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
Joy of life... depends upon a certain spontaneity in regard to sex. Where sex is repressed, only work remains, and a gospel of work for work's sake never produced any work worth doing.
If one lived for ever the joys of life would inevitably in the end lose their savour. As it is, they remain perennially fresh.
For my part, the thing I would wish to obtain from money would be leisure with security. But what the typical modern man desires to get with it is more money, with a view to ostentation, splendour, and the outshining of those who have hitherto been his equals.
I can't tell whether I am living in a dream or a nightmare.
When two great powers disagree about anything - it doesn't matter what - they must find a way to settle it somehow by arbitration or by negotiation, not by war or threat of war.
To discover a system for the avoidance of war is a vital need of our civilisation.
God and Satan alike are essentially human figures, the one a projection of ourselves, the other of our enemies.
The newspapers at one time said that I was dead but after carefully examining the evidence I came to the conclusion that this statement was false.
The power of thought, the vast regions it can master.
Philosophy bakes no bread
A man of Seville is shaved by the Barber of Seville if and only if the man does not shave himself. Does the barber shave himself?
The raw fruits of the earth were made for human sustenance. Even the white tails of rabbits, according to some theologians, have a purpose, namely to make it easier for sportsmen to shoot them. There are, it is true, some inconveniences: lions and tigers are too fierce, the summer is too hot, and the winter too cold. But these things only began after Adam ate the apple; I before that, all animals were vegetarians, and the season was always spring. If only Adam had been content with peaches and nectarines, grapes and pears and pineapples, these blessings would still be ours.
Writing can be either readable or precise, but not at the same time.
When all experts agree, you need to watch out.