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Bertrand Russell history of western philosophy download pdf. Bertrand Russell A History of Western Philosophy

Russell b.
P24 History of Western Philosophy. In 3 books: 3rd ed., corrected. / Prep. text by V. V. Tselishchev. - Novosibirsk: Sib. univ. publishing house; Publishing house Novosib. un-ta, 2001. - 992 p.

ISBN 5-94087-006-6
ISBN 5-7615-0501-0

"History of Western Philosophy" by Bertrand Russell is well known not only to specialists, but also to a wide range of readers as one of the most successful expositions of the history of philosophy. Its author is a prominent mathematician, an outstanding philosopher and public figure of the 20th century, a Nobel Prize winner in literature. When preparing the text, the translation from in English, restored all missing places, including the chapter on Karl Marx.
Recommended to philosophers, historians, anyone interested in the history of philosophy.

Bertrand Russell
HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOHY
and its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the present day

London
GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD
RUSKIN HOUSE
MUSEUM STREET
1946

Bertrand Russell
HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY
and its connections to political and social conditions from antiquity to the present day
3rd edition, revised
Scientific editor of the publication Professor V. V. Tselishchev

SIBERIAN UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING HOUSE
NOVOSIBIRSK UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING HOUSE
NOVOSIBIRSK 2001

UDC 10(09)
BBC 87.3
R24

Preparation of the text and scientific editing by Professor V. V. Tselishchev

© Siberian University Publishing House, 2001
© Publisher Novosibirsk University, 2001
© Translation of the chapter "Karl Marx" by V. V. Tselishchev, 1997

The page number precedes the text on the page.
The sign "###" in the text indicates unrecognized ancient Greek characters - (scanner's note)

Book One
ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY

Part one
PRESOCRATICS
Chapter I
Chapter II. Miletus School .................................................................. .............56
Chapter III. Pythagoras................................................. .........................62
Chapter IV. Heraclitus ................................................. .........................73
Chapter V. Parmenides ............................................... ........................... 84
Chapter VI. Empedocles ............................................................ .......................90
Chapter VII. Athens in relation to culture...............................................96
Chapter VIII. Anaxagoras................................................. ...................100
Chapter IX. Atomists ............................................................ .........................103
Chapter X. Protagoras ............................................... ......................114

Part three
ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY AFTER ARISTOTLE
Chapter XXV. Hellenistic world..............................................279
Chapter XXVI. Cynics and skeptics .............................................. .....291
Chapter XXVII. Epicureans ................................................................ ...........303
Chapter XXVIII. Stoicism................................................. ...............315
Chapter XXIX. The Roman Empire and its relation to culture......336
Chapter XXX. Plotin................................................. ......................351

book two
CATHOLIC PHILOSOPHY

Introduction ................................................ ......................................369

Part one
CHURCH FATHERS
Chapter I. The Religious Development of the Jews...............................................377
Chapter II. Christianity in the First Four Centuries....................394
Chapter III. Three Doctors of the Church .............................................................. ......406
Chapter IV. Philosophy and theology of St. Augustine.........................427
Chapter V. V and VI centuries .............................................. ...................443
Chapter VI. St. Benedict and Gregory the Great..............................453

Book Three
PHILOSOPHY OF THE NEW TIME

Part one
FROM REVIVAL TO HUM
Chapter I. General characteristics ............................................... .....587
Chapter II. Italian Renaissance..............................................592
Chapter III. Machiavelli .................................................. .................602
Chapter IV. Erasmus and Mor .............................................. .................612
Chapter V
Chapter VI. Development of science................................................ .............628
Chapter VII. Francis Bacon .................................................. .............645
Chapter VIII. Leviathan by Hobbes ............................................... .....650

Part two
FROM RUSSO TO THE PRESENT
Chapter XVIII. Movement of Romanticism..............................................795
Chapter XIX. Rousseau................................................. .........................805
Chapter XX. Kant ................................................. ...............................823

Name index .............................................................. ...................962

Russell b.
P24 History of Western Philosophy. In 3 books: 3rd ed., corrected. / Prep. text by V. V. Tselishchev. - Novosibirsk: Sib. univ. publishing house; Publishing house Novosib. un-ta, 2001. - 992 p.

