If I was going to read a Bertrand Russell book ... which one would I start with?
If your intention is simply to become acquainted with Russell's style, then I wholeheartedly support Nikos Korobos' suggestion of the History of Western Philosophy. You'll also experience a rich, more than superficial introduction to the field of Western philosophy. I've used it in teaching introductory seminars in the history of philosophy with good feed back from college level students.If, on the other hand, you're looking for an introduction to Russell's own philosophical positions, than I would suggest his Analysis of Mind (1921) as a significant, if not terribly accessible work (available free at The Analysis of Mind by Bertrand Russell) or perhaps his Our Knowledge of the External World (1922) a series of lectures he gave covering a broad spectrum of his concerns. Some are quite accessible, others a little less so. It also available free at Project Gutenberg at this address:Our Knowledge of the External World.Finally, if you just want a feel for Russell's wit, humanity and polished prose, try this free pdf https://libcom.org/files/Bertran... . It is a wry, pointed and very much seriously fun essay from 1932 published in a longer book of the same title in 1935. The book itself is well worth purchasing. These essays are among Russell's very best non-technical writings.
What does this quote by Bertrand Russell mean?
It means that as we go through life we learn new things, and that we should use that knowledge to look back at our decisions and evalute them again - maybe we will see things differently and change our mind.
Was Bertrand Russell a Homosexual?
I want to get some opinions on the issue, but don't say something stupid like he was married because it is well known that it was common practice to hides one's sexuality in Russell's time.
What is Bertrand Russell's value of philosophy?
Remember that Bertrand Russel was one of the best mathematicians of his day.He was a humanist and a socialist who believed in the power of the human mind to solve the problems plaguing us.In many respects his philosophy was asking why small minded and unintelligent people continually work to subvert any kind of progress.
Bertrand Russel said, "In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted". What do you think of this quote?
We live in a dynamic universe.Our species has survived thus far by adapting to the changing universe.In such a universe, if you stand statically you risk feeling unmoored and lost when change takes over in some form.To belong, is to evolve in tandem.So, it is a healthy thing every now and then to question entrenched habits and structures; See if they still reflect your mind and heart.To gather courage to change them when they are no longer true to you, with utmost kindness and gratitude.To evolve in tandem, to belong.Some practical examples of doing so include:It makes sense to be extra cautious in times of war. This same sense of caution can prevent growth in times of peace. It is prudent to modify your level of cautiousness with changing times.It makes sense to be on a special diet when recovering from a surgery. To continue doing so afterwards could throw-off your nutritional balance. It is good to be sensitive to your body’s nutritional needs as it strengthens and ages.Our mind has two systems, one which demands careful attention and another which is automated. For the automated system to perform it’s tasks most efficiently, it shouldn’t be interrupted by extra attention. When we begin to learn something we need to use the careful attention system. Practicing with singular focus for hours. However, once we have learnt something and the automated mind takes over, it is important to trust ourselves when performing the task, to loosen up the conscious singular focus.[1] It is wise to know when the attention to a task can be reallocated without harming your capability to perform that task.Footnotes[1] Expert Chess Players Win by Tapping Into Intuitive Brain Circuits - 80beats
Is this quote by Bertrand Russell compatible with the laws of quantum mechanics?
It isn't compatible with the laws of quantum mechanics. QM says that that didn't happen. You can compute with quantum mechanics backwards in time as well as forward (just as for any other law of physics) and derive what the universe would have looked like at different times in the past. And it says that the universe has existed for more than five minutes. Or rather, it does not predict a radical difference five minutes ago.You can't track the particles back (or even forward) with precision, but that's OK. QM says that the wave form of the universe as a whole propagates forward in time. From experiment you can derive only part of it, since our attempts to measure the wave form can't yield all the quantum information in there, but again, that's a problem forwards in time as well.You could, if you chose, add Russell's idea as an axiom to quantum physics. Or at least, you could try, though it would require considerable tinkering. QM doesn't talk about exact points in time, only smoothly propagating wave forms, and a discrete beginning like that would be difficult to cram into QM terms. Perhaps not impossible, at least to within the linguistic imprecision of Russell's statement. But even if you could, you'd need to find some way to justify that addition, which is Russell's real point. Either that radical addition to QM has some measureable effect, in which case the laws of physics require a rewrite, or it doesn't, in which case there's no point in arguing about it. You could choose either scheme, and be perfectly correct, though most people would say that the addition introduces complexity with no benefit. Russell would concur with that.
What is the "guild socialism" that Bertrand Russel and Karl Polanyi ascribed to?
Guild socialism is a variant of socialism which promotes workers’ democracy and their control over their respective industries via guilds.These organisations are based upon actual guilds from the Middle Ages which were associations of craftsmen and who members of a community could visit to seek out their services, rather than a corporation. These guilds were entirely independent and owned their own tools, as well as had their own hierarchical structures. In a sense, they were self-employed as they managed their own production and offered out their services to accumulate their own wealth.Advocates of guild socialism therefore wish to see similar organisations operate within a system of socialism, which demands the common (public) ownership of the means of production, as they would then be in a position to replace corporations and trade unions.G. D. H. Cole, who was Chairman of the Fabian Society, is often credited as the father of guild socialism and his ideas were advocated by the likes of Bertrand Russell and Karl Polanyi, just as you mentioned.This is one of his works:Guild socialism | LSE Digital LibraryGuild socialism is very similar to syndicalism, which is also worth looking into.