathematics, which were published in three volumes in June 5438 +09 10 and June 5438 +09 1 12. This book is epoch-making in the history of logical development. Since then, logic has been independent from philosophy. Later, German universities classified mathematical logic into the Department of Mathematics. All this proves Russell's special position.
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 Russell Paradox, many mathematicians and logicians put forward various theoretical schemes, but none of them can explain it. Russell himself interrupted the writing of Principles of Mathematics for further study. Later, he put forward the "type theory" to explain this phenomenon. "type theory" had a great influence, which made mathematicians realize the importance of studying some words and semantics, and also gave birth to another kind of Russell's philosophical thought, 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 is only a simple nature and a simple relationship between them, so the way to understand the essence of anything or theme is to analyze until there is no "logical atom" to analyze. Logical atoms are not small particles of matter, but so-called ideas that make up things. Russell's theory had a great influence on Vienna School in the mid-1920s and logic semantics in the 1930s.
More important in Russell's philosophy is his "neutral monism". The matter that constitutes the world is neither a pure heart nor a pure thing, let alone the binary opposition between heart and thing, but something that is neither a heart nor a thing and takes a neutral attitude towards heart and thing. This neutral thing sometimes refers to events, sometimes to senses and materials. This "world material" is the most primitive thing that constitutes the mind. These views are embodied in his two books, Analysis of Things and Analysis of Mind, which were completed in 192 1.
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 and praised the Manifesto of the Producers' Party and the three-volume Das Kapital as great works with great literary talent. At that time, he had contacts 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 Anti-Conscription Association, delivered a series of speeches calling for peace, and gave sincere help to those who refused to take part 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. Subsequently, Trinity College also dismissed his faculty. 19 18, he wrote an editorial for an anti-war newspaper and was imprisoned for six months for "insulting the Allies". In view of his reputation, 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 bourgeois belief in the goal of * * *, but also expressed concern about the political and social lifestyle of the Soviet Union. 1920 August, Russell visited China. He has always sympathized with the oppressed people. In Ying Bu War, he sided with the Boers, so he was extremely isolated among the British nobles.
1934, his Freedom and Courage:1814 ~1914 came out. In the book, he elaborated his political thoughts concretely and systematically, and put forward that politics, economy and historical figures are three important aspects of social and political history. 1938, he wrote "power", advocating the realization of "taming power law" to limit the power desire of some politicians.
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.
After the 1950s, Russell became a heroic soldier defending peace. 1953, the United States tested a hydrogen bomb, which changed his political views. He advocated that he would rather live under dictatorship than fight a war, which showed his concern about future wars. 1954 12, Russell delivered a radio speech on "The Danger Facing Mankind" on the BBC, severely condemning the bikini hydrogen bomb test. At the beginning of 1955, the famous Russell-Einstein nuclear ban statement signed by scientists from all over the world was drafted and published. 196 1 In order to oppose the development of nuclear weapons by the US government, 89-year-old Mrs. Russell took part in a demonstration in London. Later, during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, he urged 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, the attitude eased. However, during the Vietnam War, he provided funds to organize mock judgments on American leaders' war crimes. The war court presided over by Sartre and Aitke Deutscher opened in Stockholm in May 1967, and filed a detailed public prosecution against the activities of the US military. 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 graduating from Cambridge University, Russell married Alice, an American beauty. She is five years older than Russell and comes from an American civilian family. This marriage aroused strong opposition from his aristocratic family. They used various means to prevent this inappropriate combination, including arranging Russell to work in the British Embassy in Paris, in order to break up the young couple. But Russell broke through many obstacles and resolutely held a wedding without family, and went to Germany and Italy for their honeymoon. This marriage lasted from 1894 to the second marriage, and there were several love experiences, including an affair with the gorgeous Mrs. Otolan Morrel, Mrs. constance Malleson and the famous actor Colette O 'Neill.
