Voices of Reason - John Shosky: Russell’s Relevance
Join us for our Voices of Reason lecture series with John Shosky.
One hundred years ago, Bertrand Russell was the most celebrated philosopher of his time. But he lived long enough to become a public personality, then an historical relic by the time of his death in 1970. For twenty years after that, Russell was generally a figure of scorn, or simply ignored. But in the last decade of the previous century, interest in Russell was visibly renewed, with major contributions by Peter Hylton, Nicholas Griffin, and Gregory Landini. The publication of the "Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell" was also of significance. But then Ray Monk wrote a two-volume best-seller that gave us a very uncomfortable, sometimes repugnant, picture of Russell. Shosky argues that we can't let him have the last word, because there is more to Russell than Monk's obsessed, selfish, tortured, driven, failed figure. The achievements get lost in the focus on the dark side of his personality. Russell was a monumental philosopher, generous towards his colleagues (especially Ludwig Wittgenstein), and a very humane humanist. These sides of Russell deserve comment and recognition. Professor Shosky will use film footage, voice interviews, and comments by other philosophers. He will discuss Russell's relevance for our time, and perhaps do a little bit of rehabilitation along the way.
John Shosky has written numerous articles on Bertrand Russell. In addition to a career in government service and communications consulting, he is an adjunct professorial lecturer in the School of International Service at American University and an adjunct lecturer in philosophy at Northern Virginia Community College. He has taught at Charles IV University in Prague and is an occasional visiting scholar in the Department of Logic at the Czech Academy of Sciences. He is also a visiting senior member of Linacre College in the University of Oxford.
Must RSVP to or call 202-546-2330 Ext. 111.
Public: $6; Free to Friends of the Center
