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Sceptical Essays ‘Bertrand Russell wrote the best English prose of any twentieth-century philosopher.’ Anthony Howard, The Times ‘These propositions may seem mild, yet, if accepted, they would absolutely revolutionise human life.’ Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays Bertrand Russell Sceptical Essays With a new preface by John Gray London and New York First published 1928 by George Allen & Unwin Ltd, London First published in Routledge Classics 2004 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004. © 1996 The Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation Ltd Preface to Routledge Classics edition © 2004 John Gray 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, including 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 Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-203-49865-8 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-57424-9 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0–415–32508–0(Print Edition) Aimer et penser: c’est la veritable vie des esprits. Voltaire CONTENTS Preface to the Routledge Classics Edition ix 1 Introduction: On the Value of Scepticism 1 2 Dreams and Facts 14 3 Is Science Superstitious? 23 4 Can Men be Rational? 32 5 Philosophy in the Twentieth Century 40 6 Machines and the Emotions 63 7 Behaviourism and Values 71 8 Eastern and Western Ideals of Happiness 80 9 The Harm that Good Men Do 90 10 The Recrudescence of Puritanism 101 11 The Need for Political Scepticism 108 12 Free Thought and Ofﬁcial Propaganda 124 13 Freedom in Society 144 14 Freedom Versus Authority in Education 157 15 Psychology and Politics 173 viii contents 16 The Danger of Creed Wars 185 17 Some Prospects: Cheerful and Otherwise 202 Index 218 PREFACE TO THE ROUTLEDGE CLASSICS EDITION Bertrand Russell always thought of himself as a sceptic. At the same time he never doubted that human life could be trans- formed by the use of reason. The two points of view do not easily coexist. Amongst the ancient Greeks, scepticism was a path to inner tranquillity, not a programme of social change. In early modern times, Montaigne revived scepticism in order to justify his withdrawal from public aﬀairs. For Russell such withdrawal was unthinkable. A scion of a noble Whig family—his grand- father Lord John Russell had brought in the Great Reform Act that started England on the path to democracy in 1832—he was also godson to John Stuart Mill. Reform was in his blood. It was natural, then, that he should try to show—to himself and others—that scepticism and a belief in the possibility of progress need not be at odds. The result is the present volume, a collec- tion of some of the most beautifully written and engaging essays in the English language, in which he tries to show that sceptical doubt can change the world.