Unpopular Essays
Chapter 1. Philosophy and Politics
What Russell is trying to say in chapter 1 is that (1) there is no need to ‘always’ endure present unpleasantness for the sake of doubtful future good, (2) one does not fall into dogmatism, and (3) without experience and science, people easily become obedient to authority. The first content here is consistent with the passage from Seneca’s ‘On the Shortness of Life’: “Do not suffer in the present and believe that you will get what you desire in the future.”
Chapter 2. Philosophy for Laymen
In Chapter 2, Russell stated that philosophy clarifies the limits and scope of knowledge and helps us discover reasons to believe that certain beliefs are true. However, in Chapter 4 (The Power to See Through Error Thinking), Russell says that the deeper one goes into philosophy, the more elaborate and complex the errors become. Here, metaphysics and Hegelian and Marxist philosophy are criticized.
Chapter 5. The Superior Virtue of the Oppressed
In this chapter, Russell argues that granting superior virtues to the oppressed (vulnerable classes; women, proletarians, etc.) is temporary and unstable. Virtue that is superior to the weak, such as camel morality, can easily be transformed into a reason to have power, and although this may temporarily help them achieve equality, it becomes propaganda in that it has no clear basis. He cites Africans and Indians as examples and believes that civilized people give them superiority because they have the ability to communicate with nature or God.
Here, I saw ‘Middle Easterners who fled to Europe due to war’, who were highly regarded as free people trying to escape political oppression. This caused Europeans to turn a blind eye to anti-social acts in the name of morality (in fact, it was the result of hypocritically thinking that they were of a higher moral and social status than they were). And they were optimistic about the dangers ahead. However, when they reached equal status with Europeans, they did not seem to blend into their society.
Chapter 6. On Being Modern-minded
Russell believes that ignoring the past and following trends makes it easy for anyone to become a top intellectual. Writing a paper according to trends is the same as getting it published in a good journal. However, the only time you get sympathy is at that moment, and you cannot get sympathy at all times. Temporary fame allows you to be noticed, praised, and benefit from constant media coverage, but you also try to adapt your judgment to the opinions of the public (or fellow researchers). Russell believed that humanity easily falls into this temptation because (1) times are changing rapidly, and (2) theological beliefs independent of external evaluation have disappeared. He argues that to protect one’s beliefs, (1) greater confidence and passion are needed, and (2) one must enjoy solitude by being isolated in time and space.
The dilemma of having to conduct research to follow trends is a difficult problem to solve. I think that in order to become a doctor, you have to solve this dilemma in your own way. This is because it is evidence of my growth as an independent researcher. I think I am pursuing a doctoral degree because I highly recognize the value of classics and hope that people from different eras will empathize with my research by solving future problems (even if they are not necessarily scientific problems) without relying on external evaluation.
Chapter 7. An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish
In this chapter, Russell explains examples of human errors and introduces ways to overcome them. Russell argued that pride and love of wonder are the causes of making false statements and making errors, and to solve this problem, we must (1) observe directly if we can, (2) listen to the perceptions and opinions of other groups, and (3) avoid fear (convince ourselves that we cannot face disaster or practice pure courage). This chapter is the longest and contains the most examples in the book.
Chapter 8. The Functions of a Teacher
In this chapter, Russell deals with the attitudes and values that educators should have. It is argued that educators of this era should cultivate fair inquiry habits and lead them to judge problems for themselves as guardians of civilization, rather than allowing them to become ignorant members of the public with narrow views or lowering their guard to easily become partisan.
Chapter 10. Ideas that have Harmed Mankind
In this chapter, Russell believes that the causes of the evil that humans inflict on each other are evil passions and religion or superstition. In addition, the tendency to misunderstand that one’s good or bad luck is someone else’s plan, jealousy of the other person is a cause of believing in wrong beliefs, and pride in one’s nation, race, gender, class, and beliefs were also cited as causes. Russell believes that tolerance and kindness can be interpreted as organizational and moral qualities.
I think this chapter suggests a lot about the nationalism that is being revived in modern society. In particular, the confrontation structure between the Soviet Union and the United States has now changed to the United States and China, and the same conflict is still being repeated.