History of Western Philosophy

Bertrand Russell received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950, and his History of Western Philosophy remains the most widely read and influential survey of the philosophical tradition ever written. Combining intellectual rigor with literary elegance and a sharp wit, Russell traces the development of Western thought from the pre-Socratics to the twentieth century. His earlier collaboration with Alfred North Whitehead on Principia Mathematica had already established him as one of the founders of modern logic.

Published in the aftermath of the Second World War, Russell's sweeping survey offered a war-weary public an accessible path through the great questions of human thought. Beyond his philosophical work, Russell was a tireless activist for nuclear disarmament and international peace, embodying the conviction that intellectual inquiry carries with it a responsibility to the wider world.