A History of Western Philosophy

Although not a philosopher in the conventional sense, Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) had “a powerful influence on philosophy, as on literature and taste and manners and politics” and is often considered “the father of the Romantic movement” (684). Rousseau idealized the “natural man” who was free from the refinements of civilization and shunned conventional morality. He derived truths (e.g. the existence of God) not from rational arguments but from human emotions. His liberal political ideas encouraged the French Revolution and led to an idolization of power, nationalism, and the “general will” (or will of the common people) in French political thought.

The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is considered “the founder of German idealism” (703). His thought started from the ethical principle that “every man is to be regarded as an end in himself” (705). He explored “the practical use of reason” (710) in his treatises The Critique of Pure Reason and The Critique of Practical Reason, while in his Metaphysic of Morals he stated his famous “categorical imperative” as the basis of ethics: “Act only according to a maxim by which you can at the same time will that it shall become a general law” (711).

Russell sees Western thought in the 19th century as complex, comprising more influences from more places than ever before. Nineteenth-century thought was defined by two “revolts”: the Romantic revolt and the rationalist revolt. In reaction against Romantic emotionalism—epitomized by poets like Lord Byron—rationalists in the 19th century emphasized reason and science, led by Charles Darwin and his evolutionary theory. Romanticism developed into “the anti-rational philosophy of naked will” as seen in the thought of Nietzsche. Industrialism tended to augment the sense of human power as capable of controlling reality (725).

The German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) developed a philosophy of history that was extremely influential in the 19th century. His thought is based in the “mystical” conviction that reality is essentially one (monism) and that separateness is unreal. The quintessential German Idealist, Hegel rejected empiricism by denying that the perceived is rational; rather, it only becomes rational by being thought, and thus seen as part of a whole. Hegel posited that all things proceed according to a “dialectic,” a process consisting of thesis, antithesis, and final synthesis. His version of God is the Absolute Idea, or “thought thinking about itself” (734).

The poet Lord Byron (1788-1824) is included in the book because his Romanticism had a great influence on cultural and intellectual life throughout Europe. Byron was the “exemplar” of the “aristocratic rebel” and both his writings and his life embodied a love of political freedom and freedom from conventional moral restraints—all of which were factors that were in tune with Romantic ideals.

Russell characterizes the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) as one of the sole pessimists in Western philosophy. He was influenced by the Romantics and by East Asian religions, and he began the emphasis on Will—replacing knowledge—as the underlying metaphysical force in the world. Will, in his conception, is evil and must be subdued so that humans can escape from suffering. Thus, Schopenhauer preached an ethic of salvation through resignation.

One of the most controversial of all philosophers, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) continued the thought of Hegel and Schopenhauer, particularly in regard to the concept of the “will to power.” Nietzsche rejected Christianity, reversed conventional standards of good and evil, and exalted will and power as the greatest goods. His doctrines are expressed in Beyond Good and Evil and Will to Power. After an academic career teaching philology, Nietzsche ended up in an asylum for the mentally ill, where he died at the age of 56.

To conclude the chapter, Russell imagines a conversation between Nietzsche and Buddha. Taking Buddha’s side, Russell uses this imaginary dialogue to highlight what he considers the bankruptcy of Nietzsche’s morality and thought, calling it “a sham.”

The Utilitarians were a group of British philosophers who argued that pleasure (or happiness) was the greatest good, and therefore “of all possible states of affairs, that one is best which involves the greatest balance of pleasure over pain” (775). The Utilitarian school, also known as the Philosophical Radicals, was led by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). They were social and political reformers who advocated for personal and political liberty in accordance with the values of liberalism.

The founder of the socialist movement which developed into communism, Karl Marx (1818-1883) was influenced by the Utilitarians and Hegel and participated in the political revolutions of 1848 in Germany and France. Inspired by his experiences, he developed a theory of “dialectical materialism” which, among other things, postulated that the value of knowledge was in changing reality. This was the general philosophical idea from which he developed his now-famous political and economic doctrines, which became known as Marxism.

The French philosopher Henri Bergson (1859-1941) developed a complex and idiosyncratic system of thought about such metaphysical questions as life and matter, space and time. Russell characterizes his philosophy as “an imaginative and poetic view of the world” (800) and as antirational to the extent that it devalues contemplation and exalts action for its own sake, expressed in the concept of the “life-force,” which drives all things in nature.

One of the most significant American thinkers, William James (1842-1910) started out as a psychologist and was later attracted to philosophy, with both branches of study becoming intertwined in his work. James espoused the philosophy of pragmatism, developed by Charles S. Peirce, which proposes that truth is judged on the basis of its practical effects. Through his pragmatic method, James hoped to establish a philosophical system that could reconcile science and religion.

The American philosopher John Dewey (1859-1952) was highly influential in many areas, including education, social reform, and psychology. Influenced early on by William James, pragmatism, and democratic ideas, Dewey stated as his principal doctrine the idea that “inquiry” rather than “truth” is the “fundamental concept of logic and theory of knowledge” (819). He regarded change as an underlying principle of all reality and that the search for truth should take human nature and experience—itself a part of the reality being examined—into account.

The final chapter deals with a group of philosophers to which Russell himself belonged; he regards this group as the best starting point for future philosophical development. The philosophy of logical analysis (also known as logical positivism or logical empiricism) developed in Vienna in the early 20th century. This philosophy regards scientific knowledge as the only kind of factual knowledge and rejects traditional metaphysical doctrines as meaningless. Logical positivists regard questions about God, the soul, and ultimate reality, as unanswerable; instead, they regard the critique of language as the chief task of philosophy, thus building up a common language by which to express scientific truths.

Building upon the work of Gottlob Frege (1848-1925), the members of the school concluded that mathematics “is nothing but a prolongation of deductive logic” (830), and that therefore, philosophy can be reduced to “syntax.” By understanding the correct use of that syntax, many philosophical problems can be solved. Russell ends by discussing how logical analysis has drawn influence from the sciences—especially physics, the theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, as well as from mathematics—to come to a new understanding about the unity of mind and matter and about human perception.