WIST Quotations

Russell, Bertrand -- Understanding History, And Other Essays, “How to Read and Understand History” (1957)

Dave — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:59:03 +0000

History is invaluable in increasing our knowledge of human nature because it shows how people may be expected to behave in new situations. Many prominent men and women are completely ordinary in character and only exceptional in their circumstances.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Understanding History, And Other Essays, “How to Read and Understand History” (1957)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?” sec. “Don’t Be Too Certain!” (1949)

Dave — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:35:48 +0000

Not to be absolutely certain is, I think, one of the essential things in rationality.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?” sec. “Don’t Be Too Certain!” (1949)
(Source)

Originally given as a speech, "Agnosticism v. Atheism," Rationalist Press Assoc. Annual Dinner, London (1949-05-20), then printed as "Agnosticism v. Atheism," The Literary Guide and Rationalist Review (1949-07), then released as an essay under this title later in 1949.

Russell, Bertrand -- “Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?” sec. “Proof of God” (1949)

Dave — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 17:08:29 +0000

As a philosopher, if I were speaking to a purely philosophic audience I should say that I ought to describe myself as an Agnostic, because I do not think that there is a conclusive argument by which one prove that there is not a God. On the other hand, if I am to convey the right impression to the ordinary man in the street I think that I ought to say that I am an Atheist, because, when I say that I cannot prove that there is not a God, I ought to add equally that I cannot prove that there are not the Homeric gods.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?” sec. “Proof of God” (1949)
(Source)

Originally given as a speech, "Agnosticism v. Atheism," Rationalist Press Assoc. Annual Dinner, London (1949-05-20); then printed as "Agnosticism v. Atheism," The Literary Guide and Rationalist Review (1949-07); then released as an essay under this title later in 1949.

Russell, Bertrand -- “Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?” sec. “Skepticism” (1949)

Dave — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 15:57:00 +0000

When one admits that nothing is certain one must, I think, also admit that some things are much more nearly certain than others. It is much more nearly certain that we are assembled here tonight than it is that this or that political party is in the right. Certainly there are degrees of certainty, and one should be very careful to emphasize that fact, because otherwise one is landed in an utter skepticism, and complete skepticism would, of course, be totally barren and completely useless.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?” sec. “Skepticism” (1949)
(Source)

Originally given as a speech, "Agnosticism v. Atheism," Rationalist Press Assoc. Annual Dinner, London (1949-05-20); then printed as "Agnosticism v. Atheism," The Literary Guide and Rationalist Review (1949-07); then released as an essay under this title later in 1949.

Russell, Bertrand -- “An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Dave — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:19:19 +0000

Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Also in "Atheism and Agnosticism," Essays in Skepticism (1962).

Russell, Bertrand -- “An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Dave — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:55:35 +0000

The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way. Persecution is used in theology, not in arithmetic, because in arithmetic there is knowledge, but in theology there is only opinion.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Russell, Bertrand -- “An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Dave — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:39:27 +0000

As soon as we abandon our own reason, and are content to rely upon authority, there is no end to our troubles.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Russell, Bertrand -- “An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Dave — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:06:14 +0000

Be very wary of opinions that flatter your self-esteem.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Russell, Bertrand -- “An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Dave — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:39:54 +0000

Man is a rational animal — so at least I have been told. Throughout a long life, I have looked diligently for evidence in favor of this statement, but so far I have not had the good fortune to come across it.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Russell, Bertrand -- “An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Dave — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:15:06 +0000

More cranks take up unfashionable errors than unfashionable truths.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Russell, Bertrand -- “An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Dave — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 14:17:44 +0000

To avoid the various foolish opinions to which mankind are prone, no superhuman genius is required. A few simple rules will keep you, not from all error, but from silly error. If the matter is one that can be settled by observation, make the observation yourself. Aristotle could have avoided the mistake of thinking that women have fewer teeth than men, by the simple device of asking Mrs. Aristotle to keep her mouth open while he counted. He did not do so because he thought he knew. Thinking that you know when in fact you don’t is a fatal mistake, to which we are all prone. I believe myself that hedgehogs eat black beetles, because I have been told that they do; but if I were writing a book on the habits of hedgehogs, I should not commit myself until I had seen one enjoying this unappetizing diet.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Russell, Bertrand -- “An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish” (1943)

Dave — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 16:34:31 +0000

Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish” (1943)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Back to Nature?,” New York American (1934-04-30)

Dave — Thu, 11 May 2023 15:30:55 +0000

I remember a man whom I knew when I was young, who was small, anaemic, and timid, but used to proclaim himself an anarchist. He never realised that his whole existence depended upon police protection, or that in a world without government he would be robbed of all his possessions and left to starve.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Back to Nature?,” New York American (1934-04-30)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Censorship by Progressives,” New York American (1934-10-11)

Dave — Thu, 25 May 2023 14:48:51 +0000

To understand the actual world as it is, not as we should wish it to be, is the beginning of wisdom.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Censorship by Progressives,” New York American (1934-10-11)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Competitive Ethics,” New York American (1934-03-19)

Dave — Thu, 04 May 2023 15:35:49 +0000

Competition, as an ideal, had its part to play in the pioneer days of both industrialism and Western agriculture. But its day is past, and a new type of man is needed. The problem of producing goods in sufficient quantities to make general material well-being technically possible was solved by the men of the competitive era. The problem that remains is one of distribution, not of production; it can be solved only by economic justice, not by economic war. For this problem, the mentality of the competitive era is unfitted, since it is only to be solved by co-operation.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Competitive Ethics,” New York American (1934-03-19)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Do Dogs Think?,” New York American (1932-06-15)

Dave — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 14:48:26 +0000

I do not know whether dogs can think, or what thinking is, or whether human beings can think. But whether human beings can think or not, I know that those who love dogs think that dogs can think. This, I am afraid, is the sum total of my contribution to human knowledge on this important subject.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Do Dogs Think?,” New York American (1932-06-15)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Eastern and Western Ideals of Happiness,” Sceptical Essays (1928)

Dave — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:47:05 +0000

There are large parts of the Christian ethic which are universally admitted to be too good for this wicked world. We have in fact, two kinds of morality, side by side: one that we preach, but do not practice, and another that we practice, but seldom preach.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Eastern and Western Ideals of Happiness,” Sceptical Essays (1928)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Flight from Reality,” New York American (1932-03-02)

Dave — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 15:50:31 +0000

Why do people read? The answer, as regards the great majority, is: “They don’t.”

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Flight from Reality,” New York American (1932-03-02)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Free Thought and Official Propaganda,” lecture, South Place Institute, London (1922-03-24)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

It is clear that thought is not free if the profession of certain opinions makes it impossible to earn a living.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Free Thought and Official Propaganda,” lecture, South Place Institute, London (1922-03-24)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Free Thought and Official Propaganda,” lecture, South Place Institute, London (1922-03-24)

Dave — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:35:17 +0000

It is clear that the most elementary condition, if thought is to be free, is the absence of legal penalties for the expression of opinions. No great country has yet reached to this level, although most of them think they have. The opinions which are still persecuted strike the majority as so monstrous and immoral that the general principle of toleration can not be held to apply to them. But this is exactly the same view as that which made possible the tortures of the Inquisition. There was a time when Protestantism seemed as wicked as Bolshevism seems now.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Free Thought and Official Propaganda,” lecture, South Place Institute, London (1922-03-24)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Freedom and Government,” in Ruth Nanda Anshen, ed., Freedom: Its Meaning (1940)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Since freedom of opinion can only exist when the government thinks itself secure, it is important that the government should have the approval of the great majority of the population and should deal with discontented minorities, wherever possible, in a manner calculated to allay their discontent. A government must possess force, but cannot be a satisfactory government unless force is seldom necessary.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Freedom and Government,” in Ruth Nanda Anshen, ed., Freedom: Its Meaning (1940)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Good Manners and Hypocrisy,” New York American (1934-12-14)

Dave — Fri, 04 Jan 2019 04:55:31 +0000

The essence of good manners consists in making it clear that one has no wish to hurt. When it is clearly necessary to hurt, it must be done in such a way as to make it evident that the necessity is felt to be regrettable.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Good Manners and Hypocrisy,” New York American (1934-12-14)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Ideas That Have Harmed Mankind,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Dave — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:57:59 +0000

One of the most interesting and harmful delusions to which men and nations can be subjected is that of imagining themselves special instruments of the Divine Will.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Ideas That Have Harmed Mankind,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Ideas That Have Harmed Mankind,” Unpopular Essays (1951)

Dave — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 12:34:45 +0000

The reformative effect of punishment is a belief that dies hard, chiefly I think, because it is so satisfying to our sadistic impulses.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Ideas That Have Harmed Mankind,” Unpopular Essays (1951)

Russell, Bertrand -- “If animals could talk,” New York American (1932-09-14)

Dave — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 15:27:53 +0000

I have often wondered what turkeys would think of Christmas if they were capable of thought. I am afraid they would hardly regard it as a season of peace and goodwill.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“If animals could talk,” New York American (1932-09-14)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “If animals could talk,” New York American (1932-09-14)

Dave — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 15:11:46 +0000

There is no impersonal reason for regarding the interests of human beings as more important than those of animals. We can destroy animals more easily than they can destroy us; that is the only solid basis of our claim to superiority. We value art and science and literature, because these are things in which we excel. But whales might value spouting, and donkeys might maintain that a good bray is more exquisite than the music of Bach. We cannot prove them wrong except by the exercise of arbitrary power. All ethical systems, in the last analysis, depend upon weapons of war.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“If animals could talk,” New York American (1932-09-14)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Individual Liberty and Public Control,” Atlantic (1917-07)

Dave — Tue, 29 May 2012 12:39:37 +0000

The instinct of conventionality, the horror of uncertainty, and vested interests, all militate against the acceptance of a new idea.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Individual Liberty and Public Control,” Atlantic (1917-07)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Is There a God?” (1952)

Dave — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:08:25 +0000

Many orthodox people speak as though it were the business of sceptics to disprove received dogmas rather than of dogmatists to prove them. This is, of course, a mistake. If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Is There a God?” (1952)
(Source)

Essay commissioned by Illustrated magazine in 1952, but never published there. First publication in Russell, Last Philosophical Testament, 1943-68 (1997) [ed. Slater/Köllner].

