Science and Apocalypse in Bertrand Russell: A Cultural Sociology

(Hardback)

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Bertrand Russell (18721970) was a logician, a philosopher, and one of the twentieth centurys most visible public intellectuals. Science and Apocalypse in Bertrand Russell: A Cultural Sociology brings those three aspects together to trace Russells changing views on the role of science and technology in society throughout his long intellectual career.

Drawing from cultural sociology, history of science, and philosophy, Javier Prez-Jara and Lino Camprub provide a fresh multidimensional analysis of the general themes of science, technology, utopia, and apocalypse. The book critically examines Russells influential interpretations of the turn-of-the-century mathematical logic, World War I, the metaphysics and epistemology of mind and matter, World War II, nuclear holocaust, and the Vietnam War.

In Russells compelling narratives, humanity was a powder keg and the match was represented by different meta-adversaries, such as religion, communism, and American imperialism. And the only way to avoid a coming global Holocaust was to follow his own salvific recipes.

In working around Russells role in the cultural perception of the final destiny of humanity, Science and Apocalypse in Bertrand Russell invites the reader to think about the place of the techno-scientific sphere in human progress and decadence in both our current epoch and the distant future.

Reviews

This is a fascinating sociological account of one of the main figures of analytical philosophy and one of the most prominent public intellectuals of the twentieth century. Anyone interested in Bertrand Russels rich intellectual life must read this book, but it is also particularly interesting for its deft use of cultural sociology and positioning theory.

Author Bio

Javier Prez-Jara is a faculty fellow at Yale University's Center for Cultural Sociology and assistant professor of philosophy and sociology at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Lino Camprub is a Ramn y Cajal Researcher at the Universidad de Sevilla.