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Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)Mathematician and philosopher, Russell was Powys's almost exact contemporary and perhaps perfect antagonist. Although they were at Cambridge the same two years, the first time they met was in New York for a debate Is Modern Marriage A Failure? which took place on the 13th of December, 1929 in Mecca Temple, New York. They were both deemed wonderful speakers, but the debate proved detrimental to Powys because of Russell's superior skills in argument. Powys did not believe in the value of argument whereas Russell was a redoubtable debater. As noted by Anthony Head "....The two men were to meet again in later old age after Russell had also moved to North Wales. Some of Powys's later letters refer to enjoyable visits by his erstwhile adversary." (Powys to Sea Eagle, editor A. Head). | ||
The film was found and presented by Anthony Head at the 1993 Powys Conference, held at Kingston Maurward, Dorset.In a manner that is neither as casual as in his private correspondence nor as premeditated as in his books and scholarly lectures, each man reveals therein a facet of his complex nature... Essentially, Russell derived his zeal here and elsewhere from a conviction that the human condition is susceptible to amelioration through social change. Powys was never an advocate of public reform because he considered the attainment of happiness to be the result of an entirely personal quest for fulfilment.In his diary, John Cowper briefly notes: | |||
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