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Atheist vs. agnostic: his own characterization
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Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) was a 20th century atheist championed by liberals and awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950 for his pacifist writings.
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Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) was a 20th century atheist<ref>His own characterization: "I never know whether I should say 'Agnostic' or whether I should say 'Atheist'.... As a philosopher, if I were speaking to a purely philosophic audience I should say that I ought to describe myself as an Agnostic, because I do not think that there is a conclusive argument by which one prove that there is not a God. On the other hand, if I am to convey the right impression to the ordinary man in the street I think I ought to say that I am an Atheist, because when I say that I cannot prove that there is not a God, I ought to add equally that I cannot prove that there are not the Homeric gods." Russell, Bertrand (1947) "Am I An Atheist Or An Agnostic?"[http://www.luminary.us/russell/atheist_agnostic.html]</ref> championed by liberals and awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950 for his pacifist writings.
    
Russell was part philosopher and part mathematician.  His biggest work was a three-volume attempt to derive all mathematical principles from a well-defined set of axioms and inference rules in symbolic logic, entitled ''Principia Mathematica'' (1910-1913).  He published this work with [[Alfred North Whitehead]].
 
Russell was part philosopher and part mathematician.  His biggest work was a three-volume attempt to derive all mathematical principles from a well-defined set of axioms and inference rules in symbolic logic, entitled ''Principia Mathematica'' (1910-1913).  He published this work with [[Alfred North Whitehead]].
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A member of British nobility with the title of "Earl", Russell remained a hero to those on the political left, particularly in the English-speaking world, throughout his life.
 
A member of British nobility with the title of "Earl", Russell remained a hero to those on the political left, particularly in the English-speaking world, throughout his life.
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==Notes and references==
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<references/>
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