Bertrand Russell's Logical Atomism (An Old and Rare Book)

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

This work deals with the study of Bertrand Russell's Logical Atomism. This relates to a very important phase in the development of his long philosophical career. The doctrine of logical atomism has been shown to be the joint product of two tendencies, one coming from mathematical logic and the other from empiricism. But the force of gravitation has revolved round Russell's national empirical tradition, especially Hume's atoms, and these atoms have been fabricated into logical atoms by the analytic method under the sway of a logically perfect language. Russell's claim for this formalised language have been questioned and finally maintained in the spirit of comparative philosophy and in the light of the development of philosophy of language that language is to be seen in its socio-historical context in which it functions and can- not be dissociated from the world and our living in it.

Notwithstanding this it has been rightly assessed that Russell has recognized for the first time in the history of contemporary philosophy the proper impact of language on philosophy which has led to the development of philosophy of language.

Dr. Rashidui Alam (b. 1936) did his M.A. in Philosophy in 1957, in Bengali Literature in 1968 and in English Literature in 1970. He served in the first-grade colleges as a Lecturer and also as a Principal for 15 years until 1973, when he joined the Department of Philosophy as Lecturer in Rajshahi University where currently he is Associate Professor. He obtained the degree of Ph.D. on 'Rabindra Kavye Amir Kramabikash' from Calcutta University in 1981, and the degree of D. Lit. in 1986 for 'Bertrand Russell's Logical Atomism' from Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta. More than a dozen of his works on Philosophy have so far been published. His first thesis has been published by Bangla Academy, Dhaka He translated two famous English works: The Spirit of Islam by Syed Ameer Ali and My Philosophical Development by Bertrand Russell in Bengali. So far more than fifty articles on philosophy, religion, society and literature have been published. He is now engaged in research on the Philosophy of the Bengalees,

In the course of my work on Tagore for the doctoral. degree of the University of Calcutta, one day the earlier scheme of research on 'The Problem of Meaning' as enunciated by Bertrand Russell revived in my mind on which I had already done work for one year after joining the Dept. of Philosophy of the University of Rajshahi, as Lecturer.

After the submission of the thesis on Tagore I sat to draw out the plan of my next work. I had my previously collected materials with me for the topic-'The Problem of Meaning'; I thought over the selection of the problem for days together and my mind was attracted more and more towards particularising the problem of meaning than generalising it. The result was the selection of the problem-"Bertrand Russell's Logical Atomism". After the selection of the problem I drafted the synopsis of the study, and the persent volume is the outcome of the working out of the plan of study framed in the unforgettable month of September (1980) of my life.

After strenuous efforts extending over three years I have been able to finish the work on 'Bertrand Russell's Logical Atomism'. During these years I had to struggle against difficult circumstances-financial, mental and physical, but in the face of difficulties I stood undaunted with the optimism of Percy Bysshe Shelley and the tenacity of Robert Bruce; and, finally I have been able to complete my work. In this moment of joy and fulfilment I say unto my Lord in the undying words of Tagore's 'Gitanjali': May thy will be fulfilled in my life.

Bertrand Russell has exerted his unique influence on the course of the twentieth-century philosophic thinking and impressed the contemporary philosophic scene with his versatile genius. He has turned the tide of the British philosophy by dint of his revolutionary thinking and brought it back in the mainstream of the European thought. He has stood in the focus of the English philosophic interest and inquiry, and is the most natural, conspicuous and representative figure of its con- temporary development. By the profundity of thought, indomitable searching spirit, deciphering intellectual power, astuteness of exposition, unswerving sympathy for humanity, and above all, the dispassionate outlook towards truth, he has ever shone as one of the brightest luminaries of the British philosophic firmament and has been the strongest spokesman of the philosophic spirit of the English-speaking world of the present time. He has displayed an extra-ordinary gift of literary activity, and the multitude of publications he has to his credit reflects the many-sidedness of his interests and shows that there is no region of philosophy where he has not ventured. His long philosophic career extending over more than half a century, producing a large number of works dealing with a wide variety of subjects, and the impact of these works on the subsequent thinking, might have led Allan Wood to make the pertinent remark:

"...I believe there is little of importance in present-day philosophizing which is not derived from him. The post A cursory glance at the development of Russell's thinking reveals that it has undergone so many changes and at times these changes have given rise to opposite ideas at different stages. Notwithstanding this, his thought is throughout guided by the unity of purpose and the continuity of method. The goal of his philosophizing has always been to attain as much certain knowledge as possible, and in this respect his search for the indubitable resembles Descarte's. The method he has pursued is the method of logical analysis which he developed in his mathematical logic and made use of in every branch of philosophical investigation. He has taken all philosophical problems as the problems of analysis, and the business of philosophy as that of logical analysis followed by logical synthesis.

Russell firmly believes that truth can only be attained by understanding the world as a whole, not by knowing the petty affairs of the little world of human experiences. He has con- tempt for "the grovelling microscopic vision" of philosophers confined to this planet, "Complaint of cosmic impiety" against some philosophers and disgust for philosophers who are concerned with "the different ways in which silly people can say silly things". A passion for mathematics and a sympathetic understanding of mysticism which aspire after truths independent of passing human experience might have underlain this attitude.

**Contents and Sample Pages**