The Problems of Philosophy

Credits and rights

Original writer

Bertrand Russell

Publisher of this edition

BoingyBooks Classics

Original publisher

Project Gutenberg

Adaptation credits

John Shoufler / BoingyBooks Classics — digital edition

Original source / edition

The Problems of Philosophy (1912)

License

Public Domain

License link

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

Rights and adaptation notice

This work is in the public domain. John Shoufler published this digital edition through BoingyBooks Classics. The original work remains public domain and may be copied, adapted, and shared.

The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell (1912)

The best introduction to philosophy ever written. In just 100 pages, Russell — Nobel laureate, mathematician, and public intellectual — explains what philosophy is, why it matters, and how it trains the mind to think clearly.

Historical Significance:
Russell wrote The Problems of Philosophy in 1912 for the Home University Library, a series of affordable educational books. He intended it as a simple introduction but produced a work of lasting brilliance. The book covers perception, reality, knowledge, truth, and the value of philosophy with extraordinary clarity. Russell's famous "table argument" — how do we know the table we see is real? — has introduced millions of students to epistemology. The final chapter, "The Value of Philosophy," is one of the most eloquent defenses of liberal education ever written: philosophy "keeps alive our sense of wonder" and frees us from "the tyranny of custom."

This public domain classic was originally published in 1912. Free to read and share.