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Quintessensual
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"Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of [humanity]. These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair."
Bertrand Russell
British philosopher (1872-1970)
Autobiography, vol. 1 (1967)
Russell, a British philosopher, logician, essayist, and social critic, was best known in academic circles for his work in mathematical logic and analytic philosophy. Along with G.E. Moore, Russell is generally recognized as one of the founders of analytic philosophy. Along with Kurt Gödel, he is also often credited with being one of the two most important logicians of the twentieth century.
Over the course of his long career, Russell made significant contributions to not just in academic circles in logic and philosophy but also in the body politic on a broad range of subjects, including education, history, religion, science, and politics. Many of his writings on a wide variety of topics have influenced generations of general readers. He was a spirited anti-war and anti-nuclear protester. He remained active as a prominent public figure until his death at 97.
His life was marked by controversy, including ones which led to dismissals from both Trinity College, Cambridge, and City College, New York. Nonetheless, he was awarded the Order of Merit in 1949 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950.
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