The Cambridge Companion to Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Russell ranks as one of the giants of twentieth-century philosophy. Through his books, journalism, correspondence and political activity he exerted a profound influence on modern thought. This companion centers on Russell’s contributions to modern philosophy and, therefore, concentrates on the early part of his career. There are chapters on Russell’s contributions to the foundations of mathematics, and on his development of new logical methods in philosophy and their application to such fields as epistemology, metaphysics and the philosophy of language. The intellectual background to his work is covered, as is his engagement with such contemporaries as Frege and G. E. Moore. The final chapter considers Russell as a moral philosopher. New readers will find this the most convenient and accessible guide to Russell available. Advanced students and specialists will find a conspectus of recent developments in the interpretation of Russell.

Introduction Nicholas Griffin; 1. Mathematics in and behind Russell’s logicism, and its reception I. Grattan-Guinness; 2. Russell’s philosophical background Nicholas Griffin; 3. Russell and Moore, 1898–1905 Richard L. Cartwright; 4. Russell and Frege Michael Beaney; 5. Bertrand Russell’s logicism Martin Godwyn and A. D. Irvine; 6. The theory of description Peter Hylton; 7. Russell’s substitutional theory Gregory Landini; 8. The theory of types Alasdair Urquhart; 9. Russell’s method of analysis Paul Hager; 10. Russell’s neutral monism R. E. Tully; 11. The metaphysics of logical atomism Bernard Linsky; 12. Russell’s structuralism and the absolute description of the world William Demopoulos; 13. From knowledge by acquaintance to knowledge by causation Thomas Baldwin; 14. Russell, experience and the roots of science A. C. Grayling; 15. Bertrand Russell: moral philosopher or unphilosophical moralist? Charles R. Pidgen.

‘All academic libraries catering for serious philosophers will want to stock copies of this book, to sit alongside the 28 volumes of Russell’s collected papers and his 22 monograph philosophical works.’ – Reference Reviews

‘This book does the job of a Companion extremely well whilst managing a few surprises along the way. We are given a wealth of historical background material surrounding Russell\'s early work that is extremely well researched and, at times, highly illuminating, together with clarity and coherence of exposition regarding some extremely challenging areas in logic, mathematics, philosophy of language, metaphysics and epistemology. This is combined with original and interesting interpretation that can meet the demands of more advanced Russell scholars without detracting from its usefulness as a reference work. Doubtless this will prove a valuable addition to work on Russell for many years to come.‘ – British Journal for the History of Philosophy