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Bertrand Russell

484 quotes

• “I found one day in school a boy of medium size ill-treating a smaller boy. I expostulated, but he replied: "The bigs hit me, so I hit the babies; that's fair." In these words he epitomized the history of the human race.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Owing to the identification of religion with virtue, together with the fact that the most religious men are not the most intelligent, a religious education gives courage to the stupid to resist the authority of educated men, as has happened, for example, where the teaching of evolution has been made illegal. So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence; and in this respect ministers of religion follow gospel authority more closely than in some others.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I am sure that university life would be better, both intellectually and morally, if most university students had temporary childless marriages. This would afford a solution to the sexual urge neither restless nor surreptitious, neither mercenary nor casual, and of such a nature that it need not take up time which ought to be given to work.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “There are those who blame the Press, but in this I think they are mistaken. The Press is such as the public demands, and the public demands bad newspapers because it has been badly educated.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “It is generally admitted that most grown-up people, however regrettably, will try to have a good time.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “To understand the actual world as it is, not as we should wish it to be, is the beginning of wisdom.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “First of all: what is work? Work is of two kinds: first, altering the position of matter at or near the earth's surface relatively to other such matter; second, telling other people to do so. The first kind is unpleasant and ill paid; the second is pleasant and highly paid.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “The idea that the poor should have leisure has always been shocking to the rich.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Good nature is, of all moral qualities, the one that the world needs most, and good nature is the result of ease and security, not of a life of arduous struggle. Modern methods of production have given us the possibility of ease and security for all; we have chosen, instead, to have overwork for some and starvation for the others. Hitherto we have continued to be as energetic as we were before there were machines; in this we have been foolish, but there is no reason to go on being foolish for ever.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “In the past, there was a small leisure class and a larger working class. The leisure class enjoyed advantages for which there was no basis in social justice; this necessarily made it oppressive, limited its sympathies, and caused it to invent theories by which to justify its privileges.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “For my part, while I am as convinced a Socialist as the most ardent Marxian, I do not regard Socialism as a gospel of proletarian revenge, nor even, primarily, as a means of securing economic justice. I regard it primarily as an adjustment to machine production demanded by considerations of common sense, and calculated to increase the happiness, not only of proletarians, but of all except a tiny minority of the human race.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I cannot escape from the conclusion that the great ages of progress have depended upon a small number of individuals of transcendent ability.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “It is, of course, clear that a country with a large foreign population must endeavour, through its schools, to assimilate the children of immigrants. It is, however, unfortunate that a large part of this process should be effected by means of a somewhat blatant nationalism.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “No rules, however wise, are a substitute for affection and tact.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I think modern educational theorists are inclined to attach too much importance to the negative virtue of not interfering with children, and too little to the positive merit of enjoying their company.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Two men who differ as to the ends of life cannot hope to agree about education.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Every man would like to be God, if it were possible; some few find it difficult to admit the impossibility.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “The fundamental concept in social science is Power, in the same sense in which Energy is the fundamental concept in physics.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Most men do not feel in themselves the competence required for leading their group to victory, and therefore seek out a captain who appears to possess the courage and sagacity necessary for the achievement of supremacy. Even in religion this impulse appears. Nietzsche accused Christianity of inculcating a slave-morality, but ultimate triumph was always the goal. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “I greatly doubt whether the men who become pirate chiefs are those who are filled with retrospective terror of their fathers, or whether Napoleon, at Austerlitz, really felt that he was getting even with Madame Mère. I know nothing of the mother of Attila, but I rather suspect that she spoilt the little darling, who subsequently found the world irritating because it sometimes resisted his whims.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “In former days, men sold themselves to the Devil to acquire magical powers. Nowadays they acquire those powers from science, and find themselves compelled to become devils. There is no hope for the world unless power can be tamed, and brought into the service, not of this or that group of fanatical tyrants, but of the whole human race, white and yellow and black, fascist and communist and democrat; for science has made it inevitable that all must live or all must die.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Power may be defined as the production of intended effects.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Most people, at a crisis, feel more loyalty to their nation than to their class.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “We thus have a kind of see-saw: first, pure persuasion leading to the conversion of a minority; then force exerted to secure that the rest of the community shall be exposed to the right propaganda; and finally a genuine belief on the part of the great majority, which makes the use of force again unnecessary.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Competition for power is of two sorts: between organizations, and between individuals for leadership within an organization.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “In democratic countries, the most important private organizations are economic. Unlike secret societies, they are able to exercize their terrorism without illegality, since they do not threaten to kill their enemies, but only to starve them.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “The "social contract," in the only sense in which it is not completely mythical, is a contract among conquerors, which loses its raison d'être if they are deprived of the benefits of conquest.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Among human beings, the subjection of women is much more complete at a certain level of civilization than it is among savages. And the subjection is always reinforced by morality.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “An individual may perceive a way of life, or a method of social organisation, by which more of the desires of mankind could be satisfied than under the existing method. If he perceives truly, and can persuade men to adopt his reform, he is justified. Without rebellion, mankind would stagnate, and injustice would be irremediable.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “It is not altogether true that persuasion is one thing and force is another. Many forms of persuasion – even many of which everybody approves – are really a kind of force. Consider what we do to our children. We do not say to them: "Some people think the earth is round, and others think it is flat; when you grow up, you can, if you like, examine the evidence and form your own conclusion." Instead of this we say: "The earth is round." By the time our children are old enough to examine the evidence, our propaganda has closed their minds.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “The merits of democracy are negative: it does not insure good government, but it prevents certain evils.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “To acquire immunity to eloquence is of the utmost importance to the citizens of a democracy.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

