Bertrand Russell's Writings and Reflections on History

Abstract

This essay examines Russell's historical writing, views on historical knowledge, and what history meant to him. In addition to frequent historical references in writing on ethics, religion, social issues, education and politics, and some half- dozen works mostly historical in character, he wrote four reflective essays on history and its uses. They are "On History" (1904), "The Materialistic Theory of History" (1920), "How to Read and Understand History" (1943) and "History as an Art" (1954). There are additional scattered, brief examples of historical exposition and interpretation in works for the popular press, but these 80 pages or so stand out from an enormous body of work from about 1895 to 1970.