---
title: "Best Doubt Quotes by Bertrand Russell"
description: "45 Doubt quotes by Bertrand Russell. Plus more from Bertrand Russell and more Doubt sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df8/bertrand-russell-69_accepted_i-am-afraid-that-education-is-conceived_210076.jpg"
---

> [...I am afraid that education is conceived more in terms of indoctrination by most school officials than in terms of enlightenment. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-am-afraid-that-education-is-conceived-more-in-terms-of/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df8/bertrand-russell-69_accepted_i-am-afraid-that-education-is-conceived_210076.jpg)

> [Philosophy, though unable to tell us with certainty what is the true answer to the doubts which it raises, is able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/philosophy-though-unable-to-tell-us-with-certainty-what-is-the-true/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/bertrand-russell-69_able_philosophy-though-unable-to-tell-us-with_1505090.jpg)

> [The demand for certainty is one which is natural to man, but is nevertheless an intellectual vice. So long as men are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-demand-for-certainty-is-one-which-is-natural-to-man-but-is-3/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/bertrand-russell-69_absence_the-demand-for-certainty-is-one-which-is_1937119.jpg)

> [Are you never afraid of God's judgement in denying him? Most certainly not. I also deny Zeus and Jupiter and Odin and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/are-you-never-afraid-of-god-s-judgement-in-denying-him-most-certainly/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/bertrand-russell-69_believe_are-you-never-afraid-of-god-s-judgement_2712685.jpg)

> [“Nevertheless the opinion of experts, when it is unanimous, must be accepted by non-experts as more likely to be right than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/nevertheless-the-opinion-of-experts-when-it-is-unanimous-must-be/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a55/bertrand-russell-69_doubt_nevertheless-the-opinion-of-experts-when_2352366.jpg)

## Other authors on Doubt

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- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-richard-p-feynman-78819.jpg) Richard P. Feynman 30 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/richard-p-feynman/)
- [Lailah Gifty Akita 30 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/lailah-gifty-akita/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-friedrich-nietzsche-36363.jpg) Friedrich Nietzsche 28 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/friedrich-nietzsche/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b011/author-henry-david-thoreau-41473.jpg) Henry David Thoreau 24 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/henry-david-thoreau/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-william-shakespeare-95899.jpg) William Shakespeare 23 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/william-shakespeare/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b023/author-terry-mark-89514.jpg) Terry Mark 23 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/terry-mark/)
- [Mark Twain 23 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/mark-twain/)
- [Ralph Waldo Emerson 22 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/ralph-waldo-emerson/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b021/author-rush-limbaugh-81741.jpg) Rush Limbaugh 21 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/rush-limbaugh/)
- [Bangambiki Habyarimana 21 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/bangambiki-habyarimana/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-oscar-wilde-72846.jpg) Oscar Wilde 20 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/oscar-wilde/)

## 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. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/that-the-world-is-in-a-bad-shape-is-undeniable-but-there-is-not-the/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [All movements go too far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/all-movements-go-too-far/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/such-in-outline-but-even-more-purposeless-more-void-of-meaning-is-the/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [Dr. Arnold . . . the admired reformer of public schools, came across some cranks who thought it a mistake to flog boys. Anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/dr-arnold-the-admired-reformer-of-public-schools-came-across-some/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/of-all-evils-of-war-the-greatest-is-the-purely-spiritual-evil-the/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/aristotle-maintained-that-women-have-fewer-teeth-than-men-although-he/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-an-opinion-contrary-to-your-own-makes-you-angry-that-is-a-sign/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-cannot-escape-from-the-conclusion-that-the-great-ages-of-progress/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-think-it-would-be-just-to-say-the-most-essential-characteristic-of/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-newspapers-at-one-time-said-that-i-was-dead-but-after-carefully/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [“Persecution is used in theology, not in arithmetic, because in arithmetic there is knowledge, but in theology there is only opinion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/persecution-is-used-in-theology-not-in-arithmetic-because-in/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/many-orthodox-people-speak-as-though-it-were-the-business-of-sceptics/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/there-is-no-greater-reason-for-children-to-honour-parents-than-for/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

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                        "text": "...I am afraid that education is conceived more in terms of indoctrination by most school officials than in terms of enlightenment. My own belief is that education must be subversive if it is to be meaningful. By this I mean that it must challenge all the things we take for granted, examine all accepted assumptions, tamper with every sacred cow, and instill a desire to question and doubt. Without this the mere instruction to memorise data is empty. The attempt to enforce conventional mediocrity on the young is criminal.",
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                        "text": "Philosophy, though unable to tell us with certainty what is the true answer to the doubts which it raises, is able to suggest many possiblities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of custom. Thus, while diminishing our feeling of certainty as to what things are, it greatly increases our knowledge as to what the may be; it removes the somewhat arrogant dogmatism of those who have never travelled into the region of liberating doubt, and it keeps alive our sense of wonder by showing familar things in an unfamilar aspect",
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                        "text": "Are you never afraid of God's judgement in denying him? Most certainly not. I also deny Zeus and Jupiter and Odin and Brahma, but this causes me no qualms. I observe that a very large portion of the human race does not believe in God and suffers no visible punishment in consequence. And if there were a God, I think it very unlikely that He would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence.",
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