Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
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...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth18 May 1872
To save the world requires faith and courage: faith in reason, and courage to proclaim what reason shows to be true
It is for this reason that rationality is of supreme importance to the well-being of the human species...even more, in those less fortunate times in which it is despised and rejected as the vain dream of men who lack the virility to kill where they cannot agree.
Reason is a harmonizing, controlling force rather than a creative one.
Facts have to be discovered by observation, not by reasoning
Reason may be a small force, but it is constant, and works always in one direction, while the forces of unreason destroy one another in futile strife.
There can't be a practical reason for believing something that is not true.
Male superiority in former days was easily demonstrated, because if a woman questioned her husband's he could beat her. From superiority in this respect others were thought to follow. Men were more reasonable than women, more inventive, less swayed b
To save the world requires faith and courage: faith in reason, and courage to proclaim what reason shows to be true.
As soon as we abandon our reason and are content to rely on authority, there is no end to our troubles.
It is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no reason whatsoever for supposing it to be true
Many people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so.
The man who can centre 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.
Those who have never known the deep intimacy and the intense companionship of mutual love have missed the best thing that life has to give.
What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the wish to find out, which is its exact opposite.