Originally published September 2022.

We continue with the next instalment in the series on Nobel laureate authors, some of whom may not stand the test of time.

As the first president of CND, imprisoned several times for his outspoken views on war, married four times, the 3^rd Earl Russell is a colourful and controversial figure in the Nobel listings. His output in all forms of works was astonishing, writing 3,000 words a day from his early youth. He excelled in such a range of interests across ethics, philosophy, mathematics and theology that it is unsurprising that his 1950 citation was, “In recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought”. 

He was an intellectual superstar, rubbing shoulders with the outstanding individuals of the time, counting Einstein as a friend. Prepared to confront the evils of war with relentless logic and searing philosophy made him both popular and deeply unpopular; it seems, however, refreshing that someone of such bold convictions should be both rewarded for their intellectual insights and be set to go to prison in support of them. In the ever-shifting fields of ethics, philosophy and especially epistemology, his explorations formed a basis for new insights. His study of symbolic logic in maths and the groundbreaking discovery of a paradox in 1901 that bears his name, speak of the longevity of his influence.