Religion and Science
2. The Views of Bertrand Russell
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perceive reality in its full and final form. It is only
from his observation of the visible things in the
universe that he can infer the reality behind it. It is
strange that a man as intelligent as Russell should
reject scepticism just as he rejects religion. He
forgets that by adopting such a position, he is guilty
of contradicting his own standards.
Russell clearly asserts that even such beliefs are
valid as have not been experienced, and he has
committed himself to such ‘beliefs’, for instance, as
concern the most ancient and least explored parts of
the earth, as well as the furthermost reaches of the
universe, which have been studied by astronomy.
Here is a quotation from his book,
Human
Knowledge:
“I commit myself to the view that there are valid
processes of inference from events to other events
.... more particularly, from events of which I am
aware without inference to events of which I have
no such awareness (p. 10).
He takes the same line in his book,
My Philosophical
Development:
“I do think that there are forms of
probable inference which must be accepted