ISBN 5-94087-006-6
ISBN 5-7615-0501-0

"History of Western Philosophy" by Bertrand Russell is well known not only to specialists, but also to a wide range of readers as one of the most successful expositions of the history of philosophy. Its author is a prominent mathematician, an outstanding philosopher and public figure of the 20th century, a Nobel Prize winner in literature. When preparing the text, the translation from English was revised, all missing passages were restored, including the chapter on Karl Marx.
Recommended to philosophers, historians, anyone interested in the history of philosophy.

Bertrand Russell
HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOHY
and its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day

London
GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD
RUSKIN HOUSE
MUSEUM STREET
1946

Bertrand Russell
HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY
and its connections to political and social conditions from antiquity to the present day
3rd edition, revised
Scientific editor of the publication Professor V. V. Tselishchev

SIBERIAN UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING HOUSE
NOVOSIBIRSK UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING HOUSE
NOVOSIBIRSK 2001

UDC 10(09)
BBC 87.3
R24

Preparation of the text and scientific editing by Professor V. V. Tselishchev

© Siberian University Publishing House, 2001
© Novosibirsk University Publishing House, 2001
© Translation of the chapter "Karl Marx" by V. V. Tselishchev, 1997

The page number precedes the text on the page.
The sign "###" in the text indicates unrecognized ancient Greek characters - (scanner's note)

Book One
ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY

Part one
PRESOCRATICS
Chapter I
Chapter II. Miletus School .................................................................. .............56
Chapter III. Pythagoras................................................. .........................62
Chapter IV. Heraclitus ................................................. .........................73
Chapter V. Parmenides ............................................... ........................... 84
Chapter VI. Empedocles ............................................................ .......................90
Chapter VII. Athens in relation to culture...............................................96
Chapter VIII. Anaxagoras................................................. ...................100
Chapter IX. Atomists ............................................................ .........................103
Chapter X. Protagoras ............................................... ......................114

Part three
ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY AFTER ARISTOTLE
Chapter XXV. Hellenistic world..............................................279
Chapter XXVI. Cynics and skeptics .............................................. .....291
Chapter XXVII. Epicureans ................................................................ ...........303
Chapter XXVIII. Stoicism................................................. ...............315
Chapter XXIX. The Roman Empire and its relation to culture......336
Chapter XXX. Plotin................................................. ......................351

book two
CATHOLIC PHILOSOPHY

Introduction ................................................ ......................................369

Part one
CHURCH FATHERS
Chapter I. The Religious Development of the Jews...............................................377
Chapter II. Christianity in the First Four Centuries....................394
Chapter III. Three Doctors of the Church .............................................................. ......406
Chapter IV. Philosophy and theology of St. Augustine.........................427
Chapter V. V and VI centuries .............................................. ...................443
Chapter VI. St. Benedict and Gregory the Great..............................453

Book Three
PHILOSOPHY OF THE NEW TIME

Part one
FROM REVIVAL TO HUM
Chapter I. General characteristics ............................................... .....587
Chapter II. Italian Renaissance..............................................592
Chapter III. Machiavelli .................................................. .................602
Chapter IV. Erasmus and Mor .............................................. .................612
Chapter V
Chapter VI. Development of science................................................ .............628
Chapter VII. Francis Bacon .................................................. .............645
Chapter VIII. Leviathan by Hobbes ............................................... .....650

Part two
FROM RUSSO TO THE PRESENT
Chapter XVIII. Movement of Romanticism..............................................795
Chapter XIX. Rousseau................................................. .........................805
Chapter XX. Kant ................................................. ...............................823

Name index .............................................................. ...................962

Bertrand Russell

A History Of Western Philosophy

© Bertrand Russell, 1945

© Translation (chapter "Karl Marx"). V. V. Tselishchev, 2016

© Russian edition AST Publishers, 2017

* * *

Book one. ancient philosophy

Foreword

In order that this book may escape more severe criticism than it undoubtedly deserves, a few words of apology and explanation must be said.