I believe this is the earliest (chronologically) reference by Russell to his teapot analogy.

Russell, Bertrand -- “Is There a God?” (1952)

Dave — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 16:38:42 +0000

It has been one of the defects of theologians at all times to over-estimate the importance of our planet. No doubt this was natural enough in the days before Copernicus when it was thought that the heavens revolve about the earth. But since Copernicus and still more since the modern exploration of distant regions, this pre-occupation with the earth has become rather parochial. If the universe had a Creator, it is hardly reasonable to suppose that He was specially interested in our little corner. And, if He was not, His values must have been different from ours, since in the immense majority of regions life is impossible.

Russell, Bertrand -- “Is There a God?” (1952)

Dave — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 21:01:08 +0000

However that may be, it is always disastrous when governments set to work to uphold opinions for their utility rather than for their truth. As soon as this is done it becomes necessary to have a censorship to suppress adverse arguments, and it is thought wise to discourage thinking among the young for fear of encouraging “dangerous thoughts.” When such mal-practices are employed against religion as they are in Soviet Russia, the theologians can see that they are bad, but they are still bad when employed in defence of what the theologians think good. Freedom of thought and the habit of giving weight to evidence are matters of far greater moral import than the belief in this or that theological dogma. On all these grounds it cannot be maintained that theological beliefs should be upheld for their usefulness without regard to their truth.

Russell, Bertrand -- “Is There a God?” (1952)

Dave — Wed, 01 May 2024 22:46:14 +0000

People will tell us that without the consolations of religion they would be intolerably unhappy. So far as this is true, it is a coward’s argument. Nobody but a coward would consciously choose to live in a fool’s paradise. When a man suspects his wife of infidelity, he is not thought the better of for shutting his eyes to the evidence. And I cannot see why ignoring evidence should be contemptible in one case and admirable in the other.

Russell, Bertrand -- “Is There a God?” (1952)

Dave — Wed, 22 May 2024 17:16:54 +0000

When I come to my own beliefs, I find myself quite unable to discern any purpose in the universe, and still more unable to wish to discern one. Those who imagine that the course of cosmic evolution is slowly leading up to some consummation pleasing to the Creator, are logically committed (though they usually fail to realize this) to the view that the Creator is not omnipotent or, if He were omnipotent, He could decree the end without troubling about means.

Russell, Bertrand -- “Is There a God?” (1952)

Dave — Wed, 29 May 2024 18:19:21 +0000

It is customary to suppose that, if a belief is widespread, there must be something reasonable about it. I do not think this view can be held by anyone who has studied history. Practically all the beliefs of savages are absurd. In early civilizations there may be as much as one percent for which there is something to be said. In our own day …. But at this point I must be careful. We all know that there are absurd beliefs in Soviet Russia. If we are Protestants, we know that there are absurd beliefs among Catholics. If we are Catholics, we know that there are absurd beliefs among Protestants. If we are Conservatives, we are amazed by the superstitions to be found in the Labour Party. If we are Socialists, we are aghast at the credulity of Conservatives. I do not know, dear reader, what your beliefs may be, but whatever they may be, you must concede that nine-tenths of the beliefs of nine-tenths of mankind are totally irrational. The beliefs in question are, of course, those which you do not hold.

Russell, Bertrand -- “On Being Insulting,” New York American (1934-12-21)

Dave — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 15:41:21 +0000

Manners consist in pretending that we think as well of others as of ourselves. Manners are necessary because, as a rule, there is a pretence; when our good opinion of others is genuine, manners look after themselves. Perhaps instead of teaching manners, parents should teach the statistical probability that the person you are speaking to is just as good as you are. It is difficult to believe this; very few of us do, in our instincts, believe it. One’s own ego seems so incomparably more sensitive, more perceptive, wiser and more profound than other people’s. Yet there must be very few of whom this is true, and it is not likely that oneself is one of those few. There is nothing like viewing oneself statistically as a means both to good manners and to good morals.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“On Being Insulting,” New York American (1934-12-21)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “On Being Modern-Minded,” The Nation (1937-01-09)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

All movements go too far.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“On Being Modern-Minded,” The Nation (1937-01-09)
(Source)

Full context:

All movements go too far, and this is certainly true of the movement toward subjectivity, which began with Luther and Descartes as an assertion of the individual and has culminated by an inherent logic in his complete subjection.

Collected in Unpopular Essays (1950).

Russell, Bertrand -- “On corporal punishment,” New York American (1932-09-07)

Dave — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 15:47:34 +0000

A physician would not cure his patients more effectually if he were angry with them for being ill, and the criminal law is not more effective when it is inspired by anger against the criminal. The criminal presents a problem, psychological, educational, sociological, and economic; this difficult problem is not best handled in a state of blind rage. All arguments for corporal punishment spring from anger, not from scientific understanding. As men become more scientific, such barbaric practices will be no longer tolerated.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“On corporal punishment,” New York American (1932-09-07)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “On Education, Especially in Early Childhood” (1926)

Dave — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:33:54 +0000

Knowledge, like other good things, is difficult, but not impossible; the dogmatist forgets the difficulty, the skeptic denies the possibility. Both are mistaken, and their errors, when widespread, produce social disaster.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“On Education, Especially in Early Childhood” (1926)

Russell, Bertrand -- “On Education, Especially in Early Childhood” (1926)

Dave — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:39:03 +0000

In acting upon our beliefs, we should be very cautious where a small error would mean disaster; nevertheless it is upon our beliefs that we must act.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“On Education, Especially in Early Childhood” (1926)

Russell, Bertrand -- “On Euthanasia,” New York American (1934-01-01)

Dave — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 15:18:08 +0000

When an illness is incurable and painful, and makes useful activity impossible, it is mere cruelty to prolong life; at any rate if the sufferer is anxious to die, or has lost his reason. The prolongation of his life can be neither a happiness to himself nor a benefit to society, and is therefore equally unjustified from the standpoint of the individual and from that of the community.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“On Euthanasia,” New York American (1934-01-01)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “On National Greatness,” New York American (1932-01-20)

Dave — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 16:36:06 +0000

Expect of the young the very best of which they are capable, and you will get it. Expect less, and it is only too likely that you will get no more than you expect.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“On National Greatness,” New York American (1932-01-20)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “On Race Hatred,” New York American (1933-05-24)

Dave — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 14:51:49 +0000

Race hatred is one of the most cruel and least civilised emotions to which men in the mass are liable, and it is of the utmost importance for human progress that every possible method of diminishing it should be adopted.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“On Race Hatred,” New York American (1933-05-24)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “On Scientific Method in Philosophy,” Mysticism and Logic (1918)

Dave — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:01:50 +0000

Ethics is in origin the art of recommending to others the sacrifices required for cooperation with oneself.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“On Scientific Method in Philosophy,” Mysticism and Logic (1918)

Russell, Bertrand -- “On smiling,” New York American (1932-08-17)

Dave — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 16:19:23 +0000

All the higher animals have methods of expressing pleasure, but human beings alone express pleasure when they do not feel it. This is called politeness and is reckoned among the virtues.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“On smiling,” New York American (1932-08-17)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “On smiling,” New York American (1932-08-17)

Dave — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 16:17:19 +0000

One of the most disconcerting things about infants is that they only smile when they are pleased. They stare at visitors with round grave eyes, and when the visitors try to amuse them, they display astonishment at the foolish antics of adults. But as soon as possible, their parents teach them to seem pleased by the company of people to whom they are utterly indifferent.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“On smiling,” New York American (1932-08-17)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “On Tact,” New York American (1933-02-01)

Dave — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 15:09:33 +0000

But although tact is a virtue, it is very closely allied to certain vices; the line between tact and hypocrisy is a very narrow one. I think the distinction comes in the motive: when it is kindliness that makes us wish to please, our tact is the right sort; when it is fear of offending, or desire to obtain some advantage by flattery, our tact is apt to be of a less amiable kind.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“On Tact,” New York American (1933-02-01)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “On the Value of Scepticism” (1928)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is a delight to moralists. That is why they invented Hell.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“On the Value of Scepticism” (1928)

The essay appeared in The Will to Doubt and in Skeptical Essays, ch. 1 (1928). Full text.

Russell, Bertrand -- “Philosophy and Politics,” lecture, National Book League, London (1946-10-23)

Dave — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 13:39:08 +0000

We are now again in an epoch of wars of religion, but a religion is now called an “ideology.”

