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Bertrand Russell Quotes - Page 37

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The Church no longer contends that knowledge is in itself sinful, though it did so in its palmy days; but the acquisition of knowledge, even though not sinful, is dangerous, since it may lead to pride of intellect, and

The Church no longer contends that knowledge is in itself sinful, though it did so in its palmy days; but the acquisition of knowledge, even though not sinful, is dangerous, since it may lead to pride of intellect, and hence to a questioning of the Christian dogma.

Bertrand Russell
Christian, Pride, Church
Bertrand Russell (1957). “Why I Am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects”, p.45, Simon and Schuster

One must expect a war between U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. which will begin with the total destruction of London. I think the war will last 30 years, and leave a world without civilised people, from which everything will have to build afresh - a process taking (say) 500 years.

Bertrand Russell
War, Thinking, Years
Letter to Gamel Brenan (September 1, 1945), "The Selected Letters of Bertrand Russell" edited by Nicholas Griffin, (p. 410), 2002.

The desire to understand the world and the desire to reform it are the two great engines of progress, without which human society would stand still or retrogress.

Bertrand Russell
Two, Justice, Progress
"Marriage and Morals". Book by Bertrand Russell, Ch. 20, p. 301, en.wikiquote.org. Marriage and Morals.

I do wish I believed in the life eternal, for it makes me quite miserable to think man is merely a kind of machine endowed, unhappily for himself, with consciousness.

Bertrand Russell
Men, Thinking, Wish
Bertrand Russell (1995). “My Philosophical Development”, p.23, Psychology Press

Moral progress has consisted in the main of protest against cruel customs, and of attempts to enlarge human sympathy.

Bertrand Russell
Progress, Moral, Protest
Bertrand Russell (2009). “Authority and the Individual”, p.30, Routledge

Without effort and change, human life cannot remain good. It is not a finished Utopia that we ought to desire, but a world where imagination and hope are alive and active.

Bertrand Russell
Imagination, Effort, Desire
Bertrand Russell (2016). “Political Ideals”, p.16, Bertrand Russell

In emancipation from the fears that beset the slave of circumstance he will experience a profound joy, and through all the vicissitudes of his outward life he will remain in the depths of his being a happy man.

Bertrand Russell
Men, Profound, Joy
Bertrand Russell (2015). “The Conquest of Happiness”, p.133, Lulu Press, Inc

I do not think any reasonable person can doubt that in India, China and Japan, if the knowledge of birth control existed, the birthrate would fall very rapidly

Bertrand Russell
Fall, Thinking, Japan
Bertrand Russell (1992). “The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell, 1903-1959”, p.706, Psychology Press

He will see himself and life and the world as truly as our human limitations will permit; realizing the brevity and minuteness of human life, he will realize also that in individual minds is concentrated whatever of value the known universe contains.

Bertrand Russell
Mind, World, Realizing
Bertrand Russell (2015). “The Conquest of Happiness”, p.133, Lulu Press, Inc

When we have told how things behave when they are electrified, and under what circumstances they are electrified, we have told all there is to know

Bertrand Russell
Circumstances, Behave, Knows

Africans had to be taught that nudity is wicked; this was done very cheaply by missionaries.

Bertrand Russell
Wicked, Done, Taught
Bertrand Russell (2016). “The Impact of Science on Society”, p.20, Routledge

I suggest to young professors that their first work should be written in a jargon only to be understood by the erudite few. With that behind them, they can ever after say what they have to say in a language 'understand of the people.'

Bertrand Russell
People, Jargon, Firsts
Bertrand Russell (2009). “Bertrand Russell's Best”, p.66, Routledge

Shakespeare . . . If he does not give you delight, you had better ignore him [if you can].

Bertrand Russell
Giving, Doe, Delight

The doctrine (of) maintaining that the language of daily life, with words used in their ordinary meanings, suffices for philosophy . . . I find myself totally unable to accept . . . . Because it makes almost inevitable the perpetuation amongst philosophers of the muddle-headedness they have taken over from common sense.

Bertrand Russell
Philosophy, Taken, Common Sense

The Stoic assures us that what is happening now will happen over and over again. [If so, Providende would] ultimately grow weary through despair.

Bertrand Russell
Despair, Stoic, Grows

The teaching of Christ, as it appears in the Gospels, has had extraordinarily little to do with the ethics of Christians.

Bertrand Russell
Christian, Teaching, Littles
Bertrand Russell (2016). “Why I Am Not a Christian”, p.50, Lulu Press, Inc

The white tails of rabbits, according to some theologians, have a purpose, namely to make it easier for sportsmen to shoot them.

Bertrand Russell
White, Rabbits, Tails
Bertrand Russell (2009). “The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell”, p.53, Routledge

Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'

Bertrand Russell
Philosophy, Men, Common
Bertrand Russell (2009). “Bertrand Russell's Best”, p.66, Routledge

Thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit.

Bertrand Russell
Privilege, Habit, Institutions
Bertrand Russell (2015). “Why Men Fight: A Method of Abolishing the International Duel”, p.96, Lulu Press, Inc

Tobacco . . . is not prohibited in the Scriptures, though, as Samuel Butler points out, St. Paul would no doubt have denounced it if he had known of it.

Bertrand Russell
Doubt, Scripture, Butlers
Bertrand Russell (2009). “The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell”, p.50, Routledge

Vanity is a motive of immense potency.

Bertrand Russell
Vanity, Potency, Motive
Bertrand Russell (2009). “The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell”, p.448, Routledge

We have almost reached the point where praise of rationality is held to mark a man as an old fogey regrettably surviving from a bygone age.

Bertrand Russell
Men, Age, Praise
Bertrand Russell (2009). “Unpopular Essays”, p.73, Routledge

So far I have been speaking of theoretical science, which is an attempt to understand the world. Practical science, which is an attempt to change the world, has been important from the first, and has continually increased in importance, until it has almost ousted theoretical science from men's thoughts.

Bertrand Russell
Men, Important, World
Bertrand Russell (2008). “History of Western Philosophy”, p.492, Simon and Schuster

There are still many people in America who regard depressions as acts of God. I think Keynes proved that the responsibility for these occurrences does not rest with Providence.

Bertrand Russell
Responsibility, Thinking, America
Bertrand Russell (2014). “The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell”, p.69, Routledge

When white men first effect contact with some unspoilt race of savages, they offer them all kinds of benefits, from the light of the gospel to pumpkin pie. These, however, much as we may regret it, most savages receive with indifference. What they really value among the gifts that we bring to them is intoxicating liquor which enables them, for the first time in their lives, to have the illusion for a few brief moments that it is better to be alive than dead.

Bertrand Russell
Regret, Men, Light
Bertrand Russell (2013). “Human Society in Ethics and Politics”, p.165, Routledge

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