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Bertrand RussellA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Book 1, Introductory
Book 1, Part 1
Book 1, Part 2, Chapters 11-18
Book 1, Part 2, Chapters 19-24
Book 1, Part 3
Book 2, Introduction and Part 1
Book 2, Part 2, Chapters 7-10
Book 2, Part 2, Chapters 11-15
Book 3, Part 1, Chapters 1-5
Book 3, Part 1, Chapters 6-11
Book 3, Part 1, Chapters 12-17
Book 3, Part 2
Key Figures
Index of Terms
Themes
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Russell claims that “Almost everything that distinguishes the modern world from earlier centuries is attributable to science”; in turn, “the new conceptions that science introduced profoundly influenced modern philosophy” (525). The four men most responsible for the formation of modern science were Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton. The new science had several effects on philosophy. First, it was now understood that the laws of physics did not necessarily mimic the movement of animals; instead, the world was understood to work more like a machine. Second, scientists ceased to look for purpose in nature. Finally, the new scientific mastery brought about an attitude of human pride and desire for power.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was important as the “founder of [the] modern inductive method” (541) and as the one who made scientific procedure logical and systematic. Russell finds Bacon’s pure philosophy “unsatisfactory,” yet his contributions to science were indelible. Bacon is best known for the axiom “knowledge is power,” and he was among the first thinkers to suggest that philosophy and science could be used to help man gain “mastery over the forces of nature” (542). This outlook would become more prominent throughout the modern period.
By Bertrand Russell
Principia Mathematica
Principia Mathematica
Alfred North Whitehead, Bertrand Russell
The Problems of Philosophy
The Problems of Philosophy
Bertrand Russell
Why I Am Not a Christian
Why I Am Not a Christian
Bertrand Russell
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