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Why did Bertrand Russell criticize the coherence theory of truth?

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Marble bust of Aristotle with a beard and draped robe, showing detailed facial features and wavy hair, set against a dark background. — Truth Detail of a Roman copy (2nd century bce) of a Greek alabaster portrait bust of Aristotle (c. 325 bce); in the collection of the Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome.

Bertrand Russell criticized the coherence theory of truth primarily because it fails to account for the possibility of multiple, mutually incompatible belief systems that are each internally coherent.

While the coherence theory posits that a belief is true if it fits within a system of logically interrelated components, Russell argued that this criterion is insufficient. Because nothing prevents the existence of several distinct systems that are equally coherent but contradict one another, the theory cannot distinguish which one—if any—is actually true. Consequently, Russell’s critique highlights a fundamental weakness in the theory: it risks trapping human knowledge within a "sealed compartment" of beliefs, disconnected from any objective, mind-independent reality against which the truth of those beliefs could be verified.1