The Development of My Philosophy

Author: [British] Bertrand Russell
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-02-01
Features: My Philosophical Development is a work written by Russell (1872–1970) in 1959. As the title suggests, this book is a review of the development of Russell's own philosophical thought. Russell wrote a large number of works in his lifetime, and among them, he highly valued the achievement of Principia Mathematica (a three-volume work) co-authored with Whitehead in 1914. As we know, through this book, Russell established the logicalist mathematical system, aiming to reduce all of mathematics to logic. In this book, Russell focuses on explaining the basic ideas of Principia Mathematica. Russell's philosophical thought underwent numerous changes throughout his life, but in this book, he stated that The Problems of Philosophy, written in 1912, could be considered his representative work. As a philosophical giant of the 20th century, Russell's philosophical ideas had a profound influence on many contemporary philosophers and philosophical schools, among which the most deeply influenced are Wittgenstein's philosophy and the entire logical positivist school. Russell visited China in 1920 and lectured on philosophical topics such as The Analysis of Matter and The Analysis of Mind at Peking University, exerting a broad influence on the academic circles of old China. My Philosophical Development is a summary of Russell's own philosophical thought by Russell himself. As a primary material for studying Russell's philosophical thought, it holds special value. Mr. Wen Xizeng, the translator, devoted many years to translating this book. Due to poor health, he was unable to write a preface and asked us to write a short introduction instead.