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...
certainty men
What men want is not knowledge, but certainty.
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.
bizarre happen history prevent professors realizing
The professors must not prevent us from realizing that history is fun, and that the most bizarre things really happen
forged honest
There are no better friends than those forged through honest and often heated argument.
add certain certainty nearly others
When one admits that nothing is certain one must, I think, also add that some things are more nearly certain than others