There can't be a practical reason for believing something that is not true. Bertrand Russell More Quotes by Bertrand Russell More Quotes From Bertrand Russell I do not believe that I am now dreaming, but I cannot prove that I am not. Bertrand Russell provedreambelieve All definite knowledge - so I should contend - belongs to science; all dogma as to what surpasses definite knowledge belongs to theology. But between theology and science there is a No Man's Land, exposed to attack by both sides; this No Man's Land is philosophy. Bertrand Russell menphilosophyknowledge I FIND IT SO DIFFICULT NOT TO HATE, WHEN I DO NOT HATE I FEEL WE FEW ARE SO LONELY IN THE WORLD Bertrand Russell hatelonelyworld Everything is vague to a degree you do not realize till you have tried to make it precise. Bertrand Russell degreesphilosophypast When people begin to philosophize they seem to think it necessary to make themselves artificially stupid. Bertrand Russell stupidphilosophythinking Science may set limits to knowledge, but should not set limits to imagination. Bertrand Russell imaginationscienceknowledge The habit of looking to the future and thinking that the whole meaning of the present lies in what it will bring forth is a pernicious one. There can be no value in the whole unless there is value in the parts. Bertrand Russell timelyingthinking The whole of theology, in regard to hell no less than to heaven, takes it for granted that Man is what is of most importance in the Universe of created beings. Since all theologians are men, this postulate has met with little opposition. Bertrand Russell littlesmenheaven The search for something permanent is one of the deepest of the instincts leading men to philosophy. Bertrand Russell instinctmenphilosophy One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important. Bertrand Russell stressworksuccess Physics is mathematical not because we know so much about the physical world, but because we know so little; it is only its mathematical properties that we can discover. Bertrand Russell humilitymathscience The satisfaction to be derived from success in a great constructive enterprise is one of the most massive that life has to offer. Bertrand Russell enterprisesatisfactionhappiness Clergymen almost necessarily fail in two ways as teachers of morals. They condemn acts which do no harm and they condone acts which do great harm. Bertrand Russell teachertwoway Conventional people are roused to fury by departure from convention, largely because they regard such departure as a criticism of themselves. Bertrand Russell criticismatheistpeople It's coexistence or no existence. Bertrand Russell coexistenceexistencediversity I say quite deliberately that the Christian religion, as organized in its Churches, has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. Bertrand Russell atheistchristiandeath The painter has to unlearn the habit of thinking that things seem to have the color which common sense says they 'really' have, and to learn the habit of seeing things as they appear. Bertrand Russell common-sensecolorthinking You find as you look around the world that every single bit of progress in humane feeling, every improvement in the criminal law, every step toward the diminution of war, every step toward better treatment of the colored races, or every mitigation of slavery, every moral progress that there has been in the world, has been consistently opposed by the organized churches of the world. I say quite deliberately that the christian religion, as organized in its churches, has been and still is the principle enemy of moral progress in the world. Bertrand Russell racechristianwar Patience and boredom are closely related. Boredom, a certain kind of boredom, is really impatience. You don't like the way things are, they aren't interesting enough for you, so you deccide- and boredom is a decision-that you are bored. Bertrand Russell boredomdecisioninteresting Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own. Bertrand Russell airmathscience