Apologies must be brought to experts in one or another philosophical school or individual philosophers. With the possible exception of Leibniz alone, any of the philosophers I consider in this book are much better known to some other specialists than I am. If, however, books covering very wide areas of knowledge are to be written, it is inevitable, since we are not immortal, that those who compose such books should spend less time on any part of them than perhaps the authors spend. , which focus their main attention on an individual person or any short period of time. Some, whose scientific rigor is adamant, will conclude that books covering very wide areas should not be written at all, or, if they are, they should be compiled from the monographs of a large number of authors. However, the collaboration of many authors is associated with certain flaws in the presentation of the history of philosophy. If there is any unity in the development of history, if there is an internal connection between what happened earlier and what happened later, then it is absolutely necessary for the presentation of this that the early and later periods should be synthesized by one scientist. It would seem difficult for a student of Rousseau to do justice to the connection Rousseau has with Plato and Plutarch's Sparta, but the historian of Sparta could not have foreseen prophetically Hobbes, Fichte or Lenin. The identification of such connections is one of the goals facing the author of this book. The goal set can only be achieved in a broad perspective.

Many histories of philosophy have been written, but none of them, as far as I know, has pursued the goal that I put forward for myself. Philosophers are both effects and causes—effects of the social circumstances, policies, and institutions of the time to which they belong, and causes (if any philosophers are fortunate) of the beliefs that determine the policies and institutions of later centuries. In most histories of philosophy, every thinker acts as if in a void; his views are presented in isolation, excluding, at the most, their connection with the views of earlier philosophers. For my part, I try to consider each philosopher (as far as possible, without departing from the truth) as a product of his environment, that is, as a person in whom the thoughts and feelings characteristic of the society of which he is a part have crystallized and concentrated.

This has led to the fact that the book includes some chapters related to purely social history. No one can understand the Stoics and Epicureans without a certain knowledge of the Hellenistic or Scholastic era without at least a cursory analysis of the history of the development of the church from the 5th to the 13th century. Therefore, I briefly outline those points of the main directions historical development, which, in my opinion, had the greatest influence on philosophical thought, and with the fullest possible coverage, perhaps unfamiliar to some readers, periods of history; this applies, for example, to the early Middle Ages. But from these historical chapters I categorically exclude everything that had little or no relation to the philosophy of this or subsequent period.

The problem of selecting material for a book such as this one is very difficult. Deprived of details, the book becomes dry and uninteresting, while the abundance of details contains the danger of making it unbearably long. I have sought a compromise by examining the views of only those thinkers which, in my opinion, are of outstanding importance, and references in connection with them to such details (even if they are not decisive) that are of value because of their illustrative and enlivening character.

Philosophy, since ancient times, has not been simply a matter of schools or disputes between small groups. learned people. It was an integral part of the life of society, and as such I tried to consider it. If the proposed book has any merit, then the source of them is the indicated point of view.

This book owes its existence to Dr. Albert S. Barnes, originally conceived and partly delivered as lectures at the Barnes Foundation in Pennsylvania.

As in the writing of most of my writings, since 1932 I have been greatly assisted in research work and in many other ways by my wife, Patricia Russell.

Bertrand Russell

Introduction

The concepts of life and the world that we call "philosophical" are the product of two factors: one of them is the inherited religious and ethical concepts, the other is the kind of research that can be called "scientific", using this word in its own right. broad sense. Individual philosophers differ greatly in the proportion in which these two factors entered their system, but the presence of both is, to a certain extent, what characterizes philosophy.

"Philosophy" is a word that has been used in many senses, more or less broad or narrow. I propose to use this word in the broadest sense, which I will now try to explain.

