RUSSELL ON METAPHYSICS Russell on Metaphysics brings together for the first time a comprehensive selection of Russell’s writing on metaphysics in one volume. Russell’s major and lasting contribution to metaphysics has been hugely influential and his insights have led to the establishment of analytic philosophy as a dominant stream in philosophy. Stephen Mumford chronicles the metaphysical nature of these insights through accessible introductions to the texts, setting them in context and understanding their continuing importance. The volume is divided into five parts following the development of Russell’s thought. Starting with papers from his pre-analytic period, the volume collects Russell’s main realist accounts, his discussions of the prob- lems of universals, and his writing on causation and the laws of nature. The final part covers Russell’s thoughts on diverse questions of metaphysics that occupied him later in life, including his classic paper on vagueness. Russell on Metaphysics is both a valuable introduction to Bertrand Russell as a metaphysician, and to analytic philosophy and its history. Stephen Mumford is Reader in Metaphysics at the Department of Philosophy, University of Nottingham. He is author of Dispositions (1998) and various papers in metaphysics. RUSSELL ON … General editor’s introduction A. C. Grayling Russell achieved public fame – often enough, notoriety – because of his engagement in social and political debates, becoming known to a wide audience as a philosopher in the popular sense of the term. His chief con- tributions, the ones that have made a permanent difference to the history of thought, lie in logic and philosophy; and they are such that his influence both on the matter and style of twentieth-century philosophy, principally in its anglophone form, is pervasive. Elsewhere I have described his contri- bution as constituting the “wall-paper” of analytic philosophy, in the sense that his successors “use techniques and ideas developed from his work without feeling the need – sometimes without recognizing the need – to mention his name; which is influence indeed”. Russell devoted much attention to central technical questions in philosophical logic, epistemology and metaphysics. He also wrote exten- sively and forcefully about moral, religious and political questions in ways not merely journalistic. Much of his work in all these areas took the form of essays. Some have of course been famously collected, constituting a funda- mental part of the canon of twentieth-century analytic philosophy. But there are many more riches in his copious output, their value to some degree lost because they have not hitherto been collected and edited in such a way as to do justice to the development and weight of his thinking about these subjects. This series, in bringing together Russell’s chief writings on major subject areas in an editorial frame that locates and interprets them fully aims to remedy that lack and thereby to make a major contribution both to Russell scholarship and to contemporary analytic philosophy. Russell on Religion Russell on Ethics Edited by Louis Greenspan and Edited by Charles R. Pigden Stefan Andersson RUSSELL ON METAPHYSICS Selections from the writings of Bertrand Russell Edited by Stephen Mumford First published 2003 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 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, 2003. Selection and editorial matter © 2003 Stephen Mumford Extracts © 2003 The Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation Ltd 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 Russell, Bertrand, 1872–1970. Russell on metaphysics: selections from the writings of Bertrand Russell / edited by Stephen Mumford. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Metaphysics.I. Mumford, Stephen.II. Title. B1649.R91 M86 2003110–dc212002190865 ISBN 0-203-41752-6 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-41900-6 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0–415–27744–2 (hbk) ISBN 0–415–27745–0 (pbk) CONTENTS Acknowledgements vii Introduction 1 PART I Idealism 11 1 Greek exercises 13 2 On the distinction between the psychological and metaphysical points of view 21 3 The free-will problem from an idealist standpoint 25 4 The dialectic of the sciences 37 5 Seems, madam? Nay, it is 52 PART II Ontology (I) 61 6 The principles of mathematics 63 7 The existential import of propositions 77 8 Three letters to Meinong 81 9 The basis of realism 85 10 Analytic realism 91 11 The philosophy of logical atomism 97 v CONTENTS PART III Universals 121 12 On the relations of universals and particulars 123 13 The problem of