Betrand Russell
Betrand Russell: The Problems of Philosophy
The value of Philosophy is, in fact, to be sought largely in its uncertainty.
The man who has no tincture of Philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from the convictions which have grown up in his mind without the co-operation of his deliberate reason. Bertrand Russell, The Problems of
Philosophy.
Philosophy is commonly thought of as an activity reserved for Oxbridge high- brows; or a sort of intellectual table-tennis indulged in by the Ancient Greeks to while the time away before television came along. Russell suggests that it may actually serve a purpose for everyone.
In the first line, Russell …show more content…
I believe that this stands up to scrutiny: for example, graduates of university are extremely unlikely to read the Sun; the exposure to a climate of extreme intellectual freedom (students are often the main proponents of change to the status quo) makes the graduates resistant to the blatantly manipulative articles. I do not wish to enter into the debate on whether intellectual freedom is ever attainable, or whether it is always an illusion; the fact remains that the ability to question apparent truths will be aided by the study of, or exposure to, philosophy. (For it is clearly not only those who have sat in a class entitled "philosophy" that have had a "tincture" of it.)
Mention of the gullible Sun reader raises the question of what is wrong with an unthinking but contented life. I would argue that nothing is wrong with such a life, provided it is truly contented. I think Russell believed that nobody could be content with an unthinking life. This theme is explored in many literary works and novels, e.g. Huxley's Brave New World, and Willy Russell's …show more content…
if you move to Saudi Arabia as a child, there will be strong pressure on you to become a follower of Islam.
It is clear to me that Russell was something of a cynic, at least where popular sentiment was concerned. He is advocating that you be very careful of the supposedly obvious, or of anything that is accepted as fact simply because it is repeated regularly - truisms and mantras should be subjected to your own personal scrutiny before you accept them.
The "imprisonment" referred to in the second line is the loss of mental freedom, a result of both holding the prejudices discussed in detail above, and of the lack of a philosophical perspective which would allow you to recognise and question these prejudices. This is, in fact, a description of the "unthinking human" discussed above. He is akin to a drone bee or a worker ant, obeying orders blindly and working mindlessly.
What sets Homo sapiens apart from other species is the ability to question the world in which it lives. Philosophy has a vital rôle to play in the lives of all men, enabling them to realise this ability: it serves as an antidote to the
"prejudices, habitual beliefs and convictions" which threaten their
The value of Philosophy is, in fact, to be sought largely in its uncertainty.
The man who has no tincture of Philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from the convictions which have grown up in his mind without the co-operation of his deliberate reason. Bertrand Russell, The Problems of
Philosophy.
Philosophy is commonly thought of as an activity reserved for Oxbridge high- brows; or a sort of intellectual table-tennis indulged in by the Ancient Greeks to while the time away before television came along. Russell suggests that it may actually serve a purpose for everyone.
In the first line, Russell …show more content…
I believe that this stands up to scrutiny: for example, graduates of university are extremely unlikely to read the Sun; the exposure to a climate of extreme intellectual freedom (students are often the main proponents of change to the status quo) makes the graduates resistant to the blatantly manipulative articles. I do not wish to enter into the debate on whether intellectual freedom is ever attainable, or whether it is always an illusion; the fact remains that the ability to question apparent truths will be aided by the study of, or exposure to, philosophy. (For it is clearly not only those who have sat in a class entitled "philosophy" that have had a "tincture" of it.)
Mention of the gullible Sun reader raises the question of what is wrong with an unthinking but contented life. I would argue that nothing is wrong with such a life, provided it is truly contented. I think Russell believed that nobody could be content with an unthinking life. This theme is explored in many literary works and novels, e.g. Huxley's Brave New World, and Willy Russell's …show more content…
if you move to Saudi Arabia as a child, there will be strong pressure on you to become a follower of Islam.
It is clear to me that Russell was something of a cynic, at least where popular sentiment was concerned. He is advocating that you be very careful of the supposedly obvious, or of anything that is accepted as fact simply because it is repeated regularly - truisms and mantras should be subjected to your own personal scrutiny before you accept them.
The "imprisonment" referred to in the second line is the loss of mental freedom, a result of both holding the prejudices discussed in detail above, and of the lack of a philosophical perspective which would allow you to recognise and question these prejudices. This is, in fact, a description of the "unthinking human" discussed above. He is akin to a drone bee or a worker ant, obeying orders blindly and working mindlessly.
What sets Homo sapiens apart from other species is the ability to question the world in which it lives. Philosophy has a vital rôle to play in the lives of all men, enabling them to realise this ability: it serves as an antidote to the
"prejudices, habitual beliefs and convictions" which threaten their