• “Ever since the war began, I have felt that I could no longer go on being a pacifist, but I have hesitated to say so, because of the responsibility involved. If I were young enough to fight myself, I should do so, but it is more difficult to urge others. Now, however, I feel that I ought to announce that I have changed my mind.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1931 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Letter to Kingsley Martin (June 1940), quoted in Kingsley Martin, Editor: A Second Volume of Autobiography, 1931-45 (1968), p. 207

• “The observer, when he seems to himself to be observing a stone, is really, if physics is to be believed, observing the effects of the stone upon himself.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1940 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: An Inquiry into Meaning and Truth (1940), Introduction, p. 15

• “Science seems to be at war with itself.... Naive realism leads to physics, and physics, if true, shows naive realism to be false. Therefore naive realism, if true, is false; therefore it is false.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1940 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: An Inquiry into Meaning and Truth (1940), Introduction, p. 15

• “The first thing to realize, if you wish to become a philosopher, is that most people go through life with a whole world of beliefs that have no sort of rational justification, and that one man's world of beliefs is apt to be incompatible with another man's, so that they cannot both be right. People's opinions are mainly designed to make them feel comfortable; truth, for most people is a secondary consideration.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1942 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: How to Become a Philosopher" (1942), in The Art of Philosophizing, and Other Essays (New York: Philosophical Library, 1968), p. 2

• “The universe is what it is, not what I choose that it should be.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1944 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: The Value of Free Thought: How to Become a Truth-seeker and Break the Chains of Mental Slavery (1944), p. 24

• “I remain convinced that obstinate addiction to ordinary language in our private thoughts is one of the main obstacles to progress in philosophy.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1944 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Quoted in Library of Living Philosophers: The Philosophy of Bertrand Russell (1944)

• “It is entirely clear that there is only one way in which great wars can be permanently prevented, and that is the establishment of an international government with a monopoly of serious armed force.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1945 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: The Atomic Bomb and the Prevention of War" in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (1 October 1945)

• “I am ashamed of belonging to the species Homo Sapiens...You & I may be thankful to have lived in happier times – you more than I, because you have no children.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1946 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Letter to Lucy Donnelly (23 June 1946)

• “Men tend to have the beliefs that suit their passions. Cruel men believe in a cruel God, and use their belief to excuse their cruelty. Only kindly men believe in a kindly God, and they would be kindly in any case.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1947 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: In London Calling (1947), p. 18

• “There is a further advantage [to hydrogen bombs]: the supply of uranium in the planet is very limited, and it might be feared that it would be used up before the human race was exterminated, but now that the practically unlimited supply of hydrogen can be utilized, there is considerable reason to hope that homo sapiens may put an end to himself, to the great advantage of such less ferocious animals as may survive. But it is time to return to less cheerful topics.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (1948), part I, "The World of Science", chapter 3, "The World of Physics", p. 41

• “A dog cannot relate his autobiography; however eloquently he may bark, he cannot tell you that his parents were honest but poor.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (1948), part II, chapter 1, p. 74

• “I do not believe that I am now dreaming, but I cannot prove that I am not. I am, however, quite certain that I am having certain experiences, whether they be those of a dream or those of waking life.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (1948), p. 172thumb|The universe is just there, and that is all.

• “I once received a letter from an eminent logician, Mrs. Christine Ladd Franklin, saying that she was a solipsist, and was surprised that there were no others. Coming from a logician, this surprise surprised me.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (1948), Part III, chapter II, "Solipsism", p. 196

• “Whatever we know without inference is mental.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (1948), p. 224

• “Probably in time physiologists will be able to make nerves connecting the bodies of different people; this will have the advantage that we shall be able to feel another man's tooth aching.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (1948), p. 493

• “I should say that the universe is just there, and that is all.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: BBC Radio Debate on the Existence of God, Bertrand Russell v. Frederick Copleston (1948)

• “A physicist looks for causes; that does not necessarily imply that there are causes everywhere. A man may look for gold without assuming that there is gold everywhere; if he finds gold, well and good, if he doesn't he's had bad luck. The same is true when the physicists look for causes.”

  Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source

  Recorded in: BBC Radio Debate on the Existence of God, Russell vs. Copleston (1948)

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