What is Russell’s Principle of Acquaintance? To which question is it supposed to be an answer?

Reading (optional): Russell, B. (1910). Knowledge by Acquaintance and Knowledge by Description. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 11:108–128

There are things you can think about and others about which you cannot think it all. What distinguishes the things you can think about? Could it be that you are acquainted with the things you can think about? No, because you can think about things that you know only by description, like Julius Caesar.

Reading (optional): Russell, B. (1910). Knowledge by Acquaintance and Knowledge by Description. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 11:108–128

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‘I hold that acquaintance is wholly a relation, not demanding any such constituent of the mind as is supposed by advocates of ‘ideas’’ (Russell, 1910 p. 212).

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The argument from massive reduplication was not intended as an argument for Russell’s principle, although we can attempt to adapt it to that end. But what is the argument from massivie reduplication, and what does the argument aim to show? Does it succeed?

Reading (optional):

• Russell, B. (1910). Knowledge by Acquaintance and Knowledge by Description. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 11:108–128
• pages 20--22 of Strawson, P. F. (1959). Individuals. Meuthen, London.

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Our question is, How do your thoughts connect to the things about which you think? Russell’s Principle of Acquaintance provides one possible answer. It may be possible to justify accepting the Principle of Acquaintance by appeal to the possibility of massive reduplication.