Free Man's Worship

by Bertrand Russell · 1903

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Written in 1903, this essay by the philosopher Bertrand Russell asks how a thoughtful person should live once they accept that the universe has no purpose built into it. Russell argues that nature, which produced human beings, is indifferent to their hopes, and that the cosmos is ultimately headed toward decay. He rejects the idea that a creator or a moral order makes the world good, and he rejects the consolations of religion that depend on such beliefs. Yet he does not conclude that life is meaningless. Instead he proposes that a free person can find dignity by facing this truth without fear, by worshipping not a god but the things that the mind can admire: beauty, love, knowledge and the creative impulse. The essay is a short, lyrical statement of Russell's humanism.

Subject
philosophyphilosophyMore like thisLess of this
Themes
religionreligionMore like thisLess of thisphilosophyphilosophyMore like thisLess of this
Mood
thought provokingthought provokingMore like thisLess of this
Audience
adult
Length
medium · 227 pages
Form
essaysessaysMore like thisLess of this

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