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    How To Become A Philosopher; How To Become A Logician; How To Become A Mathematician
    How To Become A Philosopher; How To Become A Logician; How To Become A Mathematician
    How To Become A Philosopher; How To Become A Logician; How To Become A Mathematician
    Ebook85 pages1 hour

    How To Become A Philosopher; How To Become A Logician; How To Become A Mathematician

    By Bertrand Russell

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    About this ebook

    A brief yet informative book by one of the founders of analytic philosophy in which he introduces the reader to various analytic movements throughout the 20th century—Philosophy, Logicism, and Mathematics—and their application. A prolific writer on many subjects, and a great popularizer of philosophy, author Bertrand Russell is eminently placed to discuss these topics.

    An invaluable addition to any philosophy library!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMuriwai Books
    Release dateDec 1, 2018
    ISBN9781789124934
    How To Become A Philosopher; How To Become A Logician; How To Become A Mathematician
    Author

    Bertrand Russell

    Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) was born in Wales and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. His long career established him as one of the most influential philosophers, mathematicians, and social reformers of the twentieth century.

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    • 5/5
      This book forms a good foundation for understanding philosophy, logic. and mathematician. Although I. picked it up because I recently found an interest in philosophy, I was able to learn a lot more about logical deductions and even mathematic than I did before. The examples used to explain various topics will allow even those without a background in philosophy and mathematics to comfortably understand what the author is trying to address and instil in the reader.
      I've always felt intimidated to read Bertand Russel(and other philosophers) but now I'm curious to explore his. other works.
    • 4/5
      A concise introduction to all three domains - philosophy, logic and mathematics. Russel begins with some history and then examples and then a paradigm on how to approach problems within each of these domains.
    • 5/5
      Great introduce for mathematic and philosophy, logic, and science.

    Book preview

    How To Become A Philosopher; How To Become A Logician; How To Become A Mathematician - Bertrand Russell

    This edition is published by Muriwai Books – www.pp-publishing.com

    To join our mailing list for new titles or for issues with our books – muriwaibooks@gmail.com

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    Text originally published in 1942 under the same title.

    © Muriwai Books 2018, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

    Publisher’s Note

    Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

    We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

    HOW TO BECOME A PHILOSOPHER

    The Art of Rational Conjecture

    HOW TO BECOME A LOGICIAN

    The Art of Drawing Inferences

    HOW TO BECOME A MATHEMATICIAN

    The Art of Reckoning

    BY

    BERTRAND RUSSELL

    Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Contents

    TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

    BERTRAND RUSSELL’S CAREER 4

    HOW TO BECOME A PHILOSOPHER—The Art of Rational Conjecture 5

    HOW TO BECOME A LOGICIAN—The Art of Drawing Inferences 17

    HOW TO BECOME A MATHEMATICIAN—The Art of Reckoning 30

    REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 44

    BERTRAND RUSSELL’S CAREER

    Trinity College, Cambridge. Fellow, 1895-1901. Lecturer, 1910-1916. Visiting Professor at Harvard, 1914. Professor at Government University of Peking, 1920-21. Lecturer at Cambridge, 1926. Special lecturer at the London School of Economics and Political Science, 1937, and the University of Oxford, 1938. Visiting professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago, 1938-39. Professor of philosophy at the University of California at Los Angeles, 1939-40. Fellow of the Royal Society. Nicholas Murray Butler Medal of Columbia University, 1915. Sylvester Medal of the Royal Society, 1932. De Morgan Medal of the London Mathematical Society, 1932.

    Books by Bertrand Russell: Essay on the Foundations of Geometry, 1897. The Philosophy of Leibniz, 1900. The Principles of Mathematics, 1903. (With A. N. Whitehead): Principia Mathematica, 3 vols., 1910-1913. Our Knowledge of the External World, 1915. Principles of Social Reconstruction (Why Men Fight), 1917. Analysis of Matter, 1927. Freedom and Organization 1814-1914, 1934. Power: a New Social Analysis, 1938. An Inquiry into Meaning and Truth, 1941. Bertrand Russell is also the author of a number of Little Blue Books.

    HOW TO BECOME A PHILOSOPHER—The Art of Rational Conjecture

    Let us begin with a few words as to what philosophy is. It is not definite knowledge, for that is science. Nor is it groundless credulity, such as that of savages. It is something between these two extremes; perhaps it might be called The art of rational conjecture. According to this definition, philosophy tells us how to proceed when we want to find out what may be true, or is most likely to be true, where it is impossible to know with certainty what is true. The art of rational conjecture is very useful in two different ways. First: often the most difficult step in the discovery of what is true is thinking of a hypothesis which may be true; when once the hypothesis has been thought of, it can be tested, but it may require a man of genius to think of it. Second: we often have to act in spite of uncertainty, because delay would be dangerous or fatal; in such a case, it is useful to possess an art by which we can judge what is probable. This art, so far as very general hypotheses are concerned, is philosophy. Particular questions, such as will it rain tomorrow? do not belong to philosophy; philosophy is concerned with general questions, such as: Is the world governed by mechanical laws, or has it a cosmic purpose, or has it both characteristics at once? Philosophy examines whether anything can be said on such general questions.

    The first thing to realize, if you wish to become a philosopher, is that most people go through life with a whole world of beliefs that have no sort of rational justification, and that one man’s world of beliefs is apt to be incompatible with another man’s, so that they cannot both be right. People’s opinions are mainly designed to make them feel comfortable; truth, for most people, is a secondary consideration. You, dear readers, have of course no prejudices; but you will admit that in this you are different from most people. I shall suppose that you are a Baptist from Tennessee. It is obvious to you that America is the greatest country in the world, that Tennessee is the most distinguished of the States, and that the Baptists are the sole repositories of theological truth. Let us suppose that I concede all this. What am I to say to a man from another State or another country? How can I persuade a French Canadian Catholic of the truths which are so luminously evident to you? There are still a good many points about which you and he will agree, but how if you have to argue with a Turk or a Hindu or a Confucian? You will find them questioning most of what you have accepted as unquestionable, and if you are to argue profitably with them you will have to find common ground beneath your respective assumptions.

    You will still find some things about which you can agree with the Turk. Are men descended from monkeys? Perish the thought. Is man the supreme glory of the universe? Of course. On such matters your common humanity makes you see eye to eye. But if one day an intelligent being were to arrive from Mars, he might turn out to be as superior to men as men are to monkeys; he might think the difference between men and monkeys very slight, and consider it obvious that they had a common ancestry. He would assert the claims of Mars (unless he were a philosopher) as confidently as you had asserted the claims of Kansas. And what could you do about it?

    If you wish to become a philosopher, you must try, as far as you can, to get rid of beliefs which depend solely upon the place and time of your education, and upon what your parents and schoolmasters told you. No one can do this completely, and no one can be a perfect philosopher, but up to a point we can all achieve it if we wish to. But why should we wish to? you may ask. There are several reasons. One of them is that irrational opinions have a great deal to do with war and other forms of violent strife. The only way in which a society can live for any length of time without violent strife is by establishing social justice, and social justice appears to each man to be injustice if he is persuaded that he is superior to his neighbors. Justice between classes is difficult where there is a class that believes itself to have a right to more than a proportionate

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