No CrossRef data available.
BERTRAND RUSSELL'S TRIUMPH AND FAILURE
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 December 2015
Abstract
Bertrand Russell was, along with G.E. Moore, deserving of accolade as a founder of analytic philosophy, and of its close companion, the linguistic turn. Here I explain how his ‘Theory of Descriptions’ relocates philosophy's concern with appearance and reality as a concern with grammatical surface and logical depth. I then on remark the irony of Russell's unhappiness with views to the effect that an ethical judgment is not, despite linguistic appearances, really something that can be true or false. A further irony lies in Russell's error of assigning metaphysical grandeur to logical truths, an error he could have avoided by more fully appreciating how logically misleading linguistic appearances can be.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Royal Institute of Philosophy 2015