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
Dread of disaster makes everybody act in the very way that increases the disaster. Psychologically the situation is analogous to that of people trampled to death when there is a panic in a theatre caused by a cry of `Fire!'.
The atomic bomb embodies the results of a combination genius and patience as remarkable as any in the history of mankind.
Some `advanced thinkers' are of the opinion that anyone who differs from the conventional opinion must be in the right. This is a delusion; if it were not, truth would be easier to come by than it is.
Whenever one finds oneself inclined to bitterness, it is a sign of emotional failure.
All the important human advances that we know of since historical times began have been due to individuals of whom the majority faced virulent public opposition.
Christianity offers reasons for not fearing death or the universe, and in so doing it fails to teach adequately the virtue of courage.
After ages during which the earth produced harmless trilobites and butterflies, evolution progressed to the point at which it generated Neros, Genghis Khans, and Hitlers. This, however, is a passing nightmare; in time the earth will become again incapable of supporting life, and peace will return.
The idea that the poor should have leisure has always been shocking to the rich.
BERTRAND RUSSELL, The Philosophy of Logical Atomism We've associated that word philosophy with academic study that in its own way has gotten so far beyond the layman that if you read contemporary philosophy you've no clue, because it's almost become math. And it's odd that if you don't do that and you call yourself a philosopher that you always get 'homespun' attached to it.
Written words differ from spoken words in being material structures. A spoken word is a process in the physical world, having an essential time-order; a written word is a series of pieces of matter, having an essential space-order.
A fanatical belief in democracy makes democratic institutions impossible.
Facts have to be discovered by observation, not by reasoning
The supreme maxim in scientific philosophising is this: wherever possible, logical constructions are to be substituted for inferred entities.
No rules, however wise, are a substitute for affection and tact.