Philosophy, as I will understand this word, is something intermediate between theology and science. Like theology, it consists in speculations about subjects about which exact knowledge has hitherto been unattainable; but, like science, it appeals to human reason rather than to authority, whether tradition or revelation. All certain knowledge, in my opinion, belongs to science; All dogma, insofar as they go beyond a certain knowledge, they belong to theology. But between theology and science there is a No Man's Land open to attacks from both sides; this No Man's Land is philosophy. Almost all the questions that speculative minds are most interested in are such that science cannot answer them, and the self-confident answers of theologians no longer seem as convincing as in previous centuries. Is the world divided into spirit and matter, and if so, what is spirit and what is matter? Is the spirit subordinate to matter, or does it have independent forces? Does the universe have any unity or purpose? Is the universe evolving towards some goal? Do the laws of nature really exist, or do we simply believe in them due to our inherent propensity for order? Is man what he seems to the astronomer - a tiny lump of a mixture of carbon and water, helplessly swarming on a small and minor planet? Or is a person what he seemed to Hamlet? Or maybe he is both at the same time? Are there high and low ways of life, or are all ways of life only vanity? If there is a way of life that is sublime, then what is it and how can we achieve it? Does good need to be eternal in order to deserve high praise, or does good need to be striven for, even if the Universe is inevitably moving towards death? Is there such a thing as wisdom, or is what appears to be wisdom just the most refined stupidity? Such questions cannot be answered in the laboratory. Theologians have pretended to give answers to these questions, and very definite ones at that, but the very definiteness of their answers makes modern minds suspicious of them. To investigate these questions, if not to answer them, is the business of philosophy.

Why then, you may ask, waste time on such unanswerable questions? This can be answered both from the point of view of the historian and from the point of view of a person facing the horror of cosmic loneliness.

The answer of the historian, insofar as I am able to offer it, will be given throughout this work. From the time that men became capable of free thought, their actions have, in countless important respects, been dependent on their theories about the nature of the world and human life, and on theories of what is good and what is evil. This is as true of the present as it is of the past. In order to understand an age or a nation, we must understand its philosophy, and in order to understand its philosophy, we must ourselves be philosophers to some extent. There is a mutual conditioning here: the circumstances of people's lives largely determine their philosophy, but vice versa, their philosophy largely determines these circumstances. This interaction, which has taken place over the centuries, will be the subject of a subsequent presentation.

There is, however, a more personal answer. Science tells us that we are capable of knowing, but what we are able to know is limited, and if we forget how much lies beyond these limits, we will lose our receptivity to many very important things. Theology, on the other hand, introduces a dogmatic belief that we are knowledgeable where in fact we are ignorant, and thus generates a kind of impertinent contempt for the universe. Uncertainty in the face of living hopes and fears is painful, but it must persist if we are to live without the support of comforting fables. Neither is good: to forget the questions asked by philosophy and convince ourselves that we have found indisputable answers to them. To teach how to live without certainty, and at the same time not to be paralyzed by indecision, is perhaps the main thing that philosophy in our age can do for those who practice it.

Philosophy as something distinct from theology originated in Greece in the 6th century BC. e. Having survived its history in antiquity, it was again absorbed in theology in the era of the rise of Christianity and the fall of Rome. During its second great period from the 11th to the 14th century it experiences the dominance of the Catholic Church, apart from a few great rebels such as Emperor Frederick II (1195-1250). This period was brought to an end by the chaos that reached its climax in the Reformation. The third period, from the seventeenth century to the present day, is more than any previous one influenced by science. Traditional religious beliefs remain valid, but there is a need to justify and modify them wherever science seems to require it. Few of the philosophers of this period are orthodox from a Catholic point of view, in their theories the secular state occupies a more important place than the church.

