Whenever you find yourself getting angry about a difference of opinion, be on your guard; you will probably find, on examination, that… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
I resolved from the beginning of my quest that I would not be misled by sentiment and desire into beliefs for which… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
The fact that a belief has a good moral effect upon a man is no evidence whatsoever in favor of its truth. — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
“All knowledge, we find, must be built up upon our instinctive beliefs, and if these are rejected, nothing is left.” — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
The reformative effect of punishment is a belief that dies hard, chiefly I think, because it is so satisfying to our sadistic… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Education ought to foster the wish for truth, not the conviction that some particular creed is the truth. — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Religion may in most of its forms be defined as the belief that the gods are on the side of the government. — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Of these austerer virtues the love of truth is the chief, and in mathematics, more than elsewhere, the love of truth may… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
I want to say, in all seriousness, that a great deal of harm is being done in the modern world by belief… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
“The belief in a happy "state of nature" in the remote past is derived partly from the biblical narrative of the age… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
“A man votes for one party and remains miserable; he concludes that it was the other party that would bring the millennium.… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
By religion I mean a set of beliefs held as dogmas, dominating the conduct of life, going beyond or contrary to evidence,… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
It is not what the man of science believes that distinguishes him, but how and why he believes it. His beliefs are… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
There are certain things that our age needs, and certain things that it should avoid. It needs compassion and a wish that… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
The opinions that are held with passion are always those for which no good ground exists; indeed the passion is the measure… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
We may define "faith" as the firm belief in something for which there is no evidence. Where there is evidence, no one… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
“The extent to which beliefs are based upon evidence is very much less than believers suppose. Take the kind of action which… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
The social psychologist of the future will have a number of classes of school children on whom they will try different methods… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
“What really moves people to believe in God is not any intellectual argument at all. Most people believe in God because they… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
“The product of causes ... his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
The opposition of instinct and reason is mainly illusory. Instinct, intuition, or insight is what first leads to the beliefs which subsequent… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
You find this curious fact, that the more intense has been the religion of any period and more profound has been the… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Science tells us what we can know but what we can know is little and if we forget how much we cannot… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
RELIGION: A set of beliefs held as dogmas, dominating the conduct of life, going beyond or contrary to evidence, and inculcated by… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that ones work is terribly important. — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
The qualities most needed are charity and tolerance, not some form of fanatical faith such as is offered to us by the… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
As soon as it is held that any belief, no matter what, is important for some other reason than that it is… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Cruel men believe in a cruel god and use their belief to excuse their cruelty. Only kindly men believe in a kindly… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
All knowledge, we feel, must be built up upon our instinctive beliefs; and if these are rejected, nothing is left. — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
“The man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Ignore fact and reason, live entirely in the world of your own fantastic and myth-producing passions; do this whole-heartedly and with conviction,… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
The man who is unhappy will, as a rule, adopt an unhappy creed, while the man who is happy will adopt a… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
I say people who feel they must have a faith or religion in order to face life are showing a kind of… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
“Science tells us what we can know, but what we can know is little, and if we forget how much we cannot… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
I think that there is far too much work done in the world, that immense harm is caused by the belief that… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
One of the symptoms of approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important, and that to take a… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
“The mind of the most rational among us may be compared to a stormy ocean of passionate convictions based on desire, upon… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
“at first sight it might be thought that knowledge might be defined as belief which is in agreement with the facts. The… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
But if thought is to become the possession of many, not the privilege of the few, we must have done with fear.… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. — Bertrand Russell Copy Share
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 Copy Share
Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.' — Bertrand Russell Copy Share
“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 Copy Share
Dr. Arnold . . . the admired reformer of public schools, came across some cranks who thought it a mistake to flog boys. Anyone… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share
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 Copy Share
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 Copy Share
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 Copy Share
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 Copy Share
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 Copy Share
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 Copy Share
“Persecution is used in theology, not in arithmetic, because in arithmetic there is knowledge, but in theology there is only opinion.” — Bertrand Russell Copy Share
“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 Copy Share
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 Copy Share
