OUTLINE OF DISCUSSION

The following will be the flow of the discussion:

● Who is Bertrand Russel?
● What is the Free Man’s Worship?
● How does he present it?
● Why does he present it?
WHO IS BERTRAND RUSSEL?
● Birth - May 18, 1872 at Ravenscroft in Trelleck, Monmouthshire, UK.
● Education - Entered Trinity College where he met Whitehead
● Field of Work - Logic and Analytic Philosophy
● Contribution - Free Man’s Worship
● Death - February 02 1970 at Penrhyndeudraeth, Wales.
What is the Free Man’s Worship?
It is the best known essay written on 1903. It shows the meaning of life and how life must be
lived. However, the essay presents Atheistic Perspective and the reason of the non-existence of
God.
SUMMARY OF THE FREE MAN’S WORSHIP
● Cosmic Drama - Humans are accidental creation of atoms. Hence, there is no ultimate
goal of man. There is no design.
● Man sees the pains of life - Nature is unfeeling.
● Worship of Power and Fate - God does not exist. There are no Morality, no Goal and
creation is nonsense.
● Man’s superiority - MAN’S CREATION OF GOD: Man must choose to cling on his own
ideals. He must not give in to nature’s power. In this universe, desires cannot be fulfilled.
Hence, one must give up desires. Thus, he is led to create a God, from unrealized ideals.
● Freedom of the mind - GOAL OF MAN IS FREEDOM: Man cannot escape the forces of
nature. Resistance and rebellion from nature is fruitless. However, man must not give up
on eternal goodness. His only choice is the proper attitude
TWO MODES OF WORSHIP
● WORSHIP OF POWER
● CLING TO HUMAN IDEALS
THESES OF THE FREE MAN’S WORSHIP
● Life is tragedy. The World is evil.
● Worship because of power is illogical.
● A good GOD will never create a world with cruel and evil people.
● Reject the universal power and death to attain freedom.
CONCLUSION
The essay, Free Man’s worship of Bertrand Russel posits that there is no GOD. He
followed Nietzsche claim that GOD is just an idea created by humans. Moreover, Russel points
out that the created GOD is an unrealized ideal of human concepts brought about by the
sufferings and pains of the forces of nature. Man cannot escape these forces as well as his fate of
dying. However he can be free by choosing his own attitude towards it. He then rejects the
universal power and death in order to attain freedom of the mind.