Social bond and personal freedom, like religion and science, are in a state of conflict or unstable compromise during this entire period. In Greece, social bonding was secured by loyalty to the city-state; even Aristotle, although Alexander made the city-state obsolete in his time, could not see any advantage in any other policy. The degree to which individual freedom was curtailed by the duty of the individual to the city-state varied greatly. In Sparta, the individual had little freedom, as is the case in modern Germany or Russia. Despite episodic persecution, in Athens in better times citizens had a completely exclusive freedom from the restrictions imposed by the state. Until Aristotle, Greek thought was dominated by a sense of deep religious and patriotic devotion to the city-state; her ethical systems were adapted to life citizens city-states and contained significant political elements. But concepts corresponding to the era of Greek independence became no longer applicable as soon as the Greeks came under the rule first of the Macedonians and then of the Romans. This led, firstly, due to the break with tradition, to the loss of force, and secondly, it gave rise to a more individualistic and less social ethics. The Stoics considered the virtuous life more in terms of the relationship of the soul to God than the citizen to the state. In this way, they cleared the way for Christianity, which at first was, like Stoicism, an apolitical doctrine, since for the first three centuries the adherents of Christianity had no influence on the government. For six and a half centuries, beginning with Alexander the Great and ending with Constantine, the social bond was provided not at all by philosophy and not by the old sense of devotion, but by force, first of all by the force of the army, and then by the civil administration. Roman armies, Roman roads, Roman law and Roman officials first created and then guarded a powerful centralized state. No role can be attributed to Roman philosophy in this matter, because it played no role.

During this long period, Greek ideas, inherited from the era of freedom, underwent a process of gradual transformation. Some of the old ideas, especially those which we must regard as specifically religious, have gained comparatively in their significance; others, more rationalistic, were discarded due to their inconsistency with the spirit of the times. In this way the later pagans modified the Greek tradition until it became fit to merge with the Christian doctrine.

Christianity popularized an important view, already implicit in the teachings of the Stoics, but alien to the general spirit of antiquity: I mean the view that man's duty to God is more imperative than his duty to the State. The view that "we ought to obey God rather than Man," as Socrates and the apostles said, survived the conversion to the faith of Constantine because the early Christian emperors were Arians or leaned toward Arianism. When the emperors became orthodox, this view faded into oblivion. In the Byzantine Empire, he remained in a latent state, the same was the case later in Russian Empire, which borrowed its Christianity from Constantinople. But in the West, where the Catholic emperors were almost immediately replaced (with the exception of part of Gaul) by heretical barbarian conquerors, the superiority of the religious over the political duty has been preserved, and to some extent continues to be maintained at the present time.

The invasion of the barbarians for six centuries put an end to the existence of civilization in Western Europe. It still lingered in Ireland until the Danes destroyed it there in the 9th century, but before it died out completely, it gave rise to one remarkable figure - John Scotus Eriugena. In the Eastern Empire, the Greek civilization in an unchanged state, as in a museum, lasted until the fall of Constantinople in 1453, but, apart from the artistic tradition and the Justinian code of Roman law, Constantinople did not give the world anything significant.

Title: History of Western Philosophy
Writer: Bertrand Russell
Year: 1946
Publisher: AST
Age limit: 16+
Volume: 1300 pages
Genres: Philosophy, Foreign educational literature

About The History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell

The History of Western Philosophy is a book that provided financial independence for the rest of his life to its author, Bertrand Russell, a famous English philosopher, mathematician and public figure. Despite criticism in literary circles, it was very successful and was constantly reprinted. The author received Nobel Prize in literature, in particular for this work.

Many writers and researchers of the book "History of Western Philosophy" argue that the author describes various philosophical movements very superficially and generally, and in order to get acquainted, for example, with the works of Plato or Heraclitus, you should familiarize yourself with other authors who will decipher their teachings in more detail. Or better yet, read the source. It would be the best option. However, to familiarize yourself with many volumes, you need to have a lot of time, which we, people of the 21st century, simply do not have. And such a generalized collection is still better than nothing. Moreover, the author presents the philosophical worldviews of famous thinkers from antiquity to the present day in a very accessible way.

Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy is divided into three parts. The first part describes, in fact, history: the most important dates, major events, biographies of rulers of different times and their activities in this position, politics, culture, etc. Half of this collection is devoted to this information. In the second part, there is already a presentation of the philosophical concepts, currents and worldviews themselves. famous people of his time. And the last part is devoted to the views of the author himself on the above theories. With someone he agrees, with someone he enters into controversy, criticizing already outdated views for a contemporary. So, especially goes from the author to Christian philosophers, in particular Thomas Aquinas. Bertrand Russell was a committed atheist, and due to his beliefs, he could not fully explain or objectively evaluate the concepts of Christian thinkers. Here the author ironically and with great sarcasm criticizes theories based on faith in God. On the other hand, there is a certain plus in this, because the author approaches everything with the meticulousness of a scientist, he believes that the most correct and reasonable approach to the knowledge of life is science and practice.

Be that as it may, Bertrand Russell's History of Western Thought enjoys great readership. Numerous reprints of this thing are a clear confirmation of the above. In addition, the author was a really smart and educated person, his preface to readers proves this. What is philosophy and what does it teach? This thinker explains it this way: philosophy gives a person the knowledge of how to live without excessive self-confidence, but at the same time not be paralyzed by indecision and disbelief in one's own strengths.

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Bertrand Russell

History of Western Philosophy

and its connections to political and social conditions from antiquity to the present day

EDITOR'S FOREWORD

B. Russell's "History of Western Philosophy" is one of those few books that can arouse the curiosity of people who have not dealt with philosophy, but educated people. Here are two pieces of evidence. Borges once said that if he were destined to end up on the moon forever and take only five books with him, one of them would be A History of Western Philosophy. Another example comes from the life of a major scientific center in Russia. The university press, which published the next edition of Russell's book, in order to save paper, printed on the back of Russell's typesetting the text of the book of a prominent mathematician. All deadlines for reconciliation by a mathematician of the text had already passed, and the publishing house could not get the layout back. It turned out that the mathematician had been reading all this time the scattered pages of Russell's book, finding great pleasure in such a strange acquaintance with philosophy.

Russell wrote many books, but the history of writing The History stands apart. One of the most difficult episodes in the life of the famous philosopher is associated with it, and this story is indicative in many respects, demonstrating the attitude of society towards philosophy and philosophers.

In setting out the circumstances of the creation of A History of Western Philosophy, I borrowed much from A. J. Ayer's Russell.

In the fall of 1938, Russell arrived with his family in America as a visiting professor at the University of Chicago. After that, he received a similar invitation from the University of California, and in 1940 the New York Board of Higher Education invited him to become a professor at the city university. But as soon as he accepted this offer and quit the University of California, a real cry arose against this appointment. It came from Catholic circles, and Russell was blamed for his agnosticism and the propaganda and practice of sexual immorality attributed to him. Since the Council for higher education firmly defended his decision to hire the famous philosopher, opponents made a strong move. A certain Mrs. Kay from Brooklyn was moved to bring an accusation against the Council, the essence of which was this: if Russell's invitation was not canceled, then a person with a terrible reputation could become her daughter's teacher. The fact that Russell was invited to teach a course in logic at the College of Liberal Arts, which in those days did not admit women, was not taken into account by anyone. Mrs. Kay's attorney, Goldstein, relying largely on his imagination, described Russell's work in his speech as "lewd, voluptuous, lascivious, depraved, erotomanic, inflaming, undignified, narrow-minded, deceitful, lacking a moral core." Citing an extract from Russell's book On Education that "a child should be able to see his parents and brothers and sisters without clothes when it occurs in natural conditions from a very young age," the lawyer accused Russell of organizing a nudist colony and added completely without any reason that Russell writes obscene poems and approves of homosexuality. Russell was unable to answer these allegations because he was not a party to the trial. The case was heard by a Catholic judge named McGahan, who decided in favor of the plaintiff on the grounds that Russell's teachings might move his students to criminal acts. An unfair, noisy and vicious campaign was launched against Russell in the press, which prompted Russell's characteristic remark: "It smells like all the cesspools of America." The Board of Higher Education was unable to appeal due to legal intricacies, and an appeal would have been futile, since the city budget was cut by Mayor Laguardia in such a way that Russell's invitation was financially impossible. As a result of this process, Russell ended up in the US almost completely destitute. Although many eminent scientists spoke out in his defense, they were unable to convince university authorities throughout almost all of America to give Russell a job. All of his planned lecture tours were cancelled, and no magazine or newspaper published his articles. Fortunately, Harvard University had enough courage and dignity to confirm his invitation, and Russell was able to spend one semester at this university. All this time, Russell was in dire need, sometimes not even having money for a bus ticket. In a letter to the publisher who published a volume on Russell in the famous Library of Living Philosophers series (which included articles by authors such as Einstein and Gödel), Russell asks him to send him the book, since he does not have the funds to purchase it.