1921September, Russell returned to England from China and formally divorced Alice after ten years. A week later, they married Dora. 1927, they rented a villa of their brother, and established "Bikenshan Primary School" to practice his educational philosophy of "tolerance". Because the economic source only depends on Russell's manuscript fee and the prejudice of local public opinion, the primary school ended in failure. 1935, he divorced Dora and left Bijiashan Primary School, which was maintained by Dora until 1940.
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.
From the age of 80, Russell began to write novels. Because of his writing, 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. When Russell won the Medal of Honor, she wrote a warm congratulatory letter to Russell and prepared to organize Russell's 78th birthday. However, when she saw Russell hopefully again, she unfortunately broke her leg on the stairs and died a week later. Her wish to see Russell failed to come true.
Russell was thin and had black hair when he was young. When a man reaches middle age, he becomes thinner. His bright eyes, slight smile, white hair and the image of a philosopher give 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 has been full of twists and turns, and people have different opinions on him. But he is indeed a man who has had a great influence on this century. Russell described the motivation of his long, exciting and complicated life as follows: "Three simple but extremely strong emotions dominate my life: the longing for love, the pursuit of knowledge and deep sympathy for human suffering." He also said that there is only one kind of emotion, that is, the desire for love is completely satisfied. He was 80 years old when he got married for the fourth time.
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 style of writing is not good unless it is a direct and almost unconscious expression of the writer's personality, and this personality is worth showing." After some exploration, he chose his own style of writing, which requires him to draw a conclusion through his own thinking first, and then he can write the conclusion directly and naturally. He asserted: "In my opinion, Flaubert and Pate are the best forgotten." This way of writing, which is embodied in the obviously expressive personality, makes Russell's works have literary value, rather than the general expression of philosophical thoughts. Although his professional works are not easily accepted by untrained readers, his equally sharp writing 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 disagreed with the literary value of Russell's works, most critics praised Russell's prose for its simplicity and fluency.
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 were angered when they appeared. He denounced people's cruel nature in the state of religious belief and sexual ignorance, which sounded like the latest enlightener to lash out at superstition and ignorance, but Russell was in the same era as many English literary aristocrats with 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 point of perfection, which made Russell be regarded as one of the moralists who changed people's minds.
Among all his works, none caused such a big conflict on moral issues as 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 an independent entity; Then, people are interpreted as an inverted phenomenon, and the physiology of this inverted phenomenon can be completely explained by physics, so that Russell immediately became the target of all moralists. In Russell's view, the question about the existence of God is "beyond the reach of knowledge". The terrible inquisition has brought "great harm" to mankind. Russell put forward his own view on replacing theology based on fear and ignorance: "A good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge."
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 correct. Therefore, as a rule, Russell's definition of free will is too weak to be praised or criticized. By his own admission, this kind of praise and criticism may be the cause of other behaviors, but it has no real moral significance.
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 expounded in Basic Principles of Ethics (19 10) and Human Society in Ethics and Politics (1954).
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 standard of living, and the concrete fragments of the 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 instill the shallow concept of "politeness" in young people. This concept of "good manners" has no doubt about its own correctness, and thinks that proper manners are more worthy of expectation and "pursuit" than intellectual or artistic creation, or vitality, or any other source of progress in the world.
Russell expounded his views on good schools and good teachers in The Purpose of Education (1926). 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 just 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 "the perfect example of courage appears in people with many interests, who feel that self is only a small part of the world." This is achieved not by despising yourself, but by attaching importance to many things that do not belong to you. "
The third characteristic of a good education is sensitivity, especially the rare but important abstract compassion. This kind of sympathy helps to alleviate those distant and invisible pains. Russell said that in personal contacts, friendly and generous people may be people who make money by exploiting the industries of many poor people. 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 peoples is tolerated."
