Bertrand Russel
Bertrand Russel
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRSwas a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, writer, social critic, political activist and Nobel laureate. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had "never been any of these things, in any profound sense". He was born in Monmouthshire into one of the most prominent aristocratic families in the United Kingdom...
mankind sweeter universe
Mankind . . . are a mistake. The universe would be sweeter and fresher without them
accept acting affords against believes desires evidence explained fact goes himself man myths offered origin reason refuse slightest unless
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.
action adequate cannot creed majority nonsense vast
There is no nonsense so arrant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action
average intelligence less man moralist
The professional moralist in our day is a man of less than average intelligence
forged honest
There are no better friends than those forged through honest and often heated argument.
beauty cold possesses rightly sculpture supreme
Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty - a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture
knows mathematics nor science talking true whether
Mathematics is the only science where one never knows what one is talking about nor whether what is said is true
against feeling intellect keeps perhaps
It is only the intellect that keeps me sane; perhaps this makes me overvalue intellect against feeling
derive england illegal pleasure print sexual state wife
It is illegal in England to state in print that a wife can and should derive sexual pleasure from intercourse
condemned darkness gate himself lose pass today tomorrow
Man, condemned today to lose his dearest, tomorrow himself to pass through the gate of darkness
dying talk
Patriots always talk of dying for their country, and never of killing for their country.
hard-work labor life mental physical severe suited
Our mental make-up is suited to a life of very severe physical labor
advocating artificial condemned contain descend found fragile full hours mechanical people pools preventive town war
I think every big town should contain artificial waterfalls that people can descend in very fragile canoes, and they should contain bathing pools full of mechanical sharks. Any person found advocating a preventive war should be condemned to two hours
artificial man natural sort venture whether worse
Whether artificial man will be better or worse than the natural sort I do not venture to predict.