The Bertrand Russell Case

"The Bertrand Russell Case" edited by John Dewey and Horace M Kallen is a collection of articles on Bertrand Russell's court dismissal as Professor of Philosophy at the College of the City of New York (CCNY) in 1940.

Russell's appointment was confirmed by New York's Board of Higher Education in spite of a media frenzy led by Dr William T. Manning, the Episcopal Bishop of New York.

The matter was, however, taken to the New York Supreme Court by Jean Kay who was afraid that her daughter would be harmed by the appointment although her daughter was not a student at CCNY. The judge hearing the case was the Irish Catholic John E. McGeehan who on the basis of four of Russell's popular and non-philosophic books ("On Education", "What I Believe" (co-written with E.M. Forster), "Education and the Modern World", and "Marriage and Morals") ruled against 'a chair of indecency,' finding Russell morally unfit to teach philosophy. In the books, Russell among other things advocated sex before marriage.

Russell was prevented from appearing in court and an appeal by the American Civil Liberties Union was denied in several courts. The City of New York's lawyers told the Board of Higher Education that the verdict would not be appealed. A few days later Mayor LaGuardia removed the funds for the position from the budget.

When Russell later published the lectures he gave at Harvard that fall as "An Inquiry into Meaning and Truth" he added 'Judicially pronounced unworthy to be Professor of Philosophy at the College of the City of New York' to the listing of distinctions and academic honours on the title page in the English version.

Russell commented on Judge McGeehan that "As an Irish Catholic, his views were perhaps prejudiced" and compared his case to the case against Socrates saying that "precisely the same accusations were brought - atheism and corrupting the young".

Judge McGeehan's original ruling is published as "Kay v. Board of Higher Ed. of City of New York", 18 N.Y.S.2d 821 (1940).

Bibliography

Bertrand Russell, "The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell: The Middle Years: 1914-1944". Bantam, 1969.

Thom Weidlich. "Appointment Denied: The Inquisition of Bertrand Russell". Prometheus Books, 2000.