French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. Russell, De la fumisterie intellectuelle (reprint)
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
Bertrand Russell
De la fumisterie intellectuelle
L'Herne
ISBN : 9791031902753
96 p.
7.00 €
Preface by Jean Bricmont.
Translated from English by Myriam Dennehy.
OVERVIEW
Living in the United States during the war, Bertrand Russell published his “Outline of Intellectual Rubbish” in 1943. Despairing of seeing “great nations, which had once guided civilization, led astray by preachers of grandiloquent nonsense,” he turned to the study of the past to discover, much like Erasmus had, “that folly is perennial and yet humanity has survived.”
Reading this essay may offer us at least a measure of consolation at a time when identity and religious passions threaten to plunge humanity into disaster once again. Throughout his life, Russell combined his passion for truth with a deep aversion to human cruelty, fighting with his pen against what he elsewhere described as “the ocean of folly upon which the fragile bark of human reason precariously floats.” He always reserved his sharpest arrows for the superstitions used to justify cruelty.
In this essay, Russell dissects with his characteristic irony the religious, philosophical, nationalist, and political prejudices of both past and present. Éditions de l'Herne are proud to publish, for the first time in French, this entertaining and caustic essay by the greatest rationalist thinker of the 20th century.
Bertrand Russell wrote extensively on the fragility of reason in a turbulent world, engaging with public discourse through numerous essays and journalistic interventions. The tradition of philosophical polemic against popular delusions has a long history, running from humanist critiques of ignorance through Enlightenment skepticism into modern analytical philosophy. Within twentieth-century British thought, figures like Russell sought to apply logical clarity and empirical standards directly to political and social dogmatism, positioning philosophy as a public instrument for intellectual hygiene and sanity.
This edition presents the French translation of Russell's text, accompanied by a preface by Jean Bricmont and translated by Myriam Dennehy. The volume addresses religious, philosophical, nationalist, and political prejudices through irony and rational analysis, exploring the persistence of human folly across history. Readers interested in the history of twentieth-century rationalism or public philosophy may find this translated essay a relevant text for examining the ongoing persistence of irrational beliefs in contemporary society.