The Problems of Philosophy cover

The Problems of Philosophy

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)

Original en 42749 words First published 1912 United Kingdom

Bertrand Russell's 1912 introduction to philosophy, and still the best short way in for a general reader. Is there any knowledge that is certain? Does the table exist when no one looks at it? Using questions like these, Russell walks through appearance and reality, matter, induction, idealism, knowledge by acquaintance, and the limits of what philosophy can claim — with absolute clarity and no jargon. Over a century old and never bettered as the classic starting point of Western philosophy in English.

Text sourced from Project Gutenberg (public domain in the United States); the Project Gutenberg trademark and license text have been removed on import. Public-domain status determined by the author's death year + 50 years rule.

Table of Contents

  1. 001 PREFACE In the following pages I have confined myself in the main to… 2526 words
  2. 002 But these philosophers, though they deny matter as opposed to mind… 2539 words
  3. 003 But the difficulty in the case of the cat is nothing compared to the… 2611 words
  4. 004 In saying that the time-order which events seem to have is the same… 2510 words
  5. 005 This question of the distinction between act and object in our… 2575 words
  6. 006 In addition to our acquaintance with particular existing things, we… 2552 words
  7. 007 It is obvious that if we are asked why we believe that the sun will… 2565 words
  8. 008 CHAPTER VII. ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES We saw in the… 2543 words
  9. 009 The fact is that, in simple mathematical judgements such as 'two and… 2763 words
  10. 010 A similar argument applies to any other _a priori_ judgement. 2564 words
  11. 011 This conclusion, however, is met by the difficulty that the relation… 2538 words
  12. 012 The other point is more interesting, and of more philosophical importance. 2624 words
  13. 013 One important point about self-evidence is made clear by the case of… 2694 words
  14. 014 We spoke of the relation called 'judging' or 'believing' as knitting… 2684 words
  15. 015 But although this sort of self-evidence is an absolute guarantee of… 2574 words
  16. 016 Kant, who first emphasized this contradiction, deduced the… 2659 words
  17. 017 Apart from its utility in showing unsuspected possibilities… 1228 words