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Philosophy and Politics,” lecture, National Book League, London (1946-10-23)
(Source)

Collected in Unpopular Essays (1950).

Russell, Bertrand -- “Philosophy and Politics,” lecture, National Book League, London (1946-10-23)

Dave — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 13:30:18 +0000

The essence of the Liberal outlook lies not in what opinions are held, but in how they are held: instead of being held dogmatically, they are held tentatively, and with a consciousness that new evidence may at any moment lead to their abandonment. This is the way in which opinions are held in science, as opposed to the way in which they are held in theology. The decisions of the Council of Nicaea are still authoritative, but in science fourth century opinions no longer carry any weight.

Russell, Bertrand -- “Philosophy for Laymen,” Universities Quarterly (1946-11)

Dave — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 13:16:33 +0000

But so long as men are not trained to withhold judgment in the absence of evidence, they will be led astray by cocksure prophets, and it is likely that their leaders will be either ignorant fanatics or dishonest charlatans. To endure uncertainty is difficult, but so are most of the other virtues. For the learning of every virtue there is an appropriate discipline, and for the learning of suspended judgment the best discipline is philosophy.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Philosophy for Laymen,” Universities Quarterly (1946-11)
(Source)

Reprinted in Unpopular Essays, ch. 2 (1951).

Russell, Bertrand -- “Philosophy for Laymen,” Universities Quarterly (1946-11)

Dave — Wed, 08 May 2024 15:20:24 +0000

The demand for certainty is one which is natural to man, but is nevertheless an intellectual vice.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Philosophy for Laymen,” Universities Quarterly (1946-11)
(Source)

Reprinted in Unpopular Essays, ch. 2 (1951).

Russell, Bertrand -- “Philosophy for Laymen,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Dave — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:24:57 +0000

Dogmatism and skepticism are both, in a sense, absolute philosophies; one is certain of knowing, the other of not knowing. What philosophy should dissipate is certainty, whether of knowledge or ignorance.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Philosophy for Laymen,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Philosophy for Laymen,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Dave — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 13:20:55 +0000

Science is what we know, and philosophy is what we don’t know.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Philosophy for Laymen,” Unpopular Essays (1950)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Redbook Dialogue,” interview by Tommy Robbins, Redbook (1964-09)

Dave — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:33:23 +0000

You mustn’t exaggerate, young man. That’s always a sign your argument is weak.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Redbook Dialogue,” interview by Tommy Robbins, Redbook (1964-09)
(Source)

Reprinted in Russell Society News, #37 (1983-02), p. 24.

Russell, Bertrand -- “Redbook Dialogue,” interview by Tommy Robbins, Redbook (1964-09)

Dave — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:43:18 +0000

I believe four ingredients are necessary for happiness: health, warm personal relations, sufficient means to keep you from want, and successful work.

Russell, Bertrand -- “The Aims of Education” (1929)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The widespread interest in gossip is inspired, not by a love of knowledge, but by malice: no one gossips about other people’s secret virtues, but only about their secret vices. Accordingly most gossip is untrue, but care is taken not to verify it. Our neighbour’s sins, like the consolations of religion, are so agreeable that we do not stop to scrutinize the evidence closely.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“The Aims of Education” (1929)
(Source)

Usually shortened to "No one gossips about other people's secret virtues."

Russell, Bertrand -- “The Best Answer to Fanaticism: Liberalism,” New York Times Magazine (1951-12-16)

Dave — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 20:57:37 +0000

The Ten Commandments that, as a teacher, I should wish to promulgate, might be set forth as follows:

Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.
Do not think it worth while to proceed by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light.
Never try to discourage thinking for you are sure to succeed.
When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your husband or your children, endeavour to overcome it by argument and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory.
Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.
Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.
Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent that in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.
Be scrupulously truthful, even if the truth is inconvenient, for it is more inconvenient when you try to conceal it.
Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool’s paradise, for only a fool will think that it is happiness.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“The Best Answer to Fanaticism: Liberalism,” New York Times Magazine (1951-12-16)
(Source)

Sometimes referred to as "The Liberal Decalogue." Later printed in The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, Vol. 3 (1969).

Russell, Bertrand -- “The Decay of Meditation,” New York American (1931-11-04)

Dave — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 18:11:34 +0000

If we spent half an hour every day in silent immobility, I am convinced that we should conduct all our affairs, personal, national, and international, far more sanely than we do at present.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“The Decay of Meditation,” New York American (1931-11-04)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “The Lessons of Experience,” New York American (1931-09-23)

Dave — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 16:04:23 +0000

Most people learn nothing from experience, except confirmation of their prejudices.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“The Lessons of Experience,” New York American (1931-09-23)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism” (1920)

Dave — Mon, 19 May 2008 10:39:39 +0000

One who believes as I do, that free intellect is the chief engine of human progress, cannot but be fundamentally opposed to Bolshevism as much as to the Church of Rome. The hopes which inspire communism are, in the main, as admirable as those instilled by the Sermon on the Mount, but they are held as fanatically and are as likely to do as much harm.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism” (1920)

Russell, Bertrand -- “The Study of Mathematics,” Mysticism and Logic (1918)

Dave — Thu, 22 Jan 2015 13:08:30 +0000

Every great study is not only an end in itself, but also a means of creating and sustaining a lofty habit of the mind.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“The Study of Mathematics,” Mysticism and Logic (1918)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “The Triumph of Stupidity,” New York American (1933-05-10)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Brute force plays a much larger part in the government of the world than it did before 1914, and what is especially alarming, force tends increasingly to fall into the hands of those who are enemies of civilization. The danger is profound and terrible; it cannot be waved aside with easy optimism. The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“The Triumph of Stupidity,” New York American (1933-05-10)
(Source)

Often paraphrased, "The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure, and the intelligent are full of doubt." See also Yeats and Bukowski.

More examination of this quotation: The Best Lack All Conviction While the Worst Are Full of Passionate Intensity – Quote Investigator.

Russell, Bertrand -- “The Value of Free Thought” (1944)

Dave — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 14:18:43 +0000

Heretical views arise when the truth is uncertain, and it is only when the truth is uncertain that censorship is invoked.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“The Value of Free Thought” (1944)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- “Who May Use Lipstick?” New York American (1931-09-14)

Dave — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 15:32:46 +0000

It is generally admitted that most grown-up people, however regrettably, will try to have a good time.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Who May Use Lipstick?” New York American (1931-09-14)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The degree of one’s emotions varies inversely with one’s knowledge of the facts — the less you know the hotter you get.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
(Attributed)

Widely attributed to Russell, but not found in any of his online published works or cited to any source.

Russell, Bertrand -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

In all affairs — love, religion, politics or business — it’s a healthy idea, now and then, to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
(Attributed)

Widely attributed to Russell, but not found in any of his online published works or cited to any source.

There are numerous variations on this quote, e.g.,

In all affairs it's a healthy idea now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have taken for granted.

And mixes and matches between those two.

Earliest references of long-form quotation I could find:

I also found in Alexander Chittick, Social Evolution, "The Evolution of Capital and Labor" (1919), regarding the plight of laborers:

They should be taught [...] to take nothing for granted in love, religion, politics, or business.

The combination of taking for granted and the same list of four affair topics seems more than coincidence. Was Chittick riffing off of an unfound Russell comment? Did someone attribute a variation of Chittick's passage to Russell? The answer is unclear.

Russell, Bertrand -- (Misattributed)

Dave — Wed, 25 May 2011 10:28:35 +0000

The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
(Misattributed)

Misattributed to many modern authors besides Russell, including John Lennon, T. S. Elliot, and Soren Kierkegaard.

The frequent misattribution to Russell is from the phrase being used by Lawrence J. Peter in Peter's Quotations (1977) about a different Russell quote ("The thing that I should wish to obtain from money would be leisure with security"). In turn, the words were not original with Peter: the earliest citation for this quote is Marthe Troly-Curtin, Phyrnette Married, ch. 29 (1912).

More information on the history of this quotation: Time You Enjoy Wasting Is Not Wasted Time – Quote Investigator®.

Russell, Bertrand -- A History of Western Philosophy, Bk. I, Part II, ch. 11 “Socrates” (1945)

Dave — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:07:28 +0000

A stupid man’s report of what a clever man says is never accurate, because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something that he can understand.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
A History of Western Philosophy, Bk. I, Part II, ch. 11 “Socrates” (1945)

Russell, Bertrand -- A History of Western Philosophy, Book Three, part II, ch. 22 “Hegel” (1945)

Dave — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:19:23 +0000

The worse your logic, the more interesting the consequences to which it gives rise.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
A History of Western Philosophy, Book Three, part II, ch. 22 “Hegel” (1945)

Russell, Bertrand -- An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish (1943)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

There is no nonsense so arrant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish (1943)

Russell, Bertrand -- Autobiography, Vol 2: 1914-1944, ch. 3 “China” (1969)

Dave — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 12:57:19 +0000

I was told that the Chinese said they would bury me by the Western Lake and build a shrine to my memory. I have some slight regret that this did not happen, as I might have become a god, which would have been very chic for an atheist.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Autobiography, Vol 2: 1914-1944, ch. 3 “China” (1969)
(Source)

Russell visited China, and lectured there, in late 1920; his bout with pneumonia (which led to the above) happened in Spring 1921.

