Chapters
‘First Efforts’1
This chapter discusses the first years of Russell's life, from the death of both of his parents to the first few attempts at writing about philosophy. It is stated in the discussions that the intellectual background for most, if not all, of Russell's thoughts consist largely of the theory ...
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Cambridge (1890–1894)
This chapter discusses and chronicles the years Russell spent in Cambridge, where he had a college tutor who acted in loco parentis. His first few years were devoted to finishing the first part of the Mathematical Tripos, but he soon made a number of steps to fulfil his desire to study phi...
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Geometry
This chapter discusses Russell's fellowship dissertation on the philosophy of geometry. It has been stated in this chapter that Russell had no exceptional fondness for the topic, and that his knowledge on geometry was limited to the lessons in Euclid that he received from his brother. Desp...
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Physics
This chapter discusses Russell's ideas about physics, the next subject that he tackled right after completing An Essay on the Foundations of Geometry. Ever since 1896, Russell had begun sketching out his ideas on physics and even had an outline of a book on the philosophy of matter.
Pure Mathematics
This chapter discusses pure mathematics and Russell's work on the theory of relations, which is considered as one of his most important and original contributions to philosophy and logic. One concept that is discussed and introduced in this chapter is that of the quantity view, which is de...
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Logic
This chapter discusses Russell's attempts to fashion a Kantian philosophy of pure mathematics where the concept of quantity played a central role. The chapter also introduces another of Russell's work, ‘An Analysis of Mathematical Reasoning’.