1st Edition

Russell on Metaphysics Selections from the Writings of Bertrand Russell

By Bertrand Russell, Stephen Mumford Copyright 2003

    Is the world of appearances the real world?

    Are there facts that exist independently of our minds?

    Are there vague objects?

    Russell on Metaphysics brings together for the first time a comprehensive selection of Russell's writing on metaphysics in one volume. Russell's major and lasting contribution to metaphysics has been hugely influential and his insights have led to the establishment of analytic philosophy as a dominant stream in philosophy. Stephen Mumford chronicles the metaphysical nature of these insights through accessible introductions to the texts, setting them in context and understanding their continued importance. Russell on Metaphysics is both a valuable introduction to Bertrand Russell as a metaphysician, and an introduction to analytic philosophy and its history.

    Introduction; Part I Idealism; Chapter 1 Greek Exercises; Chapter 2 On the Distinction Between the Psychological and Metaphysical Points of View; Chapter 3 The Free-Will Problem from an Idealist Standpoint; Chapter 4 The Dialectic of the Sciences; Chapter 5 Seems, Madam? Nay, it is; Part II Ontology (I); Chapter 6 The Principles of Mathematics; Chapter 7 The Existential Import of Propositions; Chapter 8 Three Letters to Meinong; Chapter 9 The Basis of Realism; Chapter 10 Analytic Realism; Chapter 11 The Philosophy of Logical Atomism; Part III Universals; Chapter 12 On the Relations of Universals and Part iculars; Chapter 13 The Problem of Universals; Part IV Causality and Laws; Chapter 14 On the Notion of Cause; Chapter 15 Causal Laws in Physics; Chapter 16 Physics and Metaphysics; Chapter 17 Causal Laws; Part V Ontology (II); Chapter 18 Vagueness; Chapter 19 Physics and Neutral Monism; Chapter 20 Language and Metaphysics; Chapter 21 The Principle of Individuation;

    Biography

    Stephen Mumford is Reader in Metaphysics at the Department of Philosophy, University of Nottingham. He is author of Dispositions (1998) and various papers in metaphysics.

    '...a superb collection of Russell's work on metaphysics that does not just duplicate what previous collections of his papers have done. Mumford has done an excellent editorial job, both in terms of the selection of chapters and the commentary.' Graham Stevens - Russell