scientific article; zbMATH DE number 2061781

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Publication date 25 March 2004

Bertrand Russell epistemology ethics philosophy of language philosophy of logic philosophy of mathematics

Philosophy of mathematics (00A30) Collections of articles of general interest (00B10) History of mathematics in the 20th century (01A60) General reference works (handbooks, dictionaries, bibliographies, etc.) pertaining to mathematical logic and foundations (03-00) History of mathematical logic and foundations (03-03) Philosophical and critical aspects of logic and foundations (03A05)

Review text

This collection of fifteen essays is intended as a companion to the philosophy of Bertrand Russell aiming at providing a reference work for students and non-specialists. It is exclusively concerned with Russell's contributions to philosophy. The useful introduction (pp.\ 1--50), provided by the editor, gives in a first part a survey on Russell's life. The second part on his philosophy tries to link together its different branches and versions, no doubt a challenge of a special kind, because Russell ``changed his position, even on fundamental matters, several times over a long career, prompting his former student, C.\ D. Broad, to remark that he produced a new system of philosophy every few years (p.\ 18). The volume contains the following essays: \textit{I.\ Grattan-Guinness}, ``Mathematics in and behind Russell's logicism (pp. 51--83), discussing Russell's early work in logic in the context of his interest for the philosophy of mathematics, including its prehistory in mathematical analysis, and its reception; \textit{N.\ Griffin}, ``Russell's philosophical background (pp. 84--107), dealing with Russell's neo-Hegelian roots and their influence on his later philosophy, e.g., on investigation of paradoxes; \textit{R.\ L.\ Cartwright}, ``Russell and Moore, 1898--1905 (pp. 108--127) on the relation between Russell and his colleague at Trinity College Cambridge, G.\ E.\ Moore, dealing with their role in establishing a `new philosophy'; \textit{M.\ Beaney}, ``Russell and Frege (pp. 128--170), giving a comparison of their philosophies of logic, pointing also to differing conceptions and practises in analysis; \textit{M.\ Godwyn and A.\ D.\ Irvine}, ``Bertrand Russell's logicism (pp. 171--201) on Russell's version of logicism, according to which the logicist's goal is ``to show that all pure mathematics follows from purely logical premises and uses only concepts definable in logical terms (quote according to p.\ 171); \textit{P. Hylton}, ``The theory of description (pp. 202--240); \textit{G.\ Landini}, ``Russell's substitutional theory (pp. 241--285) in the context of Russell's type-theoretical attempts to overcome the paradoxes; \textit{A.\ Urquhart}, ``The theory of types (pp. 286--309), discussing early type-theoretical conceptions, the ramified theory of types, the axiom of reducibility, and the simple theory of types; \textit{P.\ Hager}, ``Russell's method of analysis (pp. 310--331) on the two parts of `philosophical analysis' with a first stage proceeding backwards from a body of knowledge to its premises (`analysis') and a second stage proceeding forwards from the premisses to a reconstruction of the original body of knowledge (`synthesis', `construction'). Russell's widely ignored later writings are also considered: \textit{R.\ E.\ Tully}, ``Russell's neutral monism (pp. 332--370), a central constituent of Russell's metaphysics in the period between 1914 and 1927; \textit{B.\ Linsky}, ``The metaphysics of logical atomism (pp. 371--391), a combination of metaphysical and logical doctrines which Russell held in the period from around 1910 to at least 1925; \textit{W.\ Demopoulos}, ``Russell's structuralism and the absolute description of the world (pp. 392--419) on Russell's concept of structure as being fully articulated in his ``The analysis of matter [London: Kegan, Trench, Trübner \& Co. (1927; JFM 53.0052.05)] and subsequent papers; \textit{T.\ Baldwin}, ``From knowledge by acquaintance to knowledge by causation (pp. 420--448) on central epistemological views of Russell's; \textit{A.\ C.\ Grayling}, ``Russell, experience, and the roots of science (pp. 449--474), giving evidence for the claim that Russell was an empiricist; \textit{C.\ S.\ Pigden}, ``Bertrand Russell: moral philosopher or unphilosophical moralist? (pp. 475--506), distinguishing six phases of Russell's ethical theory. A selective bibliography (pp. 507--540) and an index (pp. 541--550) complete the volume.

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