Russell: The Journal of Bertrand Russell Archives

A moralist's testimony by Stefan Andersson AI Seckel, ed. Bertrand Russellon Ethics, Sex and Marriage. Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1987. Pp. 348. US$14.95. THIS COLLECTION OF Russell's writings on ethical and moral issues is a sequel to Bertrand Russell on God and Religion.' The editor has done a better job this time, bur it is far from perfect. The book starts with an essay on Russell's life in which the editor within the space 1 Reviewed in this journal, n.S. 9 (1989): 94-5. Reviews 179 ofless than six pages succeeds in revealing his shaky knowledge ofsimple facts concerning Russell's life. He says e.g. on page v that Russell married Patricia Spence in 1938. Ie is almost correct, bur that is nor good enough to create confidence in the editor. He might also have sounded less sure abour things that neither he nor anyone else knows much about. On page vi, talking about the Cuban missile crisis, he claims that "... Russell's efforts and influence had considerable impact on Soviet premier Khrushchev's willingness to compromise." I don't think that Russell needs that kind of advertising. Maybe he had, bur in that case why does the editor not supply the evidence? In his anicle "Russell and the Cuban missile crisis'" the editor ascribes a more modest pan to Russell saying that "... Russell acted as an intermediary in the crisis, allowing Khrushchev an out he otherwise might not have had" (p. 261). That sounds mote convincing. This essay could have been omitted without complaints from anyone. In the Acknowledgmencs we are told that the only unpublished writing of the twenry-six pieces in the book is an essay called "Moraliry and Instinct" written in 1926. This text was suggested for inclusion by the Archivist of the Russell Archives. To some readets of Russell this might be reason enough to buy rhe book; perhaps the only teason. The book is divided into five pans: Ethics, Moral Rules, Sexual Moraliry, Marriage and Divorce, and Happiness. Each part is supplied wirh an introduction and all writings except two are introduced with shorter headnores which in some cases contain interesting informarion, bur which usually are just attempts to summarize the text that follows. The general weakness of the collection is that the editor does not inform the reader why he has chosen these twenty-six essays, articles and parts of books rather than any others, if there are different versions of the same text (except in one case) and what other writings by Russell on ethics, sex and marriage there are which could have been included. Ie is hardly an accurate description to say that the texts are taken from" ... obscure journals, pamphlets, out-of-print periodicals, and hard-to-find books." Uncil the project of The Collected Papers ofBertrand Russell has reached a more advanced stage, this book has a certain value because it does include some articles, e.g. "How Will Science Change Morals?" published in Menorah Journal and "Chinese Morals" published in The Modern Thinker and Author's Review, that might require an inter-library loan. But on the other hand the views expressed in these articles are the same as can be found in Russell's books. The book includes what is claimed to be a complete list of Russell's books. This is another sign of the editor's lack of relevant information; why say "complete" if you don't know for sure what you are talking about? His bibliography includes more than sevenry titles, but it is no easy matter to decide what is exactly to be referred to as "a book by Bertrand Russell". The number oftitles listed in the forthcoming bibliography of the Collected Papers, Vol. I: Separate Publications, Part A. Books, Pamphlers, and Leaflets, is 161, including the editor's twO collecrions. The editor does I}ot list Let the 2 Russel~ n.S. 4 (1984): 253-61. 180 Russell winter 1990-91 People Think (1941) or The Art ofPhilosophizing (1974). He does, however, include his own earlier collection of Russell's essays on religion, but he does not show the same generosity to similar collections like Atheism...