Herbert Spencer, Bertrand Russell, and the Shape of Early Analytic Philosophy

Abstract

The development of Bertrand Russell's philosophy is routinely described within the framework of Russell's rejection of British Idealism. And that is as it should be. Both Russell and G. E. Moore made much of their turn-of-the-century opposition to Idealism. However, little attention has been paid to the significance of Russell's attitude toward the philosophy of Herbert Spencer. Certain characteristic traits of Russell's analytic philosophy were, I shall argue, shaped as much by his opposition to Spencer as they were by anything else.