Bertrand Russell’s Ten Commandments for Living in a Healthy Democracy

Bertrand Russell’s Ten Commandments for Living in a Healthy Democracy

Bertrand Russell saw the history of civilization as being shaped by an unfortunate oscillation between two opposing evils: tyranny and anarchy, each of which contain the seed of the other. The best course for steering clear of either one, Russell maintained, is liberalism. “The doctrine of liberalism is an attempt to escape from this endless oscillation,” writes […]

An Animated Introduction to Ludwig Wittgenstein & His Philosophical Insights on the Problems of Human Communication

An Animated Introduction to Ludwig Wittgenstein & His Philosophical Insights on the Problems of Human Communication

In the recorded history of philosophy, there may be no sharper a mind than Ludwig Wittgenstein. A bête noire, enfant terrible, and all other such phrases used to describe affronts to order and decorum, Wittgenstein also represented an anarchic force that disturbed the staid discipline. His teacher Bertrand Russell recognized the existential threat Wittgenstein posed to his profession […]

Bertrand Russell on Immortality, Why Religion Exists, and What “The Good Life” Really Means

Bertrand Russell on Immortality, Why Religion Exists, and What “The Good Life” Really Means

“There are forces making for happiness, and forces making for misery. We do not know which will prevail, but to act wisely we must be aware of both.” Bertrand Russell (May 18, 1872–February 2, 1970) is one of humanity’s most grounding yet elevating thinkers, his writing at once lucid and luminous. There is something almost […]