The late Bertrand Russell, English philosopher and mathematician, was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
University, where he taught for many years. He also lectured widely in the United States. Winner of the 1950 Nobel
Prize for Literature, he is the author of many books including the influential Principia Mathematica, with Alfred
North Whitehead, and The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell 1872-1967, published in three volumes.
Ruse, Michael : University of Guelph
Michael Ruse is Professor of Philosophy and Zoology at the University of Guelph, Ontario. He is the author of many
books, including Evolutionary Naturalism and The Darwinian Paradigm.
Review
"Mr. Russell succeeds in investing the subject with a fresh interest....Even on the points on which one
disagrees--and in a book of this type there will necessarily be many--the discussion is always acute and illuminating.
Mr. Russell has endeavored to state opposing points of view with fairness."
--Henry Hazlitt, The New York Times
Oxford University Press Web Site, May, 2000
Summary
In this timely work, Russell, philosopher, agnostic, mathematician, and renowned peace advocate, offers a brief
yet insightful study of the conflicts between science and traditional religion during the last four centuries.
Examining accounts in which scientific advances clashed with Christian doctrine or biblical interpretations of
the day, from Galileo and the Copernican Revolution, to the medical breakthroughs of anesthesia and inoculation,
Russell points to the constant upheaval and reevaluation of our systems of belief throughout history. In turn,
he identifies where similar debates between modern science and the Church still exist today. Michael Ruse's new
introduction brings these conflicts between science and theology up to date, focusing on issues arising after World
War II.
This classic is sure to interest all readers of philosophy and religion, as well as those interested in Russell's
thought and writings.
