Ethical metaphysics is fundamentally an attempt, however disguised, to give legislative force to our own wishes. — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
You are a wicked motorcar, and I shall not give you any more petrol until you go. — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
This illustrates an important truth, namely, that the worse your logic, the more interesting the consequences to which it gives rise. — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Shakespeare . . . If he does not give you delight, you had better ignore him [if you can]. — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
We know very little, and yet it is astonishing that we know so much, and still more astonishing that so little knowledge… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
If a law were passed giving six months to every writer of a first book, only the good ones would do it. — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Human nature is so constructed that it gives affection most readily to those who seem least to demand it. — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
I often long to . . . give up my life to love of my neighbour. This is really a temptation. — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Organic life, we are told, has developed gradually from the protozoon to the philosopher, and this development, we are assured, is indubitably… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
A habit of basing convictions upon evidence, and of giving to them only that degree or certainty which the evidence warrants, would,… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Analytic It is clear that the definition of "logic" or "mathematics" must be sought by trying to give a new definition of… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
The harm that theology has done is not to create cruel impulses, but to give them the sanction of what professes to… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Answering questions is a major part of sex education. Two rules cover the ground. First, always give a truthful answer to a… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
But it is just this characteristic of simplicity in the laws of nature hitherto discovered which it would be fallacious to generalize,… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
I think periods of browsing during which no occupation is imposed from without are important in youth because they give time for… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
In a Balkan country, not so many years ago, a party which had been beaten by a narrow margin in a general… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
There is a possibility in human minds of something mysterious as the night-wind, deep as the sea, calm as the stars, and… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Thee might observe incidentally that if the state paid for child-bearing it might and ought to require a medical certificate that the… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Men who allow their love of power to give them a distorted view of the world are to be found in every… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Gradually, ... the aspect of science as knowledge is being thrust into the background by the aspect of science as the power… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Owing to the identification of religion with virtue, together with the fact that the most religious men are not the most intelligent,… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
... the word "theory" ... was originally an Orphic word, which Cornford interprets as "passionate sympathetic contemplation" ... For Pythagoras, the "passionate… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
It seems to me now that mathematics is capable of an artistic excellence as great as that of any music, perhaps greater;… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Scientific societies are as yet in their infancy. It is to be expected that advances in physiology and psychology will give governments… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
The best practical advice I can give to the present generation is to practice the virtue which the Christians call love. — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
A million million years gives us some time to prepare for the end . . . let us make the best of it. — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
Adventurous men enjoy shipwrecks, mutinies, earthquakes, conflagrations, and all kinds of unpleasant experiences. They say to themselves, for example, 'So this is… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
When you want to teach children to think, you begin by treating them seriously when they are little, giving them responsibilities, talking… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
In regard to the past, where contemplation is not obscured by desire and the need for action, we see, more clearly than… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
“Very many people spend money in ways quite different from those that their natural tastes would enjoin, merely because the respect of… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
These illustrations suggest four general maxims[...]. The first is: remember that your motives are not always as altruistic as they seem to… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
I have found, for example, that if I have to write upon sum rather difficult topic, the best plan is to think… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
I have lived in the pursuit of a vision, both personal and social. Personal: to care for what is noble, for what… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
It appeared that after first contemplating a book on some subject, and after giving serious preliminary attention to it, I needed a… — Bertrand Russell Copy Share Image
I feel as if one would only discover on one's death-bed what one ought to have lived for, and realise too late… — 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
![“Shakespeare . . . If he does not give you delight, you had better ignore him [if you can].” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f5/bertrand-russell-69_delight_shakespeare-if-he-does-not-give-you-deli_2280159.jpg)
![“These illustrations suggest four general maxims[...]. The first is: remember that your motives are not always as altruistic as they seem to yourself. The second is: don't over-estimate your own merits. The third is: don't expect others to take as much interest in you as you do yourself. And the…” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f03/bertrand-russell-69_desire_these-illustrations-suggest-four-general_3090726.jpg)
