Bertrand Russell on Modality and Logical Relevance

This is a study of Bertrand Russell on modality and relevance. Russell used notions of ordinary quantificational logic to define and analyze away the basic notions of modal logic. The ordinary individual and universal quantifiers are used to simulate modal notions. Literally speaking, Russell has banished modality from logic, yet functionally speaking, he has achieved an S5 modal logic based on a theory of modality. The author imputes seven S5 logics to Russell and shows that Russell states the key to his modal theory in at least nine works over a period of at least 36 years. The author then explains five modal ""howlers"" which Russell has been accused of, as based on misunderstandings. Russell's modal logic anticipates Carnap, Tarski, McKinsey, Almog and Etchemendy and has predecessors in Bolzano and Venn. The text's interdisciplinary argument involves both legal and philosophical scholarship.