Fact and Fiction

Description

First published in 1961, Fact and Fiction is a collection of Bertrand Russell’s essays that reflect on the books and writings that influenced his life, including fiction, essays on politics and education, divertissements and parables. Also broaching on the highly controversial issues of war and peace, it is in this classic collection that Russell states some of his most famous pronouncements on nuclear warfare and international relations. It is a remarkable book that provides valuable insight into the range of interests and depth of convictions of one of the world’s greatest philosophers.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 
2. Part 1: Books that Influenced Me in Youth
   1. The Importance of Shelly
   2. The Romance of Revolt
   3. Revolt Against the Abstract
   4. Disgust and Its Antidote
   5. An Education in History
   6. The Pursuit of Truth
3. Part 2: Politics and Education
   1. What is Freedom?
   2. What is Democracy?
   3. A Scientist’s Plea for Democracy?
   4. The Story of Colonization
   5. Pros and Cons of Nationalism
   6. The Reasoning Europeans
   7. The World I Should Like to Live in
   8. Old and Young Cultures
   9. Education for a Difficult World
   10. University Education
4. Part 3: Divertissments
   1. Cranks
   2. The Right Will Prevail or the Road to Lhasa
   3. Newly Discovered Maxims of La Rochefoucauld
   4. Nightmares
      1. The Fisherman’s Nightmare or Magna est Veritas
      2. The Theologian’s Nightmare
   5. Dreams
      1. Jowett
      2. God
      3. Henry the Navigator
      4. . Prince Napoleon Louis
      5. The Catalogue
   6. Parables
      1. Planetary Effulgence
      2. The Misfortune of Being Out-of-Date
      3. Murderers’ Fatherland
5. Part 4: Peace and War
   1. Psychology and East-West Tension
   2. War and Peace in My Lifetime
   3. The Social Responsiblities of Scientists
   4. Three Essentials for a Stable World
   5. Population Pressure and War
   6. Vienna Address
   7. Manchester Address
   8. What Neutrals can do to Save the World
   9. The Case for British Neutralism
   10. Can War be Abolished?
   11. Human Life is in Danger
6. Index

Reviews

‘The most critical of readers could hardly fail to be captivated by the literary and dialectical skill of the author.’ – Times Literary Supplement

‘…an attractive haul of small bright items…’ – The Observer

‘Bertrand Russell…again wakes us from sleep with the rapier of his polemicists…’ – American Statesman

Author Biography

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970). A celebrated mathematician and logician, Russell was and remains one of the most genuinely widely read and popular philosophers of modern times.