Bertrand Russell was a British logician, mathematician, and philosopher, as well as a tireless activist. With Whitehead, he tried to ground mathematics in logic and helped create analytic philosophy. He was jailed for his pacifism, campaigned against nuclear weapons, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950.
Core ideas
Logical analysis of language clarifies and dissolves philosophical problems
Mathematics can be derived from principles of logic
We should believe in proportion to the evidence, keeping a reasonable doubt
The tradition: Analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy seeks clarity through logic and careful analysis of language and concepts, one problem at a time. Russell was one of its founders.
