List of quotes from Bertrand Russell
"I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong. " by Bertrand Russell
"Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth -- more than ruin -- more even than death.... Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man. "
by Bertrand Russell
"When one admits that nothing is certain one must, I think, also admit that some things are much more nearly certain than others. "
by Bertrand Russell
"Science may set limits to knowledge, but should not set limits to imagination. " by Bertrand Russell
"Contempt for happiness is usually contempt for other people’s happiness, and is an elegant disguise for hatred of the human race." by Bertrand Russell
"Real life is, to most men, a long second-best, a perpetual compromise between the ideal and the possible; but the world of pure reason knows no compromise, no practical limitations, no barrier to the creative activity." by Bertrand Russell
"Order, unity and continuity are human inventions just as truly as catalogues and encyclopedias. " by Bertrand Russell
"The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge. " by Bertrand Russell
"Freedom of opinion can only exist when the government thinks itself secure. "
by Bertrand Russell
"All exact science is dominated by the idea of approximation. "
by Bertrand Russell
"Change is scientific, progress is ethical; change is indubitable, whereas progress is a matter of controversy. "
by Bertrand Russell
"One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny. "
by Bertrand Russell
"Government can easily exist without laws, but law cannot exist without government. "
by Bertrand Russell
"I should wish to see a world in which education aimed at mental freedom rather than imprisoning the minds of the young in a rigid armor of dogma calculated to protect them though life against the shafts of impartial evidence. "
by Bertrand Russell Why I am Not a Christian
"Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. "
by Autobiography Bertrand Russell
"Religion is something left over from the infancy of our intelligence, it will fade away as we adopt reason and science as our guidelines. "
by Bertrand Russell
"But all who are not lunitics are agreed about certain things: That it is better to be alive than dead, better to be adequately fed than starved, better to be free than to be a slave. Many people desire these things only for themselves and their friends; they are quite content that their enemies should suffer. These people can be refuted by science: Mankind has become so much one family that we cannot insure our own prosperity except by insuring that of everyone else. If you wish to be happy yourself, you must resign yourself to seeing others also happy. "
by Bertrand Russell from the essay The Science to Save Us From Science
"This is patently absurd; but whoever wishes to become a philosopher must learn not to be frightened by absurdities. "
by Bertrand Russell