Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear.
¶ "An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish" (1943)
Quotations by ...
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
It is clear that the most elementary condition, if thought is to be free, is the absence of legal penalties for the expression of opinions. No great country has yet reached to this level, although most of them think they have. The opinions which are still persecuted strike the majority as so monstrous and immoral that the general principle of toleration can not be held to apply to them. But this is exactly the same view as that which made possible the tortures of the Inquisition. There was a time when Protestantism seemed as wicked as Bolshevism seems now.
¶ "Free Thought and Official Propaganda," lecture, South Place Institute, London (24 Mar 1922)
It is clear that thought is not free if the profession of certain opinions makes it impossible to earn a living.
¶ "Free Thought and Official Propaganda," lecture, South Place Institute, London (24 Mar 1922)
Freedom of opinion can only exist when the government thinks itself secure.
¶ "Freedom and Government" (1940)
Many orthodox people speak as though it were the business of sceptics to disprove received dogmas rather than of dogmatists to prove them. This is, of course, a mistake. If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time.
¶ "Is There a God?" (1952)
Full essay
The infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is a delight to moralists -- that is why they invented hell.
¶ "On the Value of Scepticism" (1958)
Full essay, which appeared in The Will to Doubt.
The widespread interest in gossip is inspired, not by a love of knowledge, but by malice: no one gossips about other people's secret virtues, but only about their secret vices. Accordingly most gossip is untrue, but care is taken not to verify it. Our neighbour's sins, like the consolations of religion, are so agreeable that we do not stop to scrutinize the evidence closely.
¶ "The Aims of Education" (1929)
Usually shortened to "No one gossips about other people's secret virtues." Full text.
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
¶ "The Triumph of Stupidity" (10 May 1933)
Often paraphrased, "The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure, and the intelligent are full of doubt."
The degree of one's emotions varies inversely with one's knowledge of the facts -- the less you know the hotter you get.
¶ (Attributed)
In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.
¶ (Attributed)
One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.
¶ (Attributed)
There is no nonsense so arrant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action.
¶ An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish (1943)
To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.
¶ Conquest of Happiness, ch. 2 "Byronic Unhappiness" (1930)
Aristotle maintained that women have fewer teeth than men; although he was twice married, it never occurred to him to verify this statement by examining his wives' mouths.
¶ Impact of Science on Society (1952)
No nation was ever so virtuous as each believes itself, and none was ever so wicked as each believes the other.
¶ Justice in War-Time (1916)
Obscenity is whatever happens to shock some elderly and ignorant magistrate.
¶ Look (23 Feb 1954)
To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.
¶ Marriage and Morals, ch. 19 "Sex and Individual Well-Being" (1929)
Nine-tenths of the appeal of pornography is due to the indecent feelings concerning sex which moralists inculcate in the young; the other tenth is physiological, and will occur in one way or another whatever the state of the law may be. On these grounds, although I fear that few will agree with me, I am firmly persuaded that there ought to be no law whatsoever on the subject of obscene publications.
¶ Marriage and Morals, ch. 8 "The Taboo on Sex Knowledge" (1929)
It is natural to most men to suppose that they have enemies and to find a certain fulfillment of their nature when they embark upon a contest. What a man believes upon grossly insufficient evidence is an index to his desires -- desires of which he himself is often unconscious. If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance with his instincts, he will accept it even on the slenderest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way, and much of what is currently believed in international affairs is no better than myth.
¶ Roads to Freedom ch. 6 (1918)
The opinions that are held with passion are always those for which no good ground exists; indeed the passion is the measure of the holder’s lack of rational conviction. Opinions in politics and religion are almost always held passionately.
¶ Sceptical Essays, Introduction (1928)
Every man, wherever he goes, is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions, which move with him like flies on a summer day.
¶ Sceptical Essays, "Dreams and Facts" (1928)
Even when the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken.
¶ Sceptical Essays, "Dreams and Facts" (1928)
What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the wish to find out, which is the exact opposite.
¶ Sceptical Essays, ch. 12 "Free Thought and Official Propaganda" (1928)
Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so.
¶ The ABC of Relativity (1925)
Some sources give as "die sooner." Other variant: "Most people would rather die than think; many do."
Boredom is a vital problem for the moralist, since at least half the sins of mankind are caused by the fear of it.
¶ The Conquest of Happiness, ch. 4 "Boredom and Excitement" (1930)
A certain power of enduring boredom is essential to a happy life. The lives of most great men have not been exciting except at a few great moments. A generation that cannot endure boredom will be a generation of little men.
¶ The Conquest of Happiness, ch. 4 "Boredom and Excitement" (1930)
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.
¶ The Conquest of Happiness, ch. 9 (1930)
This seems plainly absurd; but whoever wishes to become a philosopher must learn not to be frightened by absurdities.
¶ The Problems of Philosophy, ch. 2 "The Existence of Matter" (1912)
Full text.
The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way.
¶ Unpopular Essays (1950)
Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones.
¶ Unpopular Essays, ch. 7 "An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish" (1950)
Passive acceptance of the teacher's wisdom is easy to most boys and girls. It involves no effort of independent thought, and seems rational because the teacher knows more than his pupils; it is moreover the way to win the favour of the teacher unless he is a very exceptional man. Yet the habit of passive acceptance is a disastrous one in later life. It causes man to seek and to accept a leader, and to accept as a leader whoever is established in that position.
¶ Why Men Fight, ch. V "Education" (1917)
In context.
I am firm. You are obstinate. He is a pig-headed fool.
¶ Comment, Brains Trust (BBC Radio) (26 Apr 1948)
Offered as an example of conjugating an irregular verb. Quoted in "Result of Competition No. 952" The New Statesman and Nation (15 May 1948). (Reference)
Sometimes attrib. to British journalist Katharine Whitehorn.
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