Mortals and Others, Volume II: American Essays 1931-1935

189 Pages·1998·6.174 MB·English

by  Bertrand Russell, Harry Ruja (editor)

MORTALS
AND OTHERS
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MORTALS
AND OTHERS
VOLUME 11
American Essays
1 1
193 - 935
Bertrand Russell
Edited, with notes, by Harry Ruja
London and New York
First published 1998
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York NY 10016
Transferred to Digital Printing 2006
© 1998 The Berlrand Russell Peace Foundation Limited
Notes © 1998 Harry Ruja
Phototypeset in Baskerville by Intype London Ud
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, incIuding
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-415-17866-5 (hbk)
ISBN 0-415-17867-3 (pbk)
'Every man would like to be God, if it were possible; some few
find it difficult to admit the impossibility.'
Bertrand RusselI
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Contents
Preface page xi
Christmas at Sea 1
How People Economise 3
Do Dogs Think? 5
How People Take Failure 7
On Conceit 9
On Bores 11
Politics and Sport 13
On Reticence 15
The Good Old Days 17
On Becoming Civilised 19
On the Art of Persuading 21
The Prospects of Democracy 23
The Admiration of Strength 25
The Triumph of Stupidity 27
On Utilitarianism 29
On Race Hatred 31
The Spirit of Adventure 33
What Makes People Likeable 35
On Self-Righteousness 37
Emotions About Spending Money 39
The Origin of Victorian Virtue 41
On Propriety 43
I Escape from Progress 45
Experts and Oligarchs 47
Fugitive and Cloistered Virtue 49
On Being Ashamed of Virtue 51
Men versus Insects 53
The Paralysis of Statesmanship 55
On Orthodoxies 57
Means to Ends 59
Individualist Ethics 61
The Cult of the Individual 63
On Being Argumentative 66
Vll
Contents
On Mediaevalism 68
In Praise of Dullness 70
The End of Pioneering 72
Combating Cruelty 74
Can We Think Quickly Enough? 76
On Discipline 78
Expecting the Millennium 80
The Churches and War 82
On Loving Our Neighbours 85
On Self-Control 87
Respect for Law 89
On Euthanasia 91
On Equality 93
The Father of the Family 95
On the Origins of Common Customs 97
On Transferring One's Anger 99
On Adult Education 101
On Curious Beliefs 103
Competitive Ethics 105
Is Anybody Normal? 107
Egoism 109
Back to Nature? 111
Parental Affection 113
Benevolence and Love of Power 115
Irrational Opinions 117
Science and Happiness 119
Social Sciences in Schools 121
Race and Nationality 123
The Problem of Leisure 125
What to Believe 127
Instinct in Human Beings 129
Fashions in Virtues 131
On Comets 133
Fear and Amusement
135
On Curious Learning 137
On Being Important 139
Censorship by Progressives 141
Protecting the Ego 143
Climate and Saintliness
145
Why Travel? 147
Vlll
Contents
Obscure Farne 149
Insanity and Insight 151
On Cerernony 153
Love of Money 155
On Specialising 158
Good Manners and Hypocrisy 160
On Being Insulting 162
Vigorous and Feeble Epochs 164
The Decrease of Knowledge 166
Notes 168
Published ESsay Titles 174
IX