Perspective

Bertrand Russell is entirely responsible for the perspective of The Problems of Philosophy. His perspective is reflected both in his style of writing, in the questions he asks and in the answers he gives.

First, the reader would do well to be aware that Russell's writing style is not only informed by his education as a logician. He is reacting to an earlier British philosophical tradition known as British Hegelianism, which the reader will see addressed indirectly and directly in the text. British Hegelian writing was notoriously obscure and wholly uninformed by the sciences. Russell became impatient with Hegelian methods as he matured as a philosopher. Russell is also impressed by early twentieth century science and logic, particularly physics as it was being developed by famous physicists such as Einstein.

Second, Russell's perspective is reflected in his questions. His primary questions are epistemological, or concern how we can...