info@woodslane.com.au
Contact us on (02) 8445 2300
For all customer service and order enquiries

WOODSLANE

Popular Subjects

Woodslane Online Catalogues

9781793618474 Add to Cart Academic Inspection Copy

Science and Apocalypse in Bertrand Russell

A Cultural Sociology
Description
Author
Biography
Table of
Contents
Reviews
Google
Preview
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) was a logician, a philosopher, and one of the twentieth century's most visible public intellectuals. Science and Apocalypse in Bertrand Russell: A Cultural Sociology brings those three aspects together to trace Russell's 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 Perez-Jara and Lino Camprubi provide a fresh multidimensional analysis of the general themes of science, technology, utopia, and apocalypse. The book critically examines Russell's 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 Russell's 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 Russell's 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.
Javier Perez-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 Camprubi is a Ramon y Cajal Researcher at the Universidad de Sevilla.
Introduction: The Wings of Icarus Chapter 1: The Dying Sacred Fire of Mathematics and Logic Chapter 2: World War I and the Dethronement of Science Chapter 3: The Tortuous Mazes of Mind and Matter Chapter 4: Lights and Shadows of Nuclear Death Chapter 5: The Vietnam War and the Judgment Day Conclusion: The History of Humankind and the Rashomon Effect
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 Russel's rich intellectual life must read this book, but it is also particularly interesting for its deft use of cultural sociology and positioning theory. -- Patrick Baert
Google Preview content