Bertrand Russell, [Bertrand Arthur William Russell] (1872-1970) Philosopher, educator Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Comment on this quote Share via Email Print this Page [1-28] of 28 Bertrand Russell quotesBertrand Russell QuotesBertrand Russell Dogma demands authority, rather than intelligent thought, as the source of opinion; it requires persecution of heretics and hostility to unbelievers; it asks of its disciples that they should inhibit natural kindness in favour of systematic hatred.~ Bertrand Russell Freedom in general may be defined as the absence of obstacles to the realization of desires.~ Bertrand Russell If we were all given by magic the power to read each other's thoughts, I suppose the first effect would be to dissolve all friendships.~ Bertrand Russell In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.~ Bertrand Russell The essence of the liberal outlook lies not in what opinions are held, but in how they are held: instead of being viewed dogmatically, they are held tentatively, with a consciousness that new evidence may at any moment lead to their abandonment.~ Bertrand Russell There is no nonsense so errant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action.~ Bertrand Russell What a man believes upon grossly insufficient evidence is an index into 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 to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way.~ Bertrand Russell When the state intervenes to insure the indoctrination of some doctrine, it does so because there is no conclusive evidence in favor of that doctrine.~ Bertrand Russell Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.~ Bertrand Russell These men - ..., the politicians, ... - use their position, their knowledge, and their power of disseminating misinformation to arouse and stimulate the latent instinct for bloodshed. When they have succeeded, they say they are reluctantly forced to war by the pressure of public opinion.~ Bertrand Russell The argument against the persecution of opinion does not depend upon what the excuse for persecution may be. The argument is that we none of us know all truth, that the discovery of new truth is promoted by free discussion and rendered very difficult by suppression.~ Bertrand Russell The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.~ Bertrand Russell The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.~ Bertrand Russell I think the subject which will be of most importance politically is Mass Psychology. ...It's importance has been enormously increased by the growth of modern methods of propaganda ...Although this science will be diligently studied, it will be rigidly confined to the governing class. The populace will not be allowed to know how its convictions were generated.~ Bertrand Russell To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.~ Bertrand Russell 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. Now love of power does far more harm than love of drink or any of the other vices against which Puritans protest. Of course, in virtuous people love of power camouflages itself as love of doing good, but this makes very little difference to its social effects. It merely means that we punish our victims for being wicked, instead of for being our enemies. In either case, tyranny and war result. Moral indignation is one of the most harmful forces in the modern world, the more so as it can always be diverted to sinister uses by those who control propaganda.~ Bertrand Russell Freedom of opinion can only exist when the government thinks itself secure.~ Bertrand Russell What's the difference between a bright, inquisitive five-year-old, and a dull, stupid nineteen-year-old? Fourteen years of the British educational system.~ Bertrand Russell The practical objection to Puritanism, as to every form of fanaticism, is that it singles out certain evils as so much worse than others that they must be suppressed at all costs. The fanatic fails to recognise that the suppression of a real evil, if carried out too drastically, produces other evils which are even greater.~ Bertrand Russell It is clear that thought is not free if the profession of certain opinions make it impossible to earn a living.~ Bertrand Russell It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly.~ Bertrand Russell Envy is the basis of Democracy.~ Bertrand Russell Man has existed for about a million years. He has possessed writing for about 6,000 years, agriculture somewhat longer, but perhaps not much longer. Science, as a dominant factor in determining the belief of educated men, has existed for about 300 years; as a source of economic technique, for about 150 years. In this brief period it has proved itself an incredibly powerful revolutionary force. When we consider how recently it has risen to power, we find ourselves forced to believe that we are at the very beginning of its work in transforming human life.~ Bertrand Russell The laws in question can, therefore, only be justified by the theory of vindictive punishment, which holds that certain sins, though they may not injure anyone except the sinner, are so heinous as to make it our duty to inflict pain upon the delinquent. This point of view, under the influence of Benthamism, lost its hold during the nineteenth century. But in recent years, with the general decay of Liberalism, it has regained lost ground, and has begun to threaten a new tyranny as oppressive as any in the Middle Ages.~ Bertrand Russell We may define a Puritan as a man who holds that certain kinds of acts, even if they have no visible bad effects upon others than the agent, are inherently sinful, and, being sinful, ought to be prevented by whatever means is most effectual - the criminal law if possible, and, if not that, then public opinion backed by economic pressure.~ Bertrand Russell 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 Heretical views arise when the truth is uncertain, and it is only when the truth is uncertain that censorship is invoked.~ Bertrand Russell The earth becomes more crowded, and our dependence upon our neighbours becomes more intimate. In these circumstances life cannot remain tolerable unless we learn to let each other alone in all matters that are not of immediate and obvious concern to the community. We must learn to respect each other's privacy, and not to impose our moral standards upon each other. The Puritan imagines that his moral standard is the moral standard; he does not realize that other ages and other countries, and even other groups in his own country, have moral standards different from his, to which they have as good a right as he has to his. Unfortunately, the love of power which is the natural outcome of Puritan self-denial makes the Puritan more executive than other people, and makes it difficult for others to resist him. Let us hope that a broader education and a wider knowledge of mankind may gradually weaken the ardour of our too virtuous masters.~ Bertrand Russell Share on Facebook Tweet Email Print