I think we ought always to entertain our opinions with some measure of doubt. I shouldn’t wish people dogmatically to believe any philosophy, not even mine.
BERTRAND RUSSELLAristotle 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.
More Bertrand Russell Quotes
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There are two motives for reading a book; one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it.
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Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
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Sin is geographical.
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It seems to me fundamental dishonesty, and a fundamental treachery to intellectual integrity to hold a belief because you think it’s useful and not because you think it’s true.
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The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.
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The demand for certainty is one that is natural to man but is nevertheless an intellectual vice.
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Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones.
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I believe that when I die I shall rot, and nothing of my ego will survive.
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One of the most powerful of all our passions is the desire to be admired and respected.
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Mathematics rightly viewed possesses not only truth but supreme beauty.
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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.
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To write a tragedy, a man must feel the tragedy. To feel tragedy, a man must be aware of the world in which he lives. Not only with his mind, but with his blood and sinews.
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No one ever gossips about the virtues of others.
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I say quite deliberately that the Christian religion, as organized in its churches, has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world.
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Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact.
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None of our beliefs are quite true; all have at least a penumbra of vagueness and error.
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One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.
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The wise man thinks about his troubles only when there is some purpose in doing so; at other times he thinks about other things, or, if it is night, about nothing at all.
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So far as I can remember there is not one word in the gospels in praise of intelligence.
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It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence that could support this.
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The secret of happiness is very simple: let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile.
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Men are born ignorant, not stupid; they are made stupid by education.
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The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
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It’s easy to fall in love. The hard part is finding someone to catch you.
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The use of self-control is like the use of brakes on the train. It is useful when you find yourself in the wrong direction but merely harmful when the direction is right.
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Love can flourish only as long as it is free and spontaneous; it tends to be killed by the thought of duty. To say that it is your duty to love so-and-so is the surest way to cause you to hate him of her.
BERTRAND RUSSELL