The Right Honourable Bertrand Russell (Noble Price Winner) British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, writer, social critic and political activist.At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these in any profound sense.
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Russell in 1916
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Russell was appointed as professor at the City College of New York (CCNY) in 1940.
When Russell’s appointment was made public, Bishop Manning of the Protestant Episcopal Church wrote a letter to all New York newspapers in which he denounced the board’s action. “What is to be said of colleges and universities,” he wrote, “which hold up before our youth as a responsible teacher of philosophy . . . a man who is a recognized propagandist against both religion and morality, and who specifically defends adultery. . . . Can anyone who cares for the welfare of our country be willing to see such teaching disseminated with the countenance 3 of our colleges and universities?” Returning to the offensive a few days later, the Bishop said, “There are those who are so confused morally and mentally that they see nothing wrong in the appointment . . . of one who in his published writings said, ‘Outside of human desires there is no moral standard.’ ” It should be remarked in passing that if it were a requirement for teachers of philosophy to reject ethical relativism in its various forms, as Bishop Manning implied, half or more of them would have to be summarily dismissed. The Bishop’s letter was the signal for a campaign of vilification and intimidation unequaled in American history since the days of Jefferson and Thomas Paine.
The Committe of 18 which Unanimously appointed relooked, but still appointed with a vote in favour of 11: 7. Church went to court and was annulled by a court judgment that pronounced him "morally unfit" to teach at the college due to his opinions—notably those relating to sexual morality, detailed in Marriage and Morals (1929).
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1950
Earl (Bertrand Arthur William) Russell
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1950 was awarded to Bertrand Russell"in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought".
After which everybody in Newyork was talking about him and were proud of him, having served in city.
Church continues its frauds. No body is allowed to express free speech really. Here the court which stopped Russel.
1940-Bertrand Russell unwelcome to teach in New York
On February 26, 1940, the Board of Higher Education of New York City appointed British philosopher, logician, essayist, and social critic Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) to a Philosophy chair at the College of the City of New York to teach courses in mathematics and logic. As soon as the announcement became public, William Manning, a bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church, sent a letter to the New York Times denouncing Russell as a recognized propagandist against both religion and morality. This letter prompted strong opposition against the appointment, voiced particularly by organized conservative religious and patriotic groups. Many academics, students, liberal clergy, and civic groups jumped to defend Russell with pronouncements for freedom of speech and against censorship. The Committee on Cultural Freedom, for instance, stated that "whatever his views on marriage, divorce, and birth control, Mr. Russell has the same right to hold them as have his opponents theirs. His critics should meet him in the open and fair play of intellectual discussion and scientific analysis. They have no right to silence him by preventing him from teaching" (cited in Dykhuizen 1973:305).
The debate moved to the courts when a mother filed a suit against the Board of Higher Education requesting the annulment of the appointment. The legal argument was that Russell was a foreigner, and aliens were not eligible for civil service jobs unless they proved their expertise in a competitive examination--something that the college failed to do. The court case against Russell also included 'moral' arguments, accusing his books of being "lecherous, salacious, libidinous, lustful, venerous, erotomaniac, aphrodisiac, atheistic, irreverent, narrow-minded, untruthful, and bereft of moral fiber" (cited in Dykhuizen 1973:20). A month later, in spite of the fact that great philosophers like Whitehead, Montague, Ducasse, and Dewey defended the appointment and praised Russell's academic and moral qualifications, the judge favored the plaintiff, and rescinded Russell's contract on the ground that his writings menaced the public health, safety, and morals of the community. The court ruling went even further, stating that the appointment constituted a "chair of indecency, " and that it was "an insult to the people of New York." The court's order was unsuccessfully appealed, and Russell was not allowed to teach.
One year later, John Dewey and Horace M. Kallen edited The Bertrand Russell Case, a volume of works on several aspects of the case that took place the previous year, and discussed its social implications. In a chapter suggestively entitled, Social realities vs. police court fictions, Dewey showed how Russell's writings were taken out of context during the trial, and contended against authoritarianism and censorship, advocating the need for public academic discussion, even on topics of social morals where taboos are very strong.
This was not the first time in his life that Bertrand Russell had been rejected by a higher education institution. In 1916 he had been fined 110 pounds and dismissed from Trinity College (Cambridge) in connection with anti-war protests. Two years later, at the end of the WWI, he had been imprisoned for six months for participating in anti-war protests. This would not be his last time in prison for his pacifist stances. In 1961, three years after founding the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, he was in jail for one week in connection with anti-nuclear protests. Russell was never sympathetic towards wars: "patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons, " he said (for more quotes from Bertrand Russell, click here).
In 1950, ten years after he was disallowed to teach in New York, Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
The debate moved to the courts when a mother filed a suit against the Board of Higher Education requesting the annulment of the appointment. The legal argument was that Russell was a foreigner, and aliens were not eligible for civil service jobs unless they proved their expertise in a competitive examination--something that the college failed to do. The court case against Russell also included 'moral' arguments, accusing his books of being "lecherous, salacious, libidinous, lustful, venerous, erotomaniac, aphrodisiac, atheistic, irreverent, narrow-minded, untruthful, and bereft of moral fiber" (cited in Dykhuizen 1973:20). A month later, in spite of the fact that great philosophers like Whitehead, Montague, Ducasse, and Dewey defended the appointment and praised Russell's academic and moral qualifications, the judge favored the plaintiff, and rescinded Russell's contract on the ground that his writings menaced the public health, safety, and morals of the community. The court ruling went even further, stating that the appointment constituted a "chair of indecency, " and that it was "an insult to the people of New York." The court's order was unsuccessfully appealed, and Russell was not allowed to teach.
One year later, John Dewey and Horace M. Kallen edited The Bertrand Russell Case, a volume of works on several aspects of the case that took place the previous year, and discussed its social implications. In a chapter suggestively entitled, Social realities vs. police court fictions, Dewey showed how Russell's writings were taken out of context during the trial, and contended against authoritarianism and censorship, advocating the need for public academic discussion, even on topics of social morals where taboos are very strong.
This was not the first time in his life that Bertrand Russell had been rejected by a higher education institution. In 1916 he had been fined 110 pounds and dismissed from Trinity College (Cambridge) in connection with anti-war protests. Two years later, at the end of the WWI, he had been imprisoned for six months for participating in anti-war protests. This would not be his last time in prison for his pacifist stances. In 1961, three years after founding the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, he was in jail for one week in connection with anti-nuclear protests. Russell was never sympathetic towards wars: "patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons, " he said (for more quotes from Bertrand Russell, click here).
In 1950, ten years after he was disallowed to teach in New York, Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Source: Dykhuizen, G. (1973). The life and mind of John Dewey. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.DS
In America everybody is of the opinion that he has no social superiors, since all men are equal, but he does not admit that he has no social inferiors, for, from the time of Jefferson onward, the doctrine that all men are equal applies only upwards, not downwards.
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