Finally, in school education, we must develop intelligence. The cultivation of this kind of intelligence 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 talent-a genius for expressing satire and sarcasm in fluent writing-is vividly reflected in Sketch of Knowledge Garbage: 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. Sketch of Intellectuals' Rubbish humorously reveals the contradictions and illogicalities in many religious beliefs, nationalists' boasting and sexual behavior. It fully embodies Russell's thoughts and the outstanding characteristics of the mathematician who won Nobel Prize in Literature'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: "The correct attitude to study a philosopher should be neither supercilious nor servile. Put yourself in his shoes until you understand his thoughts, and then give up the previous prejudice as much as possible and adopt a correct critical attitude. "
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 studying philosophy at present, teaching us how to live in doubt without making it insensitive 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 to meet any battle and never slackens. 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. In doing so, he is the most successful example of always maintaining interest in philosophers.
His life's works are mainly to defend the public conscience. As a philosopher, he pursues the British empiricism philosophy line represented by Locke and Hume. He has never been tempted by those idealistic beliefs, and he is also a fierce opponent. He believes that we should calmly examine and discuss the philosophy of continental Europe from the standpoint of Britain. He is like this. In his rigorous attitude, he never forgets to display his keenness, calmness and wit, which makes his works full of these characteristics and become an extraordinary writer. Even from the perspective of pure literature, his works are immortal. For example, History of Western Philosophy (1946), Human Knowledge-Its Limit and Scope (1948) and My Mental Journey (included in the book Russell's Philosophical Thoughts published by 195 1); 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 met with the impact of socialist ideological trend, which made him a social critic who weighed everything and was good at independent thinking. From beginning to end, he warmly warned us of the dangers of new bureaucracy, emphasized individual rights, opposed 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 capitalism. On the contrary, during his trip to China, he was deeply attracted by the culture of China. He thought that the quiet spirit of Taoism and the 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 this is natural and urgent as 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 always a magical power in the world that prevents you from rational analysis or control. In this way, Russell's works, even from a purely practical point of view, did not attract much attention to his thoughts during the two world wars. It seems that they were mainly abandoned completely. But we especially admire his thinker who is full of self-confidence and dares to squeeze through the crowd 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.
In a word, we can say: 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 confirmed that he inherited Mr. Nobel's ideas. Therefore, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of this award, I decided to award it 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. Therefore, we praise you as a leading figure in humanitarianism and ideological emancipation, and at the same time, we are deeply honored that you are here to celebrate the 50th anniversary 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 comments on a series of problems in modern marriage life, and finally puts forward that "trial marriage" may reduce the rising divorce rate.
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. "Moral corruptor", "pagan professor", "degenerate, heinous, treacherous and sexual hybrid advocate", "the root of evil" and "cancer of sexual liberation" became Russell's nicknames for a time. Finally, Russell's views are said to be "pro-productive parties" without exception.
A woman in Brooklyn is afraid that her underage daughter will become Russell's student, accusing him of not only moral corruption, but also heresy, and demanding that he be disqualified from teaching at the City University of new york. The lady's lawyer slandered Russell in vicious language and filed a lawsuit in court. Because of the unclear nature of the prosecution, Russell got rid of an insulting court lawsuit. However, the judge who accepted the case openly violated the principle of justice and decided to retry. Instigated by the lawyer, the judge was obviously partial to the plaintiff and public opinion. The court's behavior shows that American courts are largely manipulated by politics. The legal profession criticized the judge's explicit behavior. 197 1 published an article "the whole story of Bertrand Russell case" which analyzed this incident in detail. )
The retrial was 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 standard 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 defeat Russell. City University of new york didn't make it, and Harvard University sent 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;
1950165438+1October 10, 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 long applause. At that time, Russell commented: "I am very happy to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. This is one of the two highest honors I have won, and the other is the Medal of Honor of the British Empire. "
In a sense, Russell had to share people's attention with william faulkner. Due to the delay in awarding the prize in 1949, Faulkner was notified by Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949 and was awarded by Russell. Moreover, 1950 is a special year, which is the 50th anniversary of the founding of Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy Literature Award chose a writer who had never published poetry or literary works, and expressed his nostalgia for alfred nobel by equating Nobel's beliefs with Russell's rationalism and liberalism.