Russell, Bertrand -- Autobiography, Vol 2: 1914-1944, ch. 6 “America, 1938-1944” (1968)

Dave — Tue, 23 May 2023 20:13:30 +0000

To my mind, a man without a bias cannot write interesting history — if, indeed, such a man exists. I regard it as mere humbug to pretend to a lack of bias.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Autobiography, Vol 2: 1914-1944, ch. 6 “America, 1938-1944” (1968)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Autobiography, Vol 2: 1914-1944, ch. 6 “America, 1938-1944” (1968)

Dave — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 20:49:03 +0000

Since I do not admit that a person without bias exists, I think the best that can be done with a large-scale history is to admit one’s bias and for dissatisfied readers to look for other writers to express an opposite bias. Which bias is nearer to the truth must be left to posterity.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Autobiography, Vol 2: 1914-1944, ch. 6 “America, 1938-1944” (1968)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Autobiography, Vol. 3: 1944-1969, “Postscript” (1969)

Dave — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:34:55 +0000

I have lived in the pursuit of a vision, both personal and social. Personal: to care for what is noble, for what is beautiful, for what is gentle; to allow moments of insight to give wisdom at more mundane times. Social: to see in imagination the society that is to be created, where individuals grow freely, and where hate and greed and envy die because there is nothing to nourish them. These things I believe, and the world, for all its horrors, has left me unshaken.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Autobiography, Vol. 3: 1944-1969, “Postscript” (1969)
(Source)

Final words of the book.

Russell, Bertrand -- Autobiography, Vol. 3: 1944-1969, ch. 1 “Return to England” (1969)

Dave — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 21:49:22 +0000

We sat in the plane while it slowly sank. Small boats assembled round it and presently we were told to jump into the sea and swim to a boat — which all the people in my part of the plane did. We later learned that all the nineteen passengers in the non-smoking compartment had been killed. When the plane had hit the water a hole had been made in the plane and the water had rushed in. I had told a friend at Oslo who was finding me a place that he must find me a place where I could smoke, remarking jocularly, ‘If I cannot smoke, I shall die’. Unexpectedly, this turned out to be true.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Autobiography, Vol. 3: 1944-1969, ch. 1 “Return to England” (1969)
(Source)

On a 1948 seaplane flight he took from Germany to Norway.

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 1 “What Makes People Unhappy?” (1930)

Dave — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:03:33 +0000

Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 1 “What Makes People Unhappy?” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 1 “What Makes People Unhappy?” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 17:25:48 +0000

I enjoy life; I might almost say that with every year that passes I enjoy it more. This is due partly to having discovered what were the things that I most desired, and having gradually acquired many of these things. Partly it is due to having successfully dismissed certain objects of desire — such as the acquisition of indubitable knowledge about something or other — as essentially unattainable. But very largely it is due to a diminishing preoccupation with myself. Like others who had a Puritan education, I had the habit of meditating on my sins, follies, and shortcomings. I seemed to myself — no doubt justly — a miserable specimen. Gradually I learned to be indifferent to myself and my deficiencies; I came to centre my attention increasingly upon external objects: the state of the world, various branches of knowledge, individuals for whom I felt affection.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 1 “What Makes People Unhappy?” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 1 “What Makes People Unhappy?” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 15:58:50 +0000

The megalomaniac differs from the narcissist by the fact that he wishes to be powerful rather than charming, and seeks to be feared rather than loved. To this type belong many lunatics and most of the great men of history.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 1 “What Makes People Unhappy?” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 1 “What Makes People Unhappy?” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 15:13:18 +0000

When I speak of “the sinner,” I do not mean the man who commits sin: sins are committed by everyone or no one, according to our definition of the word. I mean the man who is absorbed in the consciousness of sin. This man is perpetually incurring his own disapproval, which, if he is religious, he interprets as the disapproval of God. He has an image of himself as he thinks he ought to be, which is in continual conflict with his knowledge of himself as he is.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 1 “What Makes People Unhappy?” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 1 “What Makes People Unhappy?” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 16:34:00 +0000

A man may feel so completely thwarted that he seeks no form of satisfaction, but only distraction and oblivion. He then becomes a devotee of “pleasure.” That is to say, he seeks to make life bearable by becoming less alive. Drunkenness, for example, is temporary suicide: the happiness that it brings is merely negative, a momentary cessation of unhappiness.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 1 “What Makes People Unhappy?” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 1 “What Makes People Unhappy” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 18:04:52 +0000

I was not born happy. As a child, my favourite hymn was: ‘Weary of earth and laden with my sin’. At the age of five, I reflected that, if I should live to be seventy, I had only endured, so far, a fourteenth part of my whole life, and I felt the long-spread-out boredom ahead of me to be almost unendurable. In adolescence, I hated life and was continually on the verge of suicide, from which, however, I was restrained by the desire to know more mathematics.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 1 “What Makes People Unhappy” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 2 “Byronic Unhappiness” (1930)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The human animal, like others, is adapted to a certain amount of struggle for life, and when by means of great wealth homo sapiens can gratify all his whims without effort, the mere absence of effort from his life removes an essential ingredient of happiness. The man who acquires easily things for which he feels only a very moderate desire concludes that the attainment of desire does not bring happiness. If he is of a philosophic disposition, he concludes that human life is essentially wretched, since the man who has all he wants is still unhappy. He forgets that to be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 2 “Byronic Unhappiness” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 2 “Byronic Unhappiness” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 15:54:49 +0000

I do not myself think that there is any superior rationality in being unhappy. The wise man will be as happy as circumstances permit, and if he finds the contemplation of the universe painful beyond a point, he will contemplate something else instead.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 2 “Byronic Unhappiness” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 2 “Byronic Unhappiness” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 15:19:32 +0000

I am persuaded that those who quite sincerely attribute their sorrows to their views about the universe are putting the cart before the horse: the truth is they are unhappy for some reasons of which they are not aware, and this unhappiness leads them to dwell upon the less agreeable characteristics of the world in which they live.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 2 “Byronic Unhappiness” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 2 “Byronic Unhappiness” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 16:04:04 +0000

We must distinguish between a mood and its intellectual expression. There is no arguing with mood; it can be changed by some fortunate event, or by a change in our bodily condition, but it cannot be changed by argument.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 2 “Byronic Unhappiness” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 2 “Byronic Unhappiness” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 16:31:26 +0000

If one lived for ever the joys of life would inevitably in the end lose their savour. As it is, they remain perennially fresh.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 2 “Byronic Unhappiness” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 3 “Competition” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 16:33:16 +0000

There are two motives for reading a book: one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 3 “Competition” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 3 “Competition” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 07 May 2025 22:29:23 +0000

What people mean, therefore, by the struggle for life is really the struggle for success. What people fear when they engage in the struggle is not that they will fail to get their breakfast next morning, but that they will fail to outshine their neighbours.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 3 “Competition” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 3 “Competition” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 21 May 2025 15:33:23 +0000

The working life of the businessman has the psychology of a hundred-yards race, but as the race upon which he is engaged is one whose only goal is the grave, the concentration, which is appropriate enough for a hundred yards, becomes in the end somewhat excessive.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 3 “Competition” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 3 “Competition” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 28 May 2025 15:35:50 +0000

For my part, the thing that I would wish to obtain from money would be leisure with security. But what the typical modern man desires to get with it is more money, with a view to ostentation, splendour, and the outshining of those who have hitherto been his equals.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 3 “Competition” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 3 “Competition” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 19:44:53 +0000

The root of the trouble springs from too much emphasis upon competitive success as the main source of happiness. I do not deny that the feeling of success makes it easier to enjoy life. A painter, let us say, who has been obscure throughout his youth, is likely to become happier if his talent wins recognition. Nor do I deny that money, up to a certain point, is very capable of increasing happiness; beyond that point, I do not think it does so. What I do maintain is that success can only be one ingredient in happiness, and is too dearly purchased if all the other ingredients have been sacrificed to obtain it.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 3 “Competition” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 4 “Boredom and Excitement” (1930)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

A certain power of enduring boredom is therefore essential to a happy life, and is one of the things that ought to be taught to the young. […] A generation that cannot endure boredom will be a generation of little men, of men unduly divorced from the slow processes of nature, of men in whom every vital impulse slowly withers, as though they were cut flowers in a vase.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 4 “Boredom and Excitement” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 4 “Boredom and Excitement” (1930)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Boredom is therefore a vital problem for the moralist, since at least half the sins of mankind are caused by the fear of it.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 4 “Boredom and Excitement” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

One of the symptoms of approaching nervous break-down is the belief that one’s work is terribly important, and that to take a holiday would bring all kinds of disaster.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 16:21:52 +0000

It is amazing how much both happiness and efficiency can be increased by the cultivation of an orderly mind, which thinks about a matter adequately at the right time rather than inadequately at all times.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 15:31:08 +0000

Nothing is so exhausting as indecision, and nothing is so futile.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 15:17:48 +0000

A great many worries can be diminished by realizing the unimportance of the matter which is causing the anxiety.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 15:25:28 +0000

Our doings are not so important as we naturally suppose; our successes and failures do not after all matter very much. Even great sorrows can be survived; troubles which seem as if they must put an end to happiness for life, fade with the lapse of time until it becomes almost impossible to remember their poignancy. But over and above these self-centered considerations is the fact that one’s ego is no very large part of the world. The man who can center his thoughts and hopes upon something transcending self can find a certain peace in the ordinary troubles of life which is impossible to the pure egoist.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 16:24:01 +0000

The wise man thinks about his troubles only when there is some purpose in doing so; at other times he thinks about other things, or, if it is night, about nothing at all.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 5 “Fatigue” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 6 “Envy” (1930)

Dave — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:06:32 +0000

Why is propaganda so much more successful when it stirs up hatred than when it tries to stir up friendly feeling?

