Because of his great importance as a logician, one rarely hears about Bertrand Russell’s ethical essays. In these works, however, it is interesting to come into contact with a different side of Russell than the more commonly studied image of the logician-mathematician, a thinker who, while maintaining a lucid and critical gaze on the surrounding reality, possesses a profoundly human character in his search for happiness beyond the clichés of his era.
His approach to sexuality, in particular, lacks specific studies, despite the fact that some of his positions led him to be tried and unjustly condemned, effectively banning him from teaching throughout the state of New York. This approach of his is particularly visible in the essay “Marriage and Morals” of 1929 and is developed in several articles written between 1927 and 1954, now collected in “Why I am not Christian” published in 1957.
Originally published as:
C. Diotto, , La sessualità razionale di Bertrand Russell. Rassegna critica sui saggi morali pubblicati dal 1925 al 1954, “Philosophical Readings” Vol IV.3, p. 16-34. ISSN 2036-4989
Caterina Diotto 