Thinking Quotes by Bertrand Russell

Philosophy is an unusually ingenious attempt to think fallaciously.

— Bertrand Russell

To think I have spent my life on absolute muck.

— Bertrand Russell

“The habit of thinking in terms of comparison is a fatal one.”

— Bertrand Russell

I am sometimes shocked by the blasphemies of those who think themselves pious.

— Bertrand Russell

Some people would rather die than think.

— Bertrand Russell

Never try to discourage thinking, for you are sure to succeed.

— Bertrand Russell

Religion is based, I think, primarily and mainly upon fear.

— Bertrand Russell

I do not think any reasonable person can doubt that in India, China and Japan, if the knowledge of birth control existed,…

— Bertrand Russell

If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no…

— Bertrand Russell

When one admits that nothing is certain one must, I think, also admit that some things are much more nearly certain than…

— Bertrand Russell

Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise, for only a fool will think that…

— Bertrand Russell

If I were granted omnipotence, and millions of years to experiment in, I should not think Man much to boast of as…

— Bertrand Russell

The first effect of emancipation from the Church was not to make men think rationally, but to open their minds to every…

— Bertrand Russell

Not to be absolutely certain is, I think, one of the essential things in rationality.

— Bertrand Russell

And if there were a God, I think it very unlikely that He would have such an uneasy vanity as to be…

— Bertrand Russell

We all have a tendency to think that the world must conform to our prejudices. The opposite view involves some effort of…

— Bertrand Russell

I think periods of browsing during which no occupation is imposed from without are important in youth because they give time for…

— Bertrand Russell

I don't care for the applause one gets by saying what others are thinking; I want actually to change people's thoughts. Power…

— Bertrand Russell

I think that there is far too much work done in the world, that immense harm is caused by the belief that…

— Bertrand Russell

A logical theory may be tested by its capacity for dealing with puzzles, and it is a wholesome plan, in thinking about…

— Bertrand Russell

The skill of the politician consists in guessing what people can be brought to think advantageous to themselves; the skill of the…

— Bertrand Russell

One must expect a war between U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. which will begin with the total destruction of London. I think the war…

— Bertrand Russell

On the one hand, philosophy is to keep us thinking about things that we may come to know, and on the other…

— Bertrand Russell

I am looking forward very much to getting back to Cambridge, and being able to say what I think and not to…

— Bertrand Russell

Some care is needed in using Descartes' argument. "I think, therefore I am" says rather more than is strictly certain. It might…

— Bertrand Russell

If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign that you are subsciously aware of having no…

— Bertrand Russell

[The church] is in its major part an opponent still of progress and improvement in all the ways that diminish suffering in…

— Bertrand Russell

Philosophy, for Plato, is a kind of vision, the 'vision of truth'...Everyone who has done any kind of creative work has experienced,…

— Bertrand Russell

Scientific societies are as yet in their infancy. It is to be expected that advances in physiology and psychology will give governments…

— Bertrand Russell

One must expect a war between U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. which will begin with the total destruction of London. I think the war…

— Bertrand Russell

It has become a commonplace that aggressiveness also often has its roots in fear. I am inclined to think that this theory…

— Bertrand Russell

There was, I think, never any reason to believe in any innate superiority of the male, except his superior muscle.

— Bertrand Russell

I don't like the spirit of socialism - I think freedom is the basis of everything.

— Bertrand Russell

Upon hearing via Littlewood an exposition on the theory of relativity: To think I have spent my life on absolute muck.

— Bertrand Russell

When people begin to philosophize they seem to think it necessary to make themselves artificially stupid.

— Bertrand Russell

The pursuit of knowledge is, I think, mainly actuated by love of power. And so are all advances in scientific technique.

— Bertrand Russell

Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.

— Bertrand Russell

I do not think that the real reason why people accept religion has anything to do with argumentation. They accept religion on…

— Bertrand Russell

Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man.

— Bertrand Russell

Thinking you know when in fact you don't is a fatal mistake, to which we are all prone

— Bertrand Russell