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 6 “Envy” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 6 “Envy” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 15:04:30 +0000

Merely to realize the causes of one’s own envious feelings is to take a long step towards curing them. The habit of thinking in terms of comparison is a fatal one.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 6 “Envy” (1930)
(Source)

See Fuller (1732).

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 6 “Envy” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 15:36:25 +0000

The man who has double my salary is doubtless tortured by the thought that someone else in turn has twice as much as he has, and so it goes on. If you desire glory, you may envy Napoleon. But Napoleon envied Caesar, Caesar envied Alexander, and Alexander, I daresay, envied Hercules, who never existed. You cannot, therefore, get away from envy by means of success alone, for there will always be in history or legend some person even more successful than you are. You can get away from envy by enjoying the pleasures that come your way, by doing the work that you have to do, and by avoiding comparisons with those whom you imagine, perhaps quite falsely, to be more fortunate than yourself

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 6 “Envy” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 7 “The Sense of Sin” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 19:23:48 +0000

The happiness that is genuinely satisfying is accompanied by the fullest exercise of our faculties, and the fullest realization of the world in which we live.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 7 “The Sense of Sin” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 8 “Persecution Mania” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 15:48:48 +0000

We expect everybody else to feel towards us that tender love and that profound respect which we feel towards ourselves.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 8 “Persecution Mania” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 8 “Persecution Mania” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 16:23:49 +0000

If we were all given by magic the power to read each other’s thoughts I suppose the first effect would be that almost all friendships would be dissolved.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 8 “Persecution Mania” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 8 “Persecution Mania” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 15:40:11 +0000

Another not uncommon victim of persecution mania is a certain type of philanthropist, who is always doing good to people against their will, and is amazed and horrified that they display no gratitude. Our motives in doing good are seldom as pure as we imagine them to be. Love of power is insidious; it has many disguises, and is often the source of the pleasure we derive from doing what we believe to be good to other people.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 8 “Persecution Mania” (1930)
(Source)

See Stevenson.

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 8 “Persecution Mania” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 15:39:47 +0000

Very few people can resist saying malicious things about their acquaintances, and even on occasion about their friends; yet when people hear that anything has been said against themselves, they are filled with indignant amazement.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 8 “Persecution Mania” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 8 “Persecution Mania” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 15:53:32 +0000

These illustrations suggest four general maxims, which will prove an adequate preventative of persecution mania if their truth is sufficiently realized. The first is: remember that your motives are not always as altruistic as they seem to yourself. The second is: Don’t overestimate your own merits. The third is: don’t expect others to take as much interest in you as you do yourself. And the fourth is: don’t imagine that most people give enough thought to you to have any desire to persecute you.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 8 “Persecution Mania” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 8 “Persecution Mania” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 16:46:37 +0000

No satisfaction based upon self-deception is solid, and, however unpleasant the truth may be, it is better to face it once for all, to get used to it, and to proceed to build your life in accordance with it.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 8 “Persecution Mania” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 9 “Fear of Public Opinion” (1930)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 9 “Fear of Public Opinion” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 9 “Fear of Public Opinion” (1930)

Dave — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:41:39 +0000

Conventional people are roused to fury by departure from convention, largely because they consider such departures as a criticism of themselves. They will pardon much unconventionality in a man who has enough jollity and friendliness to make it clear, even to the stupidest, that he is not engaged in criticizing them.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 9 “Fear of Public Opinion” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 9 “Fear of Public Opinion” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 16:11:18 +0000

Where the environment is stupid or prejudiced or cruel, it is a sign of merit to be out of harmony with it.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 9 “Fear of Public Opinion” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 9 “Fear of Public Opinion” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 15:24:23 +0000

Young people are ill-advised if they yield to the pressure of the old in any vital matter.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 9 “Fear of Public Opinion” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 10 “Is Happiness Still Possible?” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 16:20:30 +0000

The man who underestimates himself is perpetually being surprised by success, whereas the man who overestimates himself is just as often surprised by failure. The former kind of surprise is pleasant, the latter unpleasant. It is therefore wise to be not unduly conceited, though also not too modest to be enterprising.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 10 “Is Happiness Still Possible?” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 10 “Is Happiness Still Possible?” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 16:01:53 +0000

All the conditions of happiness are realized in the life of the man of science. He has an activity which utilizes his abilities to the full, and he achieves results which appear important not only to himself but to the general public, even when it cannot in the smallest degree understand them. In this he is more fortunate than the artists. When the public cannot understand a picture or a poem, they conclude that it is a bad picture or a bad poem. When they cannot understand the theory of relativity they conclude (rightly) that their education has been insufficient. Consequently Einstein is honored while the best painters are (or at least were) left to starve in garrets, and Einstein is happy while the painters are unhappy. Very few men can be genuinely happy in a life involving continual self-assertion against the skepticism of the mass of mankind, unless they can shut themselves up in a coterie and forget the cold outer world. The man of science has no need of a coterie, since he is thought well of by everybody except his colleagues. The artist, on the contrary, is in the painful situation of having to choose between being despised and being despicable. If his powers are of the first order, he must incur one or the other of these misfortunes — the former if he uses his powers, the latter if he does not.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 10 “Is Happiness Still Possible?” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 10 “Is Happiness Still Possible?” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 16:07:46 +0000

Any pleasure that does no harm to other people is to be valued.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 10 “Is Happiness Still Possible?” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 10 “Is Happiness Still Possible?” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 15:50:55 +0000

A sense of duty is useful in work but offensive in personal relations. People wish to be liked, not to be endured with patient resignation.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 10 “Is Happiness Still Possible?” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 10 “Is Happiness Still Possible?” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 06:37:20 +0000

If all our happiness is bound up entirely in our personal circumstances it is difficult not to demand of life more than it has to give.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 10 “Is Happiness Still Possible?” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 11 “Zest” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 18:39:53 +0000

The more things a man is interested in, the more opportunities of happiness he has, and the less he is at the mercy of fate, since if he loses one thing he can fall back upon another. Life is too short to be interested in everything, but it is good to be interested in as many things as are necessary to fill our days. We are all prone to the malady of the introvert, who, with the manifold spectacle of the world spread out before him, turns away and gazes only upon the emptiness within.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 11 “Zest” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 11 “Zest” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 16:20:58 +0000

The mind is a strange machine which can combine the materials offered to it in the most astonishing ways, but without materials from the external world it is powerless.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 11 “Zest” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 12 “Affection” (1930)

Dave — Mon, 17 May 2021 20:12:28 +0000

Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 12 “Affection” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 12 “Affection” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 15:35:47 +0000

The world is a higgledy-piggledy place, containing things pleasant and things unpleasant in haphazard sequence. And the desire to make an intelligible system or pattern out of it is at bottom an outcome of fear, in fact a kind of agoraphobia or dread of open spaces. Within the four walls of his library the timid student feels safe. If he can persuade himself that the universe is equally tidy, he can feel almost equally safe when he has to venture forth into the streets.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 12 “Affection” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 12 “Affection” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 17:01:24 +0000

In the best kind of affection a man hopes for a new happiness rather than for escape from an old unhappiness.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 12 “Affection” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 13 “Family” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 17:39:42 +0000

For my own part, speaking personally, I have found the happiness of parenthood greater than any other that I have experienced.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 13 “Family” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 13 “Family” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 18:41:09 +0000

To be happy in this world, especially when youth is past, it is necessary to feel oneself not merely an isolated individual whose day will soon be over, but part of the stream of life flowing on from the first germ to the remote and unknown future.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 13 “Family” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 14 “Work” (1930)

Dave — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 20:13:01 +0000

Most people, when they are left free to fill their own time according to their choice are at a loss to think of anything sufficiently pleasant to be worth doing. And whatever they decide on, they are troubled by the feeling that something else would have been pleasanter. The ability to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very few people have reached this level.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 14 “Work” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 14 “Work” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 17:45:17 +0000

Work, therefore, is desirable, first and foremost, as a preventive of boredom, for the boredom that a man feels when he is doing necessary though uninteresting work is as nothing in comparison with the boredom that he feels when he has nothing to do with his days.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 14 “Work” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 14 “Work” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 24 Dec 2025 17:05:35 +0000

Without self-respect genuine happiness is scarcely possible. And the man who is ashamed of his work can hardly achieve self-respect.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 14 “Work” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 14 “Work” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 19:23:44 +0000

The habit of viewing life as a whole is an essential part both of wisdom and of true morality, and is one of the things which ought to be encouraged in education. Consistent purpose is not enough to make life happy, but it is an almost indispensable condition of a happy life. And consistent purpose embodies itself mainly in work.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 14 “Work” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 15 “Impersonal Interests” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 17:23:45 +0000

To ignore our opportunities for knowledge, imperfect as they are, is like going to the theatre and not listening to the play. The world is full of things that are tragic or comic, heroic or bizarre or surprising, and those who fail to be interested in the spectacle that it offers are forgoing one of the privileges that life has to offer.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 15 “Impersonal Interests” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 15 “Impersonal Interests” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 17:42:23 +0000

