An Essay on the Foundations of Modern Geometry

by Bertrand Russell

Written by a Nobel laureate and one of the 20th century's most important logicians, this classic of science asks and answers a variety of basic questions about the intersection of philosophy and higher mathematics. Although Russell's conclusions are not the generally accepted modern solutions, his work offers exceptionally clear statements of important scientific problems and presents a logically coherent system. It is also a rich mine of insights, expressed with all of the author's usual clarity, precision, and elegantly reasoned analysis. This study is especially valuable for its coverage of the contributions of such thinkers as Kant, Lotse, Vaihinger, Herbart, Helmholtz, Erdmann, and Riemann. 1897 edition. 200 footnotes, mostly bibliographic.

Genres: Philosophy, Science, Mathematics, Essays

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS, was a Welsh philosopher, historian, logician, mathematician, advocate for social reform, pacifist, and prominent rationalist. Although he was usually regarded as English, as he spent the majority of his life in England, he was born in Wales, where he also died.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950 "in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought."

Reviews

[Jonathan Hockey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a really good work, really informative, even if wrong in some of its commitments and details. It also helped me to get a better grip on the real basis of Russell's later view of pluralism, as starts to develop more in his work on Leibniz and then in later works all the way up to and terminating with his lectures on the philosophy of logical atomism. After this he abandons pluralism in doctrine, if not in his own sentimental beliefs, for he moves to a view of empirical reality as not informed fundamentally by logic at all in its ontology, regressing to a Humean sceptical style of empiricism.