universals 143 PART IV Causality and laws 161 14 On the notion of cause 163 15 Causal laws in physics 183 16 Physics and metaphysics 191 17 Causal laws 199 PART V Ontology (II) 209 18 Vagueness 211 19 Physics and neutral monism 221 20 Language and metaphysics 231 21 The principle of individuation 237 Bibliography 248 Index 251 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to the publishers who have given permission for material to be included. The most important source of Russell’s papers is The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell, edited at McMaster University, London: Routledge (1983–present). Many volumes are already in print but the proj- ect is ongoing. References to these volumes will be give throughout as ‘Papers’, followed by the volume number. In the Bibliography, references to Russell’s papers will be given for their location in this edition, rather than the original place of publication. Paper 8 was used with permission of Douglas Lackey and the Bertrand Russell Archive at McMaster University Library. I am grateful to Charles Pigden for offering his thoughts on this collec- tion and, in particular, for suggesting the inclusion of paper 18. The papers in this collection were originally published in the following places: 1 Greek Exercises First appeared in full in Papers 1: 3–20 (3–7, 10, 12, 20 only in this collection). 2 On the Distinction Between the Psychological and Metaphysical Points of View First appeared in Papers 1: 195–8. 3 The Free-Will Problem from an Idealist Standpoint First appeared in Papers 1: 229–39. 4 “The Dialectic of the Sciences” From selections that first appeared in full in Papers 2, Part I (5, 11, 12, 14–16, 84, 92–7 only in this collection). 5 Seems Madam? Nay It Is First appeared in Why I Am Not A Christian, P. Edwards (ed.), London: George Allen & Unwin, 1957: Ch. 5; reprinted in Papers 1: 106–11. 6 The Principles of Mathematics London, George Allen & Unwin, 1903. Paperback edition, London, Routledge, 1992: 42–52, 449–50. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 7 The Existential Import of Propositions First appeared in Mind, 14 (1905): 398–401; reprinted in Papers 4: 486–9. 8 Three Letters to Meinong First appeared in Russell, O.S. 9 (1973): 15–18. 9 The Basis of Realism First appeared in The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods, 8 (1911): 158–61; reprinted in Papers 6: 128–31. 10 Analytic Realism First appeared as “Le Réalisme analytique” in Bulletin de la société française de philosophie, 11 (1911): 282–91; reprinted in Papers 6; 133–46 (133–7 only in this collection). 11 The Philosophy of Logical Atomism First appeared in The Monist, 28 (1918): 495–527 and 29 (1919): 32–63, 190–222, 345–80; reprinted in Papers 8:160–244 (163–8, 187–90 and 234–44 only in this collection). 12 On the Relations of Universals and Particulars First appeared in Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 12 (1911–12): 1–24; reprinted in Papers 6: 167–82. 13 The Problem of Universals First appeared in Polemic, 2 (1946): 21–35; reprinted in Papers 11: 258–73. 14 On the Notion of Cause First appeared in Scientia, 13 (1913): 317–38; reprinted in Papers 6: 193–210. 15 Causal Laws in Physics First appeared in An Outline of Philosophy, London, George Allen & Unwin, 1927: Ch. 11. 16 Physics and Metaphysics First appeared in The Saturday Review of Literature, 4 (1928): 910–11; reprinted Papers 10: 272–8. 17 Causal Laws First appeared in Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits, London: George Allen & Unwin, 1948: Part IV, Ch. 9. 18 Vagueness First appeared in The Australasian Journal of Psychology and Philosophy, 1 (1923): 84–92; reprinted in Papers 9: 147–54. 19 Physics and Neutral Monism First appeared in The Analysis of Matter, London: George Allen & Unwin, 1927: Ch. 37. 20 Language and Metaphysics First appeared in An Inquiry Into Meaning and Truth , London: George Allen & Unwin, 1940: Ch. 25. 21 The Principle of Individuation First appeared as “Le Principe d’individuation” in Revue de métaphysique et de morale, 55 (1950): 1–15; reprinted in Papers 11: 294–303. viii INTRODUCTION This book is a collection, along with a commentary, of the most significant writings on metaphysics by Bertrand Russell. Unlike the other books published in this series so far, the heading under which Russell’s writings are selected is one that may not be fully understood in advance by some readers. Russell discussed many things, including politics, religion and ethics. He was, however, one of the greatest analytic philosophers of the twentieth century and this book includes some of the writings for which he deserves this status.