All our affections are at the mercy of death, which may strike down those whom we love at any moment. It is therefore necessary that our lives should not have that narrow intensity which puts the whole meaning and purpose of our life at the mercy of accident. For all these reasons the man who pursues happiness wisely will aim at the possession of a number of subsidiary interests in addition to those central ones upon which his life is built.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 15 “Impersonal Interests” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 16 “Effort and Resignation” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 17:51:16 +0000

It is better to do nothing than to do harm. Half the useful work in the world consists of combating the harmful work.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 16 “Effort and Resignation” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 17 “The Happy Man” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 17:16:04 +0000

The happy man is the man who lives objectively, who has free affections and wide interests, who secures his happiness through these interests and affections and through the fact that they, in turn, make him an object of interest and affection to many others.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 17 “The Happy Man” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 17 “The Happy Man” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 16:32:17 +0000

The happy life is to an extraordinary extent the same as the good life. Professional moralists have made too much of self-denial, and in so doing have put the emphasis in the wrong place. Conscious self-denial leaves a man self-absorbed and vividly aware of what he has sacrificed; in consequence it fails often of its immediate object and almost always of its ultimate purpose. What is needed is not self-denial, but that kind of direction of interest outward which will lead spontaneously and naturally to the same acts that a person absorbed in the pursuit of his own virtue could only perform by means of conscious self-denial.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 17 “The Happy Man” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 17 “The Happy Man” (1930)

Dave — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 17:46:12 +0000

In fact the whole antithesis between self and the rest of the world, which is implied in the doctrine of self-denial, disappears as soon as we have any genuine interest in persons or things outside ourselves. Through such interests a man comes to feel himself part of the stream of life, not a hard separate entity like a billiard-ball, which can have no relation with other such entities except that of collision.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 2, ch. 17 “The Happy Man” (1930)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Education and the Good Life, Part 1, ch. 1 “Postulates of Modern Educational Theory” (1926)

Dave — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 17:18:58 +0000

And it is only through imagination that men become aware of what the world might be; without it, “progress” would become mechanical and trivial.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Education and the Good Life, Part 1, ch. 1 “Postulates of Modern Educational Theory” (1926)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Education and the Good Life, Part 1, ch. 2 “The Aims of Education” (1926)

Dave — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 18:19:02 +0000

Neither acquiescence in skepticism nor acquiescence in dogma is what education should produce. What it should produce is a belief that knowledge is attainable in a measure, though with difficulty; that much of what passes for knowledge at any given time is likely to be more or less mistaken, but that the mistakes can be rectified by care and industry. In acting upon our beliefs, we should be very cautious where a small error would mean disaster; nevertheless it is upon our beliefs that we must act. This state of mind is rather difficult: it requires a high degree of intellectual culture without emotional atrophy. But though difficult it is not impossible; it is in fact the scientific temper. Knowledge, like other good things, is difficult, but not impossible; the dogmatist forgets the difficulty, the skeptic denies the possibility. Both are mistaken, and their errors, when wide-spread, produce social disaster.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Education and the Good Life, Part 1, ch. 2 “The Aims of Education” (1926)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Education and the Good Life, Part 1, ch. 2 “The Aims of Education” (1926)

Dave — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 16:03:14 +0000

The next stage in the development of a desirable form of sensitiveness is sympathy. There is a purely physical sympathy: a very young child will cry because a brother or sister is crying. This, I suppose, affords the basis for the further developments.
The two enlargements that are needed are: first, to feel sympathy even when the sufferer is not an object of special affection; secondly, to feel it when the suffering is merely known to be occurring, not sensibly present. The second of these enlargements depends mainly upon intelligence. It may only go so far as sympathy with suffering which is portrayed vividly and touchingly, as in a good novel; it may, on the other hand, go so far as to enable a man to be moved emotionally by statistics. This capacity for abstract sympathy is as rare as it is important.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Education and the Good Life, Part 1, ch. 2 “The Aims of Education” (1926)
(Source)

This (in the penultimate sentence) appears to be the origin of phrases such as:

"The of a truly intelligent person to be moved by statistics."
"he mark of a civilized man is the ability to look at a column of numbers, and weep."

Sometimes attributed to George Bernard Shaw or Oscar Wilde.

For more discussion, see: Quote Origin: It Is the Mark of a Truly Intelligent Person To Be Moved By Statistics – Quote Investigator®.

Russell, Bertrand -- Education and the Good Life, Part 1, ch. 2 “The Aims of Education” (1926)

Dave — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 16:05:58 +0000

Almost everybody is deeply affected when some one he loves suffers from cancer. Most people are moved when they see the sufferings of unknown patients in hospitals. Yet when they read that the death-rate from cancer is such-and-such, they are as a rule only moved to momentary personal fear lest they or some one dear to them should acquire the disease. The same is true of war: people think it dreadful when their son or brother is mutilated, but they do not think it a million times as dreadful that a million people should be mutilated. A man who is full of kindliness in all personal dealings may derive his income from incitement to war or from the torture of children in “backward” countries.
All these familiar phenomena are due to the fact that sympathy is not stirred, in most people, by a merely abstract stimulus. A large proportion of the evils in the modern world would cease if this could be remedied.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Education and the Good Life, Part 1, ch. 2 “The Aims of Education” (1926)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Education and the Good Life, Part 2, ch. 5 “Play and Fancy” (1926)

Dave — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 16:26:43 +0000

It is a dangerous error to confound truth with matter-of-fact. Our life is governed not only by facts, but by hopes; the kind of truthfulness which sees nothing but facts is a prison for the human spirit. Dreams are only to be condemned when they are a lazy substitute for an effort to change reality; when they are an incentive, they are fulfilling a vital purpose in the incarnation of human ideals. To kill fancy in childhood is to make a slave to what exists, a creature tethered to earth and therefore unable to create heaven.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Education and the Good Life, Part 2, ch. 5 “Play and Fancy” (1926)
(Source)

On children's literature.

Russell, Bertrand -- Education and the Good Life, Part 2, ch. 11 “Affection and Sympathy” (1926)

Dave — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 23:47:28 +0000

The cultivation of wide sympathies, given the instinctive germ, is mainly an intellectual matter: it depends upon the right direction of attention, and the realization of facts which militarists and authoritarians suppress. Take, for example, Tolstoy’s description of Napoleon going round the battlefield of Austerlitz after the victory. Most histories leave the battlefield as soon as the battle is over; by the simple expedient of lingering on it for another twelve hours, a completely different picture of war is produced. This is done, not by suppressing facts, but by giving more facts. And what applies to battles applies equally to other forms of cruelty. In all cases, it should be quite unnecessary to point the moral; the right telling of the story should be sufficient. Do not moralize, but let the facts produce their own moral in the child’s mind.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Education and the Good Life, Part 2, ch. 11 “Affection and Sympathy” (1926)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Education and the Good Life, Part 2, ch. 11 “Affection and Sympathy” (1926)

Dave — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:19:17 +0000

I have known some pacifists who wished history taught without reference to wars, and thought that children should be kept as long as possible ignorant of the cruelty in the world. But I cannot praise the “fugitive and cloistered virtue” that depends upon absence of knowledge. As soon as history is taught at all, it should be taught truthfully. If true history contradicts any moral we wish to teach, our moral must be wrong, and we had better abandon it. I quite admit that many people, including some of the most virtuous, find facts inconvenient, but that is due to a certain feebleness in their virtue. A truly robust morality can only be strengthened by the fullest knowledge of what really happens in the world.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Education and the Good Life, Part 2, ch. 11 “Affection and Sympathy” (1926)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Education and the Good Life, Part 2, ch. 11 “Affection and Sympathy” (1926)

Dave — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 18:42:42 +0000

If you tell children that they ought to be affectionate, you run the risk of producing cant and humbug. But if you make them happy and free, if you surround them with kindness, you will find that they become spontaneously friendly with everybody, and that almost everybody responds by being friendly with them. A trustful affectionate disposition justifies itself, because it gives irresistible charm, and creates the response which it expects. This is one of the most important results to be expected from the right education of character.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Education and the Good Life, Part 2, ch. 11 “Affection and Sympathy” (1926)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (1948)

Dave — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:32:02 +0000

I do not believe that I am now dreaming, but I cannot prove that I am not. I am, however, quite certain that I am having certain experiences, whether they be those of a dream or those of waking life.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (1948)

Russell, Bertrand -- Impact of Science on Society (1952)

Dave — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:39:52 +0000

Aristotle maintained that women have fewer teeth than men; although he was twice married, it never occurred to him to verify this statement by examining his wives’ mouths.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Impact of Science on Society (1952)

Russell, Bertrand -- Justice in War-Time (1916)

Dave — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:27:34 +0000

No nation was ever so virtuous as each believes itself, and none was ever so wicked as each believes the other.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Justice in War-Time (1916)

Russell, Bertrand -- Justice in War-Time (1916)

Dave — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 13:50:45 +0000

Righteousness cannot be born until self-righteousness is dead.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Justice in War-Time (1916)

Russell, Bertrand -- Logical Atomism (1924)

Dave — Wed, 21 May 2008 10:16:26 +0000

It seems to me that science has a much greater likelihood of being true in the main than any philosophy hitherto advanced (I do not, of course, except my own). In science there are many matters about which people are agreed; in philosophy there are none. Therefore, although each proposition in a science may be false, and it is practically certain that there are some that are false, yet we shall be wise to build our philosophy upon science, because the risk of error in philosophy is pretty sure to be greater than in science. If we could hope for certainty in philosophy, the matter would be otherwise, but so far as I can see such a hope would be chimerical.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Logical Atomism (1924)

Russell, Bertrand -- Look, “What They Are Saying” (1954-02-23)

Dave — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:37:26 +0000

Obscenity is whatever happens to shock some elderly and ignorant magistrate.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Look, “What They Are Saying” (1954-02-23)
(Source)

This column was a regular feature quoting notable comments by notable people. The actual source of the quotation, presumably made around this time, is unknown.

