I chose to respond to the text written by Bertrand Russell, The Value of Philosophy. I found that Russell’s writing style was clear and simple. Unlike some of the other texts, I felt as though I came away with answers rather than more questions after reading Russell. Russell argues that: “Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers to its questions…rather for the sake of the questions themselves” (Russell 81). For this reason, I believe that Russell has had the biggest impact on my philosophical growth, firstly because I can actually understand what he is writing, and secondly, because he takes convoluted concepts, and he simplifies these concepts into ideas that are understandable. Russell argues that the value of philosophy is in making us think, making us explore, and enhancing our understanding, which in turn will contribute to enlarge the objects of our thoughts and actions (Russell 81). Therefore, the value of philosophy, according to Russell, is that it makes us examine our thoughts and behaviors. For this practical reason, I discovered that Russell has had the greatest influence on me.
The manner that Russell concludes that man-made knowledge is not the measure of all things—is applicable in my everyday life. Russell argues against the previous ideas of philosophers who claim that knowledge is self-contained (like mathematics): “…the view which tells us that Man is the measure of all things, that truth is man- made, that space and time and the world of universals are properties of the mind…” (Russel 81). I think that Russell does not believe that knowledge is man-made. Russell does not believe in Plato’s Forms, I would argue that Russell constructs his philosophy opposite to Plato’s model. When I envision a model of Russell’s philosophy, it looks like the reverse process of Plato’s forms. Whereas Plato thought that universals provided the framework for our particulars, Russell could be summed up as arguing that our particulars frame the universals. In this way, I think that Russell approaches the differences between empiricists and rationalists; empirically we come to know universals through particulars, and rationally, we know of the universals a priori. Russell attacks the science and mathematics proof of universality by stating that the ideas of two and two being four are contained in a system that we, as humans, have created and agreed upon. But, as concluded, the system that humans have agree upon is not the measure of universal things (Russell 80).
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I think that the idea that is established above, that manmade knowledge is not the measure of things, is my major take-away from the Russell reading. I like that Russell does not demote humans to being unable to have real knowledge; instead he argues that the value of philosophy is precisely in the quest for knowledge. Philosophy is itself valuable, because it allows our minds to be free and impartial, from which our behaviors will follow (Russell 81). I think that his is true, because I have been able to change the way that I think about certain things in my life, and from changing how I think about these things, I have changed my behaviors as well.
Right now, I have been facing difficulties when it comes to understanding love in my own life. In a big way, I have thought about Russell’s definitions of things that exist, even when we have not experienced it. If I had been interpreting Plato, I may have concluded that love is a Form, something that does not actually exist in its perfect universal form, but that only exists in the ways that people behave. This view would not give me much confidence for the future of love, because it does not have to exist except in its particular forms. I have not had the experience that I associate with what the experience of true love would be. However, Russell’s philosophy makes me feel better about my lack of experience. I have an idea of what the universal of love is, and I now wait to discover what my particular application of it is going to be. In this way, philosophy has been of value because it has permitted me to contemplate why love is important, and how I have been seeking it:
Now, I feel less impatient, and less as though love is something that is unattainable (for me). No longer is love a Form that I will never experience, but it is rather a universal, and it is awaiting my particular application. I believe that Russell has helped me expand my ability to think about particulars, and to have philosophic patience. Therefore, the biggest lesson that I learned from Russell is that I need to change the way that I define love, removing my personal experiences and seeking the objective of love: “By thus making a barrier between subject and object, such personal and private things become a prison to the intellect” (Russell 80). I feel that Russell’s approach to philosophy is better directed towards the actual application of his ideas than were some of the other readings that we have studied. Russell’s ideas are nearly tangible to me, and for this reason, the value of Russell’s philosophy is in the applicability of it to everyday life. Russell feels that philosophical knowledge should be sought for the sake of enlarging the Self, and not to make knowledge the way that the Self projects it.
- Russell, Bertrand. “The Value of Philosophy”. The Problems of Philosophy, 1912
