All exact science is dominated by the idea of approximation. Bertrand Russell More Quotes by Bertrand Russell More Quotes From Bertrand Russell A logical theory may be tested by its capacity for dealing with puzzles, and it is a wholesome plan, in thinking about logic, to stock the mind with as many puzzles as possible, since these serve much the same purpose as is served by experiments in physical science. Bertrand Russell purposemindthinking I think people who are unhappy are always proud of being so, and therefore do not like to be told that there is nothing grand about their unhappiness. A man who is melancholy because lack of exercise has upset his liver always believes that it is the loss of God, or the menace of Bolshevism, or some such dignified cause that makes him sad. When you tell people that happiness is a simple matter, they get annoyed with you. Bertrand Russell exerciselossbelieve Good nature is, of all moral qualities, the one that the world needs most, and good nature is the result of ease and security, not of a life of arduous struggle. Modern methods of production have given us the possibility of ease and security for all; we have chosen, instead, to have overwork for some and starvation for the others. Hitherto we have continued to be as energetic as we were before there were machines; in this we have been foolish, but there is no reason to go on being foolish for ever. Bertrand Russell qualitystruggleneeds To teach how to live without certainty and yet without being paralysed by hesitation is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy, in our age, can do for those who study it. Bertrand Russell educationalbirthdayphilosophy The point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it. Bertrand Russell simplephilosophybelieve Next to enjoying ourselves, the next greatest pleasure consists in preventing others from enjoying themselves, or, more generally, in the acquisition of power. Bertrand Russell acquisitionnextpolitical With the introduction of agriculture mankind entered upon a long period of meanness, misery, and madness, from which they are only now being freed by the beneficent operation of the machine. Bertrand Russell agriculturemachineslong If any philosopher had been asked for a definition of infinity, he might have produced some unintelligible rigmarole, but he would certainly not have been able to give a definition that had any meaning at all. Bertrand Russell ableinfinitygiving There are two motives for reading a book; one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it. Bertrand Russell inspirationalfunnybook No nation was ever so virtuous as each believes itself, and none was ever so wicked as each believes the other. Bertrand Russell wickedhumilitybelieve To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very few people have reached this level. Bertrand Russell relaxationcivilizationpeople We love our habits more than our income, often more than our life. Bertrand Russell incomeaddictionhabit Some care is needed in using Descartes' argument. "I think, therefore I am" says rather more than is strictly certain. It might seem as though we are quite sure of being the same person to-day as we were yesterday, and this is no doubt true in some sense. But the real Self is as hard to arrive at as the real table, and does not seem to have that absolute, convincing certainty that belongs to particular experiences. Bertrand Russell realselfthinking It is for this reason that rationality is of supreme importance to the well-being of the human species...even more, in those less fortunate times in which it is despised and rejected as the vain dream of men who lack the virility to kill where they cannot agree. Bertrand Russell reasondreammen How much longer is the world willing to endure this spectacle of wanton cruelty? Bertrand Russell crueltyendureworld Conquer the world by intelligence, and not merely by being slavishly subdued by the terror that comes from it. Bertrand Russell conquer-the-worldterrorfear What is best in mathematics deserves not merely to be learnt as a task, but to assimilated as a part of daily thought, and brought again and again before the mind with ever-renewed encouragement. Bertrand Russell learningencouragementscience It is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true Bertrand Russell atheistphilosophybelieve Without civic morality communities perish; without personal morality their survival has no value. Bertrand Russell moralitysurvivalcommunity I have found, for example, that if I have to write upon sum rather difficult topic, the best plan is to think about it with very great intensity-the greatest intensity of which I am capable-for a few hours or days, and at the end of that time give orders, so to speak (to my subconscious mind) that the work is to proceed underground. After some months I return consciously to the topic and find that the work has been done. Bertrand Russell writingorderthinking
