ABSTRACT
Martin Buber’s philosophy and social thought might not, at fi rst sight, be thought to have much in common with that of the British logician, analytical philosopher and atheist Bertrand Russell. The personal relationship between Russell and Buber was slight, being confi ned to no more than a brief exchange of letters. However, in fact, they had a number of intellectual and moral points of contact, for example, Russell’s pacifi sm and commitment to nuclear disarmament and their common concern with the struggle for human freedom and dignity. Bertrand Russell was heir to an aristocratic title as the 3rd Earl Russell, succeeding his elder brother John in 1931; their grandfather Lord John Russell had been a Victorian prime minister. Bertrand Russell was a distinguished academic mathematician and philosopher, but his moral conscience was to lead him into a life of social and political action (Ryan, 1988).
