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Quotes by Bertrand Russell
(1872 - 1970)


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BeliefsI would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.
BibleSo far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence.
DemocracyDemocracy is the process by which people choose the man who'll get the blame.
EccentricityDo not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
EducationMen are born ignorant, not stupid; they are make stupid by education.
EmotionThe degree of one's emotions varies inversely with one's knowledge of the facts.
FanaticsThe whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.
FathersThe place of the father in the modern suburban family is a very small one, particularly if he plays golf.
HappinessFew people can be happy unless they hate some other person, nation or creed.
HappinessI've made an odd discovery. Every time I talk to a savant I feel quite sure that happiness is no longer a possibility. Yet when I talk with my gardener, I'm convinced of the opposite.
HonestyOur great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man.
Human relationsIf 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 a paradise in a few years.
KnowledgeThere is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge.
LifeLife is nothing but a competition to be the criminal rather than the victim.
ManMany people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so.
materialismIt is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly.
MenAristotle maintained that women have fewer teeth than men; although he was twice married, it never occured to him to verify this statement by examining his wives' mouths.
MoralityThe infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is the delight of moralists -- that is why they invented hell.
MovementsAll movements go too far.
OpinionThe fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd.
PartiotismPatriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.
PatriotismPatriots always talk of dying for their country and never of killing for their country.
PhilosophyThe point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.
- (The Philosophy of Logical Atomism)
PhilosophyWhat is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, which is the exact opposite.
- (philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate)
PoliticsMany people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so. - Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) Bertrand Russell Education Men are born ignorant, not stupid; they are make stupid by education. - Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) - Bertrand Russell Bible So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence. - Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) Bertrand Russell Reason It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this. - Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) Bertrand Russell Fathers The place of the father in the modern suburban family is a very small one, particularly if he plays golf. - Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) Bertrand Russell Fanatics 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 (1872 - 1970) Bertrand Russell Men Aristotle maintained that women have fewer teeth than men; although he was twice married, it never occured to him to verify this statement by examining his wives' mouths. - Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) Bertrand Russell Knowledge There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge. - Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) Bertrand Russell Partiotism Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons. - Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important. - Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) Bertrand Russell Movements All movements go too far. - Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) Bertrand Russell Beliefs I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong. - Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) Bertrand Russell Happiness Few people can be happy unless they hate some other person, nation or creed. - Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) Bertrand Russell Life Life is nothing but a competition to be the criminal rather than the victim. - Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) Bertrand Russell Morality The infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is the delight of moralists -- that is why they invented hell. - Bertrand Russell Bertrand Russell Honesty Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man. - Bertrand Russell
- (Philospher and Philanthropist)
ReasonIt has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this.
ScienceAlmost everything that distinguishes the modern world from earlier centuries is attributable to science, which achieved its most spectacular triumphs in the seventeenth century.
The WorldThe trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.
UnhappinessMen who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact.
- (Conquest of Happiness)
WarWar does not determine who is right, only who is left.
WorkOne of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.
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