Bertrand Russell Quotes - Page 3

• No great achievement is possible without persistent work.

  Bertrand Russell

  Perseverance, Persistence, Achievement

  Bertrand Russell (2015). “The Conquest of Happiness”, p.35, Lulu Press, Inc

  47 Copy quote

• People seem good while they are oppressed, but they only wish to become oppressors in their turn: life is nothing but a competition to be the criminal rather than the victim.

  Bertrand Russell

  People, Competition, Wish

  Bertrand Russell (2002). “The Selected Letters of Bertrand Russell: The Public Years, 1914-1970”, p.215, Psychology Press

  59 Copy quote

• Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.

  Bertrand Russell

  Confidence, Being Yourself, Fear

  Bertrand Russell (2014). “The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell”, p.554, Routledge

  103 Copy quote

• If you think your belief is based upon reason, you will support it by argument rather than by persecution, and will abandon it if the argument goes against you. But if your belief is based upon faith, you will realize that argument is useless, and will therefore resort to force either in the form of persecution or by stunting or distorting the minds of the young in what is called 'education.'

  Bertrand Russell

  Thinking, Support, Intelligence

  Bertrand Russell (2009). “Bertrand Russell's Best”, p.59, Routledge

  20 Copy quote

• Democracy is the process by which people choose the man who'll get the blame.

  Bertrand Russell

  Freedom, Humorous, Men

  33 Copy quote

• Almost all education has a political motive: it aims at strengthening some group, national or religious or even social, in the competition with other groups. It is this motive, in the main, which determines the subjects taught, the knowledge offered and the knowledge withheld, and also decides what mental habits the pupils are expected to acquire. Hardly anything is done to foster the inward growth of mind and spirit; in fact, those who have had the most education are very often atrophied in their mental and spiritual life.

  Bertrand Russell

  Spiritual, Religious, Educational

  "The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell, 1903-1959".

  33 Copy quote

• Every great idea starts out as a blasphemy.

  Bertrand Russell

  Ideas, Blasphemy, Great Idea

  56 Copy quote

• We may define "faith" as the firm belief in something for which there is no evidence. Where there is evidence, no one speaks of "faith." We do not speak of faith that two and two are four or that the earth is round. We only speak of faith when we wish to substitute emotion for evidence. The substitution of emotion for evidence is apt to lead to strife, since different groups, substitute different emotions.

  Bertrand Russell

  Two, Religion, Wish

  Bertrand Russell (1993). “The Quotable Bertrand Russell”

  93 Copy quote

• The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

  Bertrand Russell

  Inspirational, Funny, Patience

  40 Copy quote

• So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence.

  Bertrand Russell

  Death, Atheist, Religion

  Bertrand Russell (2013). “Education and the Social Order”, p.73, Routledge

  59 Copy quote

• Why is propaganda so much more successful when it stirs up hatred than when it tries to stir up friendly feeling?

  Bertrand Russell

  Hate, Successful, Hatred

  Bertrand Russell (2015). “The Conquest of Happiness”, p.53, Lulu Press, Inc

  40 Copy quote

• To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.

  Bertrand Russell

  Inspirational, Motivational, Happiness

  Bertrand Russell (2015). “The Conquest of Happiness”, p.15, Lulu Press, Inc

  47 Copy quote

• One should as a rule respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny.

  Bertrand Russell

  Respect, Humor, Public Opinion

  "The Conquest of Happiness".

  81 Copy quote

• Cruel men believe in a cruel god and use their belief to excuse their cruelty. Only kindly men believe in a kindly god, and they would be kindly in any case.

  Bertrand Russell

  Believe, Men, Religion

  Bertrand Russell, John G. Slater, Peter Köllner (1997). “Last Philosophical Testament: 1943-68”, p.88, Psychology Press

  114 Copy quote

• Why repeat the old errors, if there are so many new errors to commit?

  Bertrand Russell

  Errors, Commit, Repeats

  7 Copy quote

• The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation.

  Bertrand Russell

  Change, Teamwork, Collaboration

  Bertrand Russell, Andrew G. Bone (2003). “Man's Peril, 1954-55”, p.12, Psychology Press

  51 Copy quote

• Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.

  Bertrand Russell

  Life, Strong, Fear

  Autobiography prologue (1967)

  76 Copy quote

• Life is nothing but a competition to be the criminal rather than the victim.

  Bertrand Russell

  Funny, Life, Competition

  Bertrand Russell (2002). “The Selected Letters of Bertrand Russell: The Public Years, 1914-1970”, p.215, Psychology Press

  16 Copy quote

• Next to worry probably one of the most potent causes of unhappiness is envy.

  Bertrand Russell

  Envy, Causes, Unhappiness

  "The Conquest of Happiness".

  34 Copy quote

• Life is just one cup of coffee after another, and don't look for anything else.

  Bertrand Russell

  Coffee, Cups, Looks

  37 Copy quote

• My whole religion is this: do every duty, and expect no reward for it, either here or hereafter.

  Bertrand Russell

  Religion, Rewards, Duty

  Bertrand Russell (1986). “Bertrand Russell on God and Religion”

  40 Copy quote

• I think the subject which will be of most importance politically is Mass Psychology... Its importance has been enormously increased by the growth of modern methods of propaganda. Although this science will be diligently studied, it will be rigidly confined to the governing class. The populace will not be allowed to know how its convictions are generated.

  Bertrand Russell

  Thinking, World Government, Class

  33 Copy quote

• Science is what you know, philosophy is what you don't know.

  Bertrand Russell

  Life, Badass, Philosophy

  Bertrand Russell (1995). “My Philosophical Development”, p.204, Psychology Press

  43 Copy quote

• Fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves.

  Bertrand Russell

  Foolish Man, Wisest Man, Thought Provoking

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

  28 Copy quote

• You must believe that you can help bring about a better world.

  Bertrand Russell

  Believe, World, Helping

  85 Copy quote

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