To be out of harmony with one's surroundings is of course…

“To be out of harmony with one's surroundings is of course a misfortune, but it is not always a misfortune to be avoided at all costs. Where the environment is stupid or prejudiced or cruel, it is a sign of merit to be out of harmony with it.”

Bertrand Russell

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Being out of harmony with a corrupt environment can be justified; conformity isn’t always virtuous.

In simple terms: Reject unjust surroundings when needed.

Key Takeaway

Stand against oppression wisely.

Themes

ethics social justice conformity

Mood

thoughtful serious

Type

philosophical political

When to use this quote

workplace discrimination
authoritarian regimes
social movements

Key Concepts

philosophy political theory

Questions to Reflect On

When is dissent justified?
How to balance harmony and integrity?

A Different Perspective

Opposition may bring personal risk.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

Environment Harmony Misfortune Misfortunes Peace Surroundings

More by Bertrand Russell

If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.

Bertrand Russell

That the world is in a bad shape is undeniable, but there is not the faintest reason in history to suppose that Christianity offers…

Bertrand Russell

All movements go too far.

Bertrand Russell

Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'

Bertrand Russell

“Such, in outline, but even more purposeless, more void of meaning, is the world which Science presents for our belief. Amid such a world,…

Bertrand Russell

Dr. Arnold . . . the admired reformer of public schools, came across some cranks who thought it a mistake to flog boys. Anyone…

Bertrand Russell

Of all evils of war the greatest is the purely spiritual evil: the hatred, the injustice, the repudiation of truth, the artificial conflict.

Bertrand Russell

Aristotle maintained that women have fewer teeth than men; although he was twice married, it never occurred to him to verify this statement by…

Bertrand Russell

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

Bertrand Russell

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

I think it would be just to say the most essential characteristic of mind is memory, using this word in its broadest sense to…

Bertrand Russell

The newspapers at one time said that I was dead but after carefully examining the evidence I came to the conclusion that this statement…

Bertrand Russell

“Persecution is used in theology, not in arithmetic, because in arithmetic there is knowledge, but in theology there is only opinion.”

Bertrand Russell

“Many orthodox people speak as though it were the business of sceptics to disprove received dogmas rather than of dogmatists to prove them. This…

Bertrand Russell

There is no greater reason for children to honour parents than for parents to honour children except, that while the children are young, the…

Bertrand Russell

Explore all 1,620 Bertrand Russell quotes

More Avoided quotes

I avoided nudity unless a film couldn't be told without those scenes. If you look at my films, few of them have that element,…

Greta Scacchi

Among many other weighty objections to the Measure, it has been suggested, that it has a tendency to introduce religious disputes into the Army,…

George Washington

Poetry in love is no more to be avoided than jealousy.

William Wycherley

Naive optimism and pervasive pessimism are both to be avoided, therefore. It's not an easy balance to maintain, to be asked to work away…

Neal A. Maxwell

“war is not so to be avoided, but is only deferred to your disadvantage”

Niccolò Machiavelli

I read actual physical books and have thus far avoided the electronic lure.

Khaled Hosseini

Usually I avoided college students, whom I considered brutal, wrapped up in themselves, particularly in their youth, in which they found material for drama…

Anonymous

Specialness as a primary mode of death transcendence takes a number of other maladaptive forms. The drive for power is not uncommonly motivated by…

Irvin D. Yalom

I've always avoided publicity. I've never been good copy at any stage of my life. I don't strive for it, because I don't think…

Chuck Noll

“Adversity Isn’t to Be Avoided”

Miles Anthony Smith

If in the words which the Secretary of State has just used, the use of a nuclear weapon is to be avoided 'at all…

Enoch Powell

I've created a narrative of the world. I live in the world - tenuously, most times. I've avoided the digital world.

James Ellroy

Against specious appearances we must set clear convictions, bright and ready for use. When death appears as an evil, we ought immediately to remember…

Epictetus