Russell, Bertrand -- Marriage and Morals, ch. 11 (1929)

Dave — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 12:43:50 +0000

Morality in sexual situations, when it is free from superstition, consists essentially of respect for the other person, and unwillingness to use that person solely as a means of personal gratification, without regard to his or her desires.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Marriage and Morals, ch. 11 (1929)

Russell, Bertrand -- Marriage and Morals, ch. 19 “Sex and Individual Well-Being” (1929)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Marriage and Morals, ch. 19 “Sex and Individual Well-Being” (1929)

Russell, Bertrand -- Marriage and Morals, ch. 5 “Christian Ethics” (1929)

Dave — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:29:47 +0000

The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Marriage and Morals, ch. 5 “Christian Ethics” (1929)

Russell, Bertrand -- Marriage and Morals, ch. 8 “The Taboo on Sex Knowledge” (1929)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Nine-tenths of the appeal of pornography is due to the indecent feelings concerning sex which moralists inculcate in the young; the other tenth is physiological, and will occur in one way or another whatever the state of the law may be. On these grounds, although I fear that few will agree with me, I am firmly persuaded that there ought to be no law whatsoever on the subject of obscene publications.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Marriage and Morals, ch. 8 “The Taboo on Sex Knowledge” (1929)

Russell, Bertrand -- New York Herald Tribune Magazine (1928-05-06)

Dave — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:04:17 +0000

Religions, which condemn the pleasures of senses, drive men to seek the pleasures of power. Throughout history, power has been the vice of the ascetic.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
New York Herald Tribune Magazine (1928-05-06)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Power: A New Social Analysis, ch. 1 “The Impulse to Power” (1938)

Dave — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:08:05 +0000

Every man would like to be God, if it were possible; some few find it difficult to admit the impossibility.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Power: A New Social Analysis, ch. 1 “The Impulse to Power” (1938)

Russell, Bertrand -- Power: A New Social Analysis, ch. 18 “The Taming of Power” (1938)

Dave — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:08:05 +0000

Just as we teach children to avoid being destroyed by motor cars if they can, so we should teach them to avoid being destroyed by cruel fanatics, and to this end we should seek to produce independence of mind, somewhat sceptical and wholly scientific, and to preserve, as far as possible, the instinctive joy of life that is natural to healthy children. This is the task of a liberal education: to give a sense of the value of things other than domination, to help create wise citizens of a free community, and through the combination of citizenship with liberty in individual creativeness to enable men to give to human life that splendour which some few have shown that it can achieve.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Power: A New Social Analysis, ch. 18 “The Taming of Power” (1938)

Russell, Bertrand -- Power: A New Social Analysis, ch. 2 (1938)

Dave — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 12:45:45 +0000

Something of the hermit’s temper is an essential element in many forms of excellence, since it enables a man to resist the lure of popularity, to pursue important work in spite of general indifference or hostility, and arrive at opinions which are opposed to prevalent errors.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Power: A New Social Analysis, ch. 2 (1938)

Russell, Bertrand -- Principles of Social Reconstruction [Why Men Fight], ch. 8 (1916)

Dave — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 13:07:48 +0000

It is preoccupation with possession, more than anything else, that prevents men from living freely and nobly.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Principles of Social Reconstruction [Why Men Fight], ch. 8 (1916)

Russell, Bertrand -- Principles of Social Reconstruction, ch. 2 (1916)

Dave — Tue, 13 May 2014 15:22:21 +0000

The principal source of the harm done by the State is the fact that power is its chief end.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Principles of Social Reconstruction, ch. 2 (1916)

Russell, Bertrand -- Principles of Social Reconstruction, ch. 5 (1916)

Dave — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:04:47 +0000

If the object were to make pupils think, rather than to make them accept certain conclusions, education would be conducted quite differently; there would be less … instruction and more discussion.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Principles of Social Reconstruction, ch. 5 (1916)

Russell, Bertrand -- Religion and Science, ch. 1 “Ground of Conflict” (1935)

Dave — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:12:50 +0000

A religious creed differs from a scientific theory in claiming to embody eternal and absolutely certain truth, whereas science is always tentative, expecting that modification in its present theories will sooner or later be found necessary, and aware that its method is one which is logically incapable of arriving at a complete and final demonstration.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Religion and Science, ch. 1 “Ground of Conflict” (1935)

Russell, Bertrand -- Religion and Science, ch. 3 (1935)

Dave — Wed, 01 Jan 2014 20:53:55 +0000

The sciences have developed in an order the reverse of what might have been expected. What was most remote from ourselves was first brought under the domain of law, and then, gradually, what was nearer: first the heavens, next the earth, then animal and vegetable life, then the human body, and last of all (as yet very imperfectly) the human mind.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Religion and Science, ch. 3 (1935)

Russell, Bertrand -- Religion and Science, ch. 9 “Science of Ethics” (1935)

Dave — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:35:37 +0000

While it is true that science cannot decide questions of value, that is because they cannot be intellectually decided at all, and lie outside the realm of truth and falsehood. Whatever knowledge is attainable, must be attained by scientific methods; and what science cannot discover, mankind cannot know.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Religion and Science, ch. 9 “Science of Ethics” (1935)

Russell, Bertrand -- Roads to Freedom ch. 6 (1918)

Dave — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 18:25:16 +0000

It is natural to most men to suppose that they have enemies and to find a certain fulfillment of their nature when they embark upon a contest. What a man believes upon grossly insufficient evidence is an index to his desires — desires of which he himself is often unconscious. If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance with his instincts, he will accept it even on the slenderest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way, and much of what is currently believed in international affairs is no better than myth.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Roads to Freedom ch. 6 (1918)

Source

Russell, Bertrand -- Sceptical Essays, Introduction (1928)

Dave — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 23:25:01 +0000

The opinions that are held with passion are always those for which no good ground exists; indeed the passion is the measure of the holder’s lack of rational conviction. Opinions in politics and religion are almost always held passionately.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Sceptical Essays, Introduction (1928)

Russell, Bertrand -- Sceptical Essays, “Dreams and Facts” (1928)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Even when the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Sceptical Essays, “Dreams and Facts” (1928)

Russell, Bertrand -- Sceptical Essays, “Dreams and Facts” (1928)

Dave — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:31:57 +0000

Every man, wherever he goes, is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions, which move with him like flies on a summer day.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Sceptical Essays, “Dreams and Facts” (1928)

Russell, Bertrand -- Sceptical Essays, 12 (1928)

Dave — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:29:45 +0000

Education should have two objects: first, to give definite knowledge, reading and writing, language and mathematics, and so on; secondly, to create those mental habits which will enable people to acquire knowledge and form sound judgments for themselves.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Sceptical Essays, 12 (1928)

Russell, Bertrand -- Sceptical Essays, ch. 1, “The Value of Scepticism” (1928)

Dave — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:52:27 +0000

It is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Sceptical Essays, ch. 1, “The Value of Scepticism” (1928)

Russell, Bertrand -- Sceptical Essays, ch. 10 (1928)

Dave — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 12:44:00 +0000

Next to enjoying ourselves, the next greatest pleasure consists in preventing others from enjoying themselves, or, more generally, in the acquisition of power. Consequently those who live under the dominion of Puritanism become exceedingly desirous of power.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Sceptical Essays, ch. 10 (1928)

Russell, Bertrand -- Sceptical Essays, ch. 11 (1928)

Dave — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 13:36:51 +0000

We must be skeptical even of our skepticism.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Sceptical Essays, ch. 11 (1928)

Russell, Bertrand -- Sceptical Essays, ch. 12 “Free Thought and Official Propaganda” (1928)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the wish to find out, which is the exact opposite.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Sceptical Essays, ch. 12 “Free Thought and Official Propaganda” (1928)

Russell, Bertrand -- Sceptical Essays, ch. 6 (1928)

Dave — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 11:54:33 +0000

Machines are worshipped because they are beautiful, and valued because they confer power; they are hated because they are hideous, and loathed because they impose slavery.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Sceptical Essays, ch. 6 (1928)

Russell, Bertrand -- The ABC of Relativity (1925)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
The ABC of Relativity (1925)

Some sources give as "die sooner." Other variant: "Most people would rather die than think; many do."

Russell, Bertrand -- The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell: 1914-1944, ch. 1 “The First War” (1968)

Dave — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 12:53:19 +0000

I was much cheered upon my arrival [in prison], by the warder at the gate, who had to take particulars about me. He asked my religion, and I replied, ‘agnostic.’ He asked how to spell it, and remarked with a sigh, “Well, there are many religions, but I suppose they all worship the same God.” This remark kept me cheerful for about a week.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell: 1914-1944, ch. 1 “The First War” (1968)
(Source)

When imprisoned in 1918, during World War I, for his pacifist, anti-war activities.

