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Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Russell Philosophy Anti-Philosophy

‘Philosophy’ has never been Wisdom. Chapter 26: Bertrand Russell 4: breaking statements into logical atoms

BR thought that many problems of Philosophy cease being problems if one exposes the hidden elements of meaning that they are actually made of.  Philosophy had always created insoluble pseudo-problems for itself by not exposing them. This was his Logical Atomism or Logical Analysis. Russell’s had previously tried to reduce mathematics to logic, which was called Logicism (see here).   Now his Logical Atomism was trying to reduce statements in language…

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Bertrand Russell Logicism Anti-Philosophy

‘Philosophy’ has neve been Wisdom. Chapter 24: Bertrand Russell 2: boiling maths down to logic

Russell’s attempt to show that mathematics is just glorified logic is called Logicism.  It was a pretty convincing attempt. He published it in Principia Mathematica  (1910-1913) which he wrote with Whitehead.  This post is a summary of it, paraphrased from other sites that explain it for us.   Logicism is in the philosophy of mathematics and consists of one or more of these theses: that mathematics is an extension of logic,…

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Bertrand Russell Anti-Philosophy

‘Philosophy’ has never been Wisdom. Chapter23: Bertrand Russell 1: his human wisdoms

Bertrand Russell always struck me as lacking in human intelligence.  His mind whirred like a clock, endlessly doing logico-mathematical puzzles, and applying them to human matters.  He showed no awareness of the darkness and depth in men’s souls.  He was rationalistic, humanistic and pacifistic, and believed in his own goodness because goodness, you see, is what he intended. He had no idea of the hearts of human beings or of…

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