On History

Author: [British] Bertrand Russell
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-03-01
Features: Some believe that the lack of strict objective standards in history, compared to natural sciences, stems from the absence of the unified scientific discipline that exists among natural scientists. As a result, historians, even when using the same materials and methods, often fail to reach (the kind of) consistent conclusions that natural scientists do. The author is one of the most renowned contemporary Western philosophers, whose name and works have been well-known to readers in our country for many years. Russell was also a mathematician, logician, social activist, and historian, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950. Throughout his life, he wrote three major works on history and numerous historical essays. This book collects 15 of his key historical essays for reference by interested readers. Additionally, it includes "Authority and the Individual," a compilation of a series of lectures Russell delivered on the BBC radio in the UK in 1948, consisting of six chapters. The central theme of this work explores the fundamental contradiction between social control and individual creativity.