The Problems of Philosophy

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) was one of the great popularizers of philosophy, presenting both the history of the field and his own views in clear and readable prose. Through his lucidity, he proved the old adage that “the person who says he knows what he thinks but cannot express it usually does not know what he thinks." Not surprisingly, Russell received a mixed reception from his academic colleagues — Wittgenstein found his over-simplification “vomitive” — which was at least partly driven by professional jealously. In his 1912 work The Problems of Philosophy, Russell sets out to answer the question: “Is there any knowledge in the world which is so certain that no reasonable man could doubt it?” and uses the examples of everyday objects to explore whether we can be certain anything in the physical world definitively exists.