On March 4 the second volume of the series on the philosophers of the twentieth century curated by Carlo Sini will be on newsstands with the newspaper: the essay “Mysticism and logic”
The beginning of the essay Mysticism and logic by Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), on newsstands on 4 March with the “Corriere della Sera”, is of lightning clarity and relevance: “Metaphysics, i.e. the attempt to conceive the world as a whole by means of thought, it developed from the beginning thanks to the meeting and conflict of two very different human impulses, one of which pushes men towards mysticism, the other towards science. Some have achieved greatness through just one of these impulses, others through the other. In Hume, for example, the scientific impulse reigns almost unchallenged, while in Blake a strong hostility to science coexists with a profound mystical intuition. But the greatest philosophers felt the need for both science and mysticism: the attempt to harmonize the two filled their lives; and it is what, in all its arduous uncertainty, causes many to consider philosophy something superior to both science and religion “.
Bertrand’s voice Russell, philosopher, mathematician and winner of a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950, it resonated powerfully over the course of the “short century”. This multifaceted thinker bequeathed to contemporary philosophy the definition of important logical-mathematical problems and to society the passion for humanity and its destiny, trying to clarify terms such as “belief”, “truth”, “happiness” , “freedom”. For this reason, in a moment of open clash between scientific knowledge and alternative visions, conspiracies and freedom, the reading of him is very timely.
Some time ago, a guest took a seat on a talk show saying, “I represent science here.” If, on the other hand, a no-vax had replied “I represent the Faith here”, we would have found ourselves in front of one of those theatrical productions of the eighteenth century set to music by Georg Friedrich Handel. Philosophy would have intervened at some point, as Russell does in this book, to put things right: science represents the maximum synthesis of intersubjective knowledge reached through conjectures and refutations and is not the truth, as it must be falsifiable and surmountable; on the other hand, mysticism or faith are an expression of the ambition, reborn in Romanticism, to understand the world synthetically and in an ideological way and to deduce from it behaviors and lifestyles that are sometimes penitential or self-injurious.
The wise Mysticism and logic, which appeared in the Hibbert Journal in July 1914, is aimed at establishing the correct position of science in a liberal education and at highlighting the limits of irrationalism. The thought of Russell, who studied mathematics and philosophy at Trinity College Cambridge, he is the opposite of religious and dogmatic convictions and very critical of all idealism.
The mystical disposition is portrayed by Russell as a belief in “intuitive and dazzling wisdom” in open contrast to the scientific discipline, which imposes a “slow and fallible” examination of experience: from this mystical thought derives that characteristic diffidence towards the mathematical description of the sensible world, orienting itself in the direction of a presumed “higher order” knowledge, which is offered in the form of ‘epiphany.
This would tear the veil of the scientific illusion to which common sense bends; where scientism encounters only multiplicity and fragmentation, the mystic recognizes a deeper unity, beyond good and evil, in the dimension of its unreality. Russel sided with “scientific philosophy”, with its “cautious and patient search for truth”, with his reason that does not yield to the fideistic flattery of intuition, but recognizes in mysticism – not conspiracy – an attitude towards life, an aspiration to the absolute that drives and nourishes research.
Many years later in Consequences of pragmatism (1982), in the wake of Henry James, the American philosopher Richard Rorty will strip philosophy of the role of the supreme court of knowledge (where the neo-Kantians and Bertrand Russell himself kept it) by reducing it to “discourse”. In this post-philosophy, truth is given only “in the sense of belief”, or in persuasive speech. Also in this case the applications of scientific research appear to be more persuasive tools than those of flat-earthers to induce people to adopt their own lifestyle. However, both are subject to the ‘being believed’ tribunal.
Mysticism and logic represents an emblematic introduction to Russell’s theoretical approach, which is confirmed in subsequent essays in the volume on newsstands. In particular, we mention two: On the scientific method in philosophy e On the concept of cause. Other texts follow, mostly the result of conferences held in Anglo-Saxon countries.
The series: the other releases
Bertrand Russell’s book is out on newsstands on 4 March with the Corriere della Sera Mysticism and logic at the price of € 8.90 plus the cost of the newspaper. This is the second title in the “Filosofi del Novecento” series, edited by Carlo Sini and launched last week with The intelligibility of the story by Jean-Paul Sartre. This series presents readers with a selection of works written by the most important thinkers of the twentieth century, which address some crucial issues in the development of modern thought. In all, the review includes 25 volumes, out every week on Fridays. Each of them contains a guide to reading by Paolo Beretta. Russell’s book, plus the essay Mysticism and logic which gives the volume its name, offers the reader several other writings and interventions by the English philosopher, related to the theme of knowledge with particular reference to natural sciences and mathematics. Born in 1872 and died in 1970, Bertrand Russell won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. He is a figure known not only for his studies, but also for his civic commitment, in particular for his battle in defense of peace and against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Already very old, he organized the “Russell Tribunal” to denounce the atrocities of the Vietnam war. The third volume of the “Novecento Philosophers” series will be Signpost by Martin Heidegger, out March 11. Followed by: Hannah Arendt, Vita activa (March 18); Antonio Gramsci, Prison notebooks (vol. II, quad. 10-11, March 25). Karl R. Popper, Logic of scientific discovery (April 1).
March 3, 2022 (change March 3, 2022 | 21:18)
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