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
Bertrand Russell quotes about
Happiness, as is evident, depends partly upon external circumstances and partly upon oneself.
The first effect of emancipation from the Church was not to make men think rationally, but to open their minds to every sort of antique nonsense
So in everything: power lies with those who control finance, not with those who know the matter upon which the money is to be spent. Thus, the holders of power are, in general, ignorant and malevolent, and the less they exercise their power the better.
Stupidity and unconscious bias often work more damage than venality.
Understanding human nature must be the basis of any real improvement in human life. Science has done wonders in mastering the laws of the physical world, but our own nature is much less understood, as yet, than the nature of stars and electrons. When science learns to understand human nature, it will be able to bring a happiness into our lives which machines and the physical sciences have failed to create.
One of the most powerful of all our passions is the desire to be admired and respected.
A man is rational in proportion as his intelligence informs and controls his desires.
I consider the official Catholic attitude on divorce, birth control, and censorship exceedingly dangerous to mankind.
Philosophy is an unusually ingenious attempt to think fallaciously.
Few people can be happy unless they hate some other person, nation, or creed.
It's easy to fall in love. The hard part is finding someone to catch you.
I like mathematics because it is not human and has nothing particular to do with this planet or with the whole accidental universe - because, like Spinoza's God, it won't love us in return.
Indignation is a submission of our thoughts, but not of our desires.
The coward wretch whose hand and heart Can bear to torture aught below, Is ever first to quail and start From the slightest pain or equal foe.