This short introduction to philosophy asks what we can know about the world around us. It begins with a table whose color and shape seem to change depending on where we stand.
150 pages 2h 54m reading time
One of the most widely read short introductions to philosophy in English, still used in classrooms more than a century later.
Argues that we never see physical things directly, only the colors, shapes, and sounds they cause in us, so the existence of a real world behind them is a reasonable belief rather than a certainty.
Separates knowing something by direct contact (like a pain you feel) from knowing it through a description (like a person you have only read about), and argues that most of what we know is of the second kind.
Ends by arguing that philosophy is valuable not for giving final answers but for widening our minds and freeing us from narrow habits of thought.
Helped shape the style of philosophy that came to lead in English-speaking universities in the 20th century, which tries to break big questions into clear, careful arguments.
Shaped by a love affair
Russell wrote it while in love with Lady Ottoline Morrell, whose influence many see in its closing pages.
Made for a cheap series
It was written for the Home University Library, a series of low-cost books teaching ordinary readers new subjects.
His "shilling shocker"
Russell jokingly called it his "shilling shocker," because it sold for a shilling, like cheap thriller novels.
A break from mathematics
Russell wrote it while also working on Principia Mathematica, a huge book on the logic behind mathematics.
Bertrand Russell 1912