h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Does anyone accept the Editors' T-shirt Challenge to write an Entry on philosopher Bertrand Russell?

The only thing I seem to remember about him from my short lived philosophy studies so many years ago (so probably deeply flawed!) was being asked to discuss the question, "is this table really here, or an idea in the mind of God?"

Does that mean you've picked up this particular gauntlet?

It's really not possible to encompass Russell's life and work in a single entry. You would need several articles just to make sense of his various philosophical achievements apart from his political activities and his biographical details.

oh nooo nooo nooo....

I should think you'd need a couple of articles simply for Russell's bibliography


@ Leopardskinfynn

I still think shorter versions are possible - and there's scope for all sorts in the Guide. The lengthy, definitive things (often university projects) and the shorter introductory pieces. It doesn't need to be incredibly long - think Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought, or something like that - though it would be fab if someone did something thorough.

There are several very good short biographies already available on the internet (on the Atheist site for example). I suspect it would have to be something extraordinarily witty (or, perhaps, very gossipy) to justify the inevitable repetition of information.

I still maintain that reporting his philosophical views without resorting to misleading generalisations requires several articles

I know what you mean but if we kept away from subjects because there were lots of other things written about them already then we wouldn't really have much to work with!

Yes, you're quite right. I could probably put together a basic biography of dates and events this weekend if no one else is interested in doing it. But anything involving his political and philosophical ideas would be a much longer process.