Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Preliminaries
- Part II Atheisms in History
- Part III Reformation, Renaissance, Enlightenment
- Part IV Classical Modernity: Philosophical and Scientific Currents
- Part V Classical Modernity: Social and Political Currents
- 23 The French Revolution
- 24 Freethinkers, Atheists, and Anticlericals: Spanish American Struggles for Independence
- 25 Marx and Marxisms
- 26 Nineteenth-Century Russia
- 27 Secularism and Humanism
- 28 Bertrand Russell
- 29 Robert Ingersoll
- 30 Early Women’s Movement
- 31 Early African American Secularism
- Part VI Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: Intellectual and Artistic Currents
- Part VII Lived Atheism in the Twentieth- and Twenty-First Centuries: Case-Studies
- Part VIII Emerging Atheisms in the Twenty-First Century
- Part IX Conclusion
- Index
- References
28 - Bertrand Russell
from Part V - Classical Modernity: Social and Political Currents
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 September 2021
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Preliminaries
- Part II Atheisms in History
- Part III Reformation, Renaissance, Enlightenment
- Part IV Classical Modernity: Philosophical and Scientific Currents
- Part V Classical Modernity: Social and Political Currents
- 23 The French Revolution
- 24 Freethinkers, Atheists, and Anticlericals: Spanish American Struggles for Independence
- 25 Marx and Marxisms
- 26 Nineteenth-Century Russia
- 27 Secularism and Humanism
- 28 Bertrand Russell
- 29 Robert Ingersoll
- 30 Early Women’s Movement
- 31 Early African American Secularism
- Part VI Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: Intellectual and Artistic Currents
- Part VII Lived Atheism in the Twentieth- and Twenty-First Centuries: Case-Studies
- Part VIII Emerging Atheisms in the Twenty-First Century
- Part IX Conclusion
- Index
- References
Summary
Lord Bertrand Russell (3rd Earl Russell, 1872–1970) is a grandmaster in twentieth-century philosophy and likely its foremost freethinker and public intellectual. Were it not so well documented, Russell’s biography might appear exaggerated or even fantastical. He was a member of the British aristocracy, the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the past century,1 a Nobel laureate (literature, 1950), and an indefatigable champion for social justice. Russell’s convictions twice landed him in prison (once at the age of 80), cost him academic positions, and at times ostracized him from all but his closest confidants. Russell was also incredibly industrious with the pen. Combining his popular and academic publications, he authored more than 70 books and over 2000 articles. As a man of letters, he penned in the tens of thousands, including correspondences with numerous heads of state, cultural icons, and the who’s-who of the twentieth-century intelligentsia.
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- The Cambridge History of Atheism , pp. 512 - 530Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021