Russell, Bertrand -- The Problems of Philosophy, ch. 15 “The Value of Philosophy” (1912)

Dave — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 13:23:44 +0000

The man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his mind without the co-operation or consent of his deliberate reason.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
The Problems of Philosophy, ch. 15 “The Value of Philosophy” (1912)

Russell, Bertrand -- The Problems of Philosophy, ch. 2 “The Existence of Matter” (1912)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

This seems plainly absurd; but whoever wishes to become a philosopher must learn not to be frightened by absurdities.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
The Problems of Philosophy, ch. 2 “The Existence of Matter” (1912)

Full text.

Russell, Bertrand -- The Prospects of Industrial Civilization (1923)

Dave — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:09:06 +0000

To save the world requires faith and courage: faith in reason, and courage to proclaim what reason shows to be true.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
The Prospects of Industrial Civilization (1923)

Russell, Bertrand -- Unpopular Essays (1950)

Dave — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 00:18:06 +0000

In practice, people choose the book considered sacred by the community in which they are born, and out of that book they choose the parts they like, ignoring the others. At one time, the most influential text in the Bible was: “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” Nowadays, people pass over this text, in silence if possible; if not, with an apology. And so, even when we have a sacred book, we still choose truth whatever suits our own prejudices.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Unpopular Essays (1950)

Quoting Exodus 22:18.

Russell, Bertrand -- Unpopular Essays, “An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish” (1950)

Dave — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:51:52 +0000

We believe, first and foremost, that which makes us feel that we are fine fellows.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Unpopular Essays, “An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish” (1950)

Russell, Bertrand -- Unpopular Essays, “Eminent Men I Have Known” (1950)

Dave — Wed, 17 May 2017 00:03:04 +0000

When I put a question to him about socialism in agriculture, he explained with glee how he had incited the poorer peasants against the richer ones, “and they soon hanged them from the nearest tree — ha! ha! ha!” His guffaw at the thought of those massacred made my blood run cold.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Unpopular Essays, “Eminent Men I Have Known” (1950)

Referring to an 1920 interview in Moscow with V. Lenin.

Russell, Bertrand -- Unpopular Essays, “Ideas That Have Harmed Mankind” (1950)

Dave — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:47:43 +0000

Most of the greatest evils that man has inflicted upon man have come through people feeling quite certain about something which, in fact, was false.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Unpopular Essays, “Ideas That Have Harmed Mankind” (1950)

Russell, Bertrand -- Unpopular Essays, ch. 10 “Ideas That Have Harmed Mankind” (1950)

Dave — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:19:25 +0000

In America everybody is of opinion that he has no social superiors, since all men are equal, but he does not admit that he has no social inferiors.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Unpopular Essays, ch. 10 “Ideas That Have Harmed Mankind” (1950)

Russell, Bertrand -- What I Believe (1925)

Dave — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:10:53 +0000

The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
What I Believe (1925)

Russell, Bertrand -- Why Men Fight, ch. V “Education” (1917)

Dave — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 10:15:05 +0000

Passive acceptance of the teacher’s wisdom is easy to most boys and girls. It involves no effort of independent thought, and seems rational because the teacher knows more than his pupils; it is moreover the way to win the favour of the teacher unless he is a very exceptional man. Yet the habit of passive acceptance is a disastrous one in later life. It causes man to seek and to accept a leader, and to accept as a leader whoever is established in that position.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Why Men Fight, ch. V “Education” (1917)

In context.

Russell, Bertrand -- Comment, The Brains Trust, BBC Radio (1948-04-26)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

I am firm. You are obstinate. He is a pig-headed fool.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Comment, The Brains Trust, BBC Radio (1948-04-26)
(Source)

Offered as a game, "Conjugations" (today referred to by linguists as "Russell Conjugations" or "Emotive Conjugations"). The publication The New Statesman and Nation subsequently ran a competition for similar "irregular verbs," which were later printed (1948-05-15), along with the quote from Russell.

Sometimes misattributed to British journalist Katharine Whitehorn.

Russell, Bertrand -- Essay (1932-11-16), “On Proverbs,” New York American

Dave — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 15:18:29 +0000

The supposed wisdom of proverbs is mainly imaginary. As a rule, proverbs go in pairs which say opposite things. The opposite of “More haste, less speed” is “A stitch in time saves nine.” The opposite of “Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves,” “Penny wise, pound foolish.” The opposite of “Two heads are better than one,” is “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” And so on. The great advantage of a proverb in argument is that it is supposed to be incontrovertible, as embodying the quintessential sagacity of our ancestors. But when once you have realised that proverbs go in pairs which say opposite things you can never again be downed by a proverb; you merely quote the opposite.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Essay (1932-11-16), “On Proverbs,” New York American
(Source)

See Howell (1659).

Russell, Bertrand -- Essay (1933-02-01) “On Tact,” New York American

Dave — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 14:16:19 +0000

I think the gist of the matter is that a saint can live without politeness, and indeed that politeness is incompatible with a saintly character. But the man who is always to be sincere must be free from spite and envy and malice and pettiness. Most of us have a dose of these vices in our composition and therefore have to excerise tact to avoid giving offence. We cannot all be saints, and if saintliness is impossible, we may at least try not to be too disagreeable.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Essay (1933-02-01) “On Tact,” New York American
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by John Freeman, Face to Face, BBC TV (1959-03-04)

Dave — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 22:15:50 +0000

The moral thing I wish to say to [future generations] is very simple. I should say love is wise, hatred is foolish. In this world which is getting more and more closely interconnected, we have to learn to tolerate each other. We have to learn to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don’t like. We can only live together in that way, and if we are to live together and not die together we must learn the kind of charity and kind of tolerance which is absolutely vital to the continuation of human life on this planet.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Interview by John Freeman, Face to Face, BBC TV (1959-03-04)
(Source)

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by Seth King, New York Times (1961-05-18)

Dave — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 15:12:40 +0000

If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have paradise in a few years.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Interview by Seth King, New York Times (1961-05-18)

Interview on his 89th Birthday. The article does not presently show up in the NYT archives, but the quotation is mentioned in Newsweek, "Newsmakers" (1961-05-29), and in Think Magazine, "Thoughts" (1961-12).

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Dave — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:35:07 +0000

The whiter my hair becomes, the more ready people are to believe what I say.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Collected in Bertrand Russell's BBC Interviews (1959) [UK] and Bertrand Russell Speaks His Mind (1960) [US]. Reprinted (abridged) in The Humanist (1982-11/12), and in Russell Society News, #37 (1983-02).

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Dave — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:44:42 +0000

All the important human advances that we know of since historical times began have been due to individuals of whom the majority faced virulent public opposition.

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Dave — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 13:01:28 +0000

If you have a good scientific imagination, you can think of all sorts of things that might be true, and that’s the essence of science. You first think of something that might be true — then you look to see if it is, and generally it isn’t.

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Dave — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 16:58:38 +0000

There are some philosophers who exist to uphold the status quo, and others who exist to upset it — Marx, of course, belongs to the second lot. For my part, I should reject both those as not being the true business of a philosopher, and I should say the business of a philosopher is not to change the world but to understand it, which is the exact opposite to what Marx said.

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Dave — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 18:40:17 +0000

On the one hand, philosophy is to keep us thinking about things that we may come to know, and on the other hand to keep us modestly aware of how much what seems like knowledge isn’t knowledge.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)
(Source)

Collected in Bertrand Russell's BBC Interviews (1959) [UK] and Bertrand Russell Speaks His Mind (1960) [US]. Reprinted (abridged) in The Humanist (1982-11/12), and in Russell Society News, #37 (1983-02).

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Dave — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 20:10:12 +0000

There are a number of things that science can’t deal with. All questions of values. for example. Science won’t tell you what is good and what is bad — what is good or bad as an end, not just as a means.

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Dave — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 13:41:52 +0000

I think nobody should be certain of anything. If you’re certain, you’re certainly wrong, because nothing deserves certainty, and so one ought always to hold all one’s beliefs with a certain element of doubt and one ought to be able to act vigorously in spite of the doubt.

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Dave — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 21:32:43 +0000

I think [the effects of religion] have been bad because it was held important that people should believe something for which there did not exist good evidence and that falsified everybody’s thinking, falsified systems of education, and set up also, what I think a complete moral heresy: namely, that it is right to believe certain things, and wrong to believe certain others, apart from the question of whether the things in question are true or false.

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Dave — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 19:38:20 +0000

In the main, I think religion has done a great deal of harm. Largely by sanctifying conservatism and adhesion to ancient habits, and still more by sanctifying intolerance and hatred. The amount of intolerance that has gone into religion, especially in Europe, is quite terrible.

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Dave — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 21:11:17 +0000

I think that if there go on being great wars and great oppressions and many people leading very unhappy lives, probably religion will go on, because I’ve observed that the belief in the goodness of God is inversely proportional to the evidence. When there’s no evidence for it at all, people believe it, and, when things are going well and you might believe it, they don’t.

Russell, Bertrand -- Interview by Woodrow Wyatt, BBC TV (1959)

Dave — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 16:00:43 +0000

Only about 1 percent of my writings are concerned with sex, but the conventional public is so obsessed with sex that it hasn’t noticed the other 99 percent of my writings.