Bertrand Russell
The controversial polymath who humanized British philosophy
Intro
Bertrand Russell was a British polymath, philosopher, mathematician, logician, and writer. He was a founding figure of analytic philosophy, the dominant branch of Western philosophy, and of logicism, which is the view that mathematics could be reduced to pure logic. However, apart from his career in academia, Russell was also a vocal political activist and was even imprisoned during World War I for his anti-war and anti-conscription campaigning.1
Together with the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, Russell wrote Principia Mathematica, considered one of the most influential books on logic ever written.8 However, he is probably best remembered for the dozens of books he wrote for popular audiences, which cover topics such as religion and ethics, as well as social issues including free trade and women’s suffrage.9 His work was thoroughly imbued with skepticism: he was ahead of his time in his appreciation of what we now would refer to as cognitive biases and unconscious prejudice. His critical examinations of societal institutions (including the church) often landed him in hot water, but this never deterred him from speaking his mind.
As passionate as he was about mathematics and technical philosophy, Russell’s chief concern in life was to solve problems of human suffering. His use of critical thinking and logic to dig into the many problems ailing the world has touched readers on a personal level as well as an intellectual one.
“When you allow yourself to think inexactly, your prejudices, your bias, your self-interest comes in in ways you don’t notice, and you do bad things without knowing that you’re doing them. Self-deception is very easy.” — Bertrand Russell, interviewed by Romney Wheeler, 1952
About the Authors
Dan Pilat
Dan is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. Dan has a background in organizational decision making, with a BComm in Decision & Information Systems from McGill University. He has worked on enterprise-level behavioral architecture at TD Securities and BMO Capital Markets, where he advised management on the implementation of systems processing billions of dollars per week. Driven by an appetite for the latest in technology, Dan created a course on business intelligence and lectured at McGill University, and has applied behavioral science to topics such as augmented and virtual reality.
Dr. Sekoul Krastev
Sekoul is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. A decision scientist with a PhD in Decision Neuroscience from McGill University, Sekoul's work has been featured in peer-reviewed journals and has been presented at conferences around the world. Sekoul previously advised management on innovation and engagement strategy at The Boston Consulting Group as well as on online media strategy at Google. He has a deep interest in the applications of behavioral science to new technology and has published on these topics in places such as the Huffington Post and Strategy & Business.
