Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits [Paperback]

Bertrand russell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 1967 | ISBN-10: 067120145X | ISBN-13: 978-0671201456

Russell's classic examination of the relation between individual experience and the general body of scientific knowledge. It is a rigorous examination of the problems of an empiricist epistemology.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

It is the nearest thing to a systematic philosophy written by one who does not believe in systems of philosophy. Its scope is encyclopedic . . . a joy to read.
–Sidney Hook, The New York Times

His intelligibility comes of stating things directly as he himself sees them, sharply defined and readily crystallized in the best English philosophical style.
–Times Literary Supplement

Of peculiar importance is that it is an exemplar, for the general reader, of Russell's special contribution to human knowledge. In it he applies with his usual lucidity and wit, the methods of inquiry, which he has done so much to develop, to the question of how we come to know whatever we do know about the universe.
–The Observer --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970). The leading British Philosopher of the twentieth century, who made major contributions to the area of logic and epistemology. Politically active and habitually outspoken, his ethical principles twice lead to imprisonment

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 524 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (October 30, 1967)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067120145X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671201456
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,178,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970). Philosopher, mathematician, educational and sexual reformer, pacifist, prolific letter writer, author and columnist, Bertrand Russell was one of the most influential and widely known intellectual figures of the twentieth century. In 1950 he was awarded the Noble Prize for Literature in 1950 for his extensive contributions to world literature and for his "rationality and humanity, as a fearless champion of free speech and free thought in the West."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strictly reserved for the serious, August 10, 2007

By 

D. Coyle - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (Paperback)

To my knowledge, one of the best books ever written.

Russell's English has a wonderful, graceful clarity. But this is not an easy book to read. What does it mean to "know"? what do we know? how far can we be sure that we do in fact know? These are fundamental questions about human thought, and this book is an essential item in the library of anyone who is concerned with such questions.

5.0 out of 5 stars A profound study of knowledge, January 7, 2012

By 

Ernest Davis (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bertrand Russell Bundle: Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (Routledge Classics) (Paperback)

Russell's "Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits" has had more influence on my own thinking than any other work of technical philosophy I have read. Russell is always a spectacularly readable and clear writer, full of vivid, well chosen examples, and with very little abstract argument or technical jargon. He is also, at least in this work, particularly sensible, realistic, and grounded in reality. I don't always find the answers he proposes adequate; but I do always feel that his questions and concerns are the right ones.