Russell's dire predicament was alleviated by Dr. Barnes, an eccentric Philadelphia millionaire, owner of a huge collection of contemporary paintings and fine arts, and founder of a private foundation whose main purpose was to educate art historians. Barnes invited Russell to lecture at the Foundation and signed him to a five-year contract. This contract, however, was terminated two years later on the grounds that the lectures that formed the basis of the future History of Western Philosophy were insufficiently prepared. Ironically, the pretext for terminating the contract was a demand from Foundation members to forbid Russell's wife, who was present at the lectures, to knit while doing so, a demand that Russell rejected. In fact, Barnes was notorious for his quarrelsomeness with creative people, and Russell was warned about it. In the conflict with Barnes, Russell had more luck with the judge than in the previous case. He received damages in connection with the dismissal. The lectures themselves grew into a book, A History of Western Philosophy, which turned out to be the most financially successful of all Russell's books.

“I took real pleasure in writing this history, because I always believed that the presentation of history should be thorough ... I considered the beginning of the History of Western Philosophy as a history of culture, but in later sections, when science comes first, the content of the work is already it was hard to fit into those boxes. I tried my best, but I'm not completely sure that I succeeded. I have often been reproached for not writing true story, but gave a preconceived explanation of events arbitrarily selected by me. But, from my point of view, a person cannot write interesting story without prejudice, and in general it is difficult to imagine a person without this kind of prejudice. And I consider the claims for their absence just a pretense. Moreover, a book, like any other work, maintains its unity thanks to some already accepted point of view. It is for this reason that a book composed of essays by different authors is less interesting than a book written by one person. And since I don't allow the existence of a person without bias, I think that the best thing to do in the case of writing a large-scale story is to accept the author's bias, and for those readers who are unhappy with them, turn to other authors with opposite biases. The question of which bias is closer to the truth should be left to posterity.

Such are the circumstances in which the History of Western Philosophy was written. As already mentioned, it proved to be the most financially successful of Russell's books. At the same time, many believe that just those books that brought Russell wide fame are inferior in depth and fundamental to his special works. In this respect, The History is not considered, so to speak, a "representative" work that gives a full picture of the power of Russell's philosophical talent. Nevertheless, it is in the History of Western Philosophy that much of what is characteristic of Russell as a philosopher can be seen.

The history of the Russian edition of the History of Western Philosophy is also very interesting. Few of today's young people know about the series of books labeled "For Scientific Libraries". Meanwhile, for my generation, the series was a genuine event. During Khrushchev thaw it became possible to publish some books of the so-called "bourgeois philosophers". These books were published in an extremely limited edition, with the stamp "For scientific libraries." It is difficult to say what kind of "scientific libraries" were meant, but it was really difficult to get these books. One of the first books in this series was Russell's Human Cognition, published in 1957. A year later, L. Wittgenstein's "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus" was published. And in 1959 Russell's History of Western Philosophy and Carnap's Meaning and Necessity were published. Around the same time, F. Frank's book "Philosophy of Science" appeared. This series did not last long, and one of the last books in it was T. Hill's monumental compilation " Modern theories Knowledge, published in 1966.

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