Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) advocated by
Barry Smith 
Listen to Barry Smith say why you should vote for Bertrand Russell'Man is a rational animal - so at least I have been told. Throughout a long life, I have looked diligently for evidence in favor of this statement, but so far I have not had the good fortune to come across it.'
An English philosopher renowned for his work on mathematical logic, Bertrand Russell published
Principia Mathematica (1910-13) which gave rise to provocative and revolutionary ideas such as the axiom of infinity and the theory of types.
The informal godson of John Stuart Mill and mentor of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Russell studied at Cambridge and later returned as a fellow and lecturer.
In reaction to World War I he became a radical pacifist, incurring government fines, dismissal from Cambridge and finally a 6-month prison sentence. He was actively involved in social reform almost until his death.
He believed in the beauty and permanency of mathematics but also stated "Mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true."
When asked about whether he would be prepared to die for his beliefs he replied "Of course not. After all, I may be wrong."
He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950 and his enduring works shaped the face of 20th century British philosophy.
Works by Bertrand Russell on
Project Gutenberg including
The Problems of Philosophy and
The Analysis of Mind.
Read about Bertrand Russell on WikipediaRead about Russell's Paradox on the Internet Encyclopedia of PhilosophyRead about Bertrand Russell on the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Please note: the BBC accepts no responsibility for the content of external websites.
Listen to Barry Smith say why you should vote for Bertrand Russell
Barry Smith
Barry Smith is Lecturer in Philosophy and Head of School at Birkbeck College, London. He specialises in Theoretical Linguistics, Philosophy of Language and Philosophy of Psychology. His central interests are in language and mind and his particular focus is on knowledge of language and its relation to other aspects of the mind. His books include Understanding Language (1992), Knowing Our Own Minds, edited with Crispin Wright and Cynthia Macdonald (1998), and Realism and Anti-Realism: An Enquiry into meaning, truth and objectivity (2002).
