PHILOSOPHERS - BERTRAND RUSSELL & G.E. MOORE Collection of letters to eminent Cambridge philosop...

PHILOSOPHERS - BERTRAND RUSSELL & G.E. MOORE Collection of letters to eminent Cambridge philosopher Casimir Lewy (1919-1991), from fellow philosophers including Bertrand Russell, G.E. Moore, and many others, comprising: i) Three autograph letters, signed ('Russell'), one writing in February 1945 congratulating him on his marriage and commenting on the futility of war ('...I infer... you are deeply attached to her; I hope it is mutual, & if so I congratulate you. I am obsessed by the futility of all our pursuits, since England will be wiped out in the next war. But we have to go on pretending...'), others making arrangements; one typed enclosing a testimonial ('...I have no doubt he would be found thoroughly satisfactory...'); another from Russell's wife, 6 pages, 8vo, Cambridge and N.W.1, 8 February [19]45 to 17 January [19]49; ii) Extensive correspondence of c.90 autograph letters, postcards and testimonials, from G.E. Moore, signed ('G.E. Moore'), two from his wife on his behalf, offering testimonials ('...I have rarely met with a student of philosophy of whom one could say so confidently that he deserves to be encouraged to undertake research...'), taking a keen interest in his career and helping him obtain funding, much detailed material on his sub-editorship of Mind, suggestions for articles and book reviews, sending material to be published, his own work in America, an extensive critique of Lewy's paper intended for publication, April 1944 ('...There are lots of other things in your paper which bother me...'), c.135 pages, 4to and 8vo, Cambridge (U.K.), Massachusetts, California, New York,1939-1951; iii) Further correspondence, autograph and typed, from A.C. Ewing (6 plus 2 testimonials), G.E.M. Anscombe (3), C.D. Broad (11 plus 3 testimonials, 4 postcards), H.H. Price (4 plus 2 postcards), John Wisdom (4 testimonials, 1 letter), A.E. Duncan Jones (5 plus 1 postcard), G.E. Hughes (1), R.B. Braithwaite (letter and testimonial), C.A. Mace (letter and testimonial), c.70 pages, 4to and 8vo, [various places, c.1945-1964] Footnotes: 'I AM OBSESSED BY THE FUTILITY OF ALL OUR PURSUITS... BUT WE HAVE TO GO ON PRETENDING': A collection of letters by eminent Cambridge philosophers including comments by Bertrand Russell on the war. Casimir Lewy (1919-1991) began working with G.E. Moore in 1938 when undertaking his first degree at Cambridge, and much of their correspondence here spans the period when Moore was lecturing in America in the mid 1940's. Whilst abroad, Moore continued to edit the philosophical journal Mind and, as this series shows, much of the day-to-day work was left to Lewy, with Moore keeping tight control of all aspects of the editorial process via letter and postcard, the correspondence traversing the Atlantic in the midst of war. Lewy, a highly influential teacher and philosopher, is best known for his work on philosophical logic, leaving 'a deep imprint on the ways that subsequent generations of Cambridge philosophers... thought, wrote and thought... he lectured undergraduates... with a furious passion, an intimidating rigour and an unmatched body language... ' (Casimir Lewy Obituary, Ian Hacking, Proceedings of the British Academy, 138, pp.171-177 online). From Poland of Jewish descent, he came to Cambridge in 1936 and graduated in first-class honours in 1939. His PhD thesis Some philosophical considerations concerning the survival of death was overseen primarily by G.E. Moore but also Ludwig Wittgenstein (see lot 245). Unable to return to his native country after Hitler's invasion, he spent most of his career at Cambridge. Several of his students went on to become prominent philosophers and the library at the Philosophy Faculty at the University of Cambridge bears his name. Provenance: Casimir Lewy (1919-1991); by descent to the present owner. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing