From Absolute Idealism to The Principles of Mathematics
Abstract
In this review article of Volumes 2 and 3 of _The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell, I distinguish and attempt to clarify three periods of Russell's early philosophical development: R 'subscript 1', his Hegelian period of 1894-1898; R 'subscript 2', his Moore-influenced period from the end of 1898 to his meeting Peano in August 1900; and R 'subscript 3', the period after he met Peano through the completion of _The Principles of Mathematics. I argue that the position Russell defends in R 'subscript 2' is in conflict with the logicism he develops in R 'subscript 3' and that this conflict within Russell's postidealist philosophy is reflected in the _Principles