Bertrand Russell Philosophical Quotes — Page 14

Philosopher, Mathematician

Philosophical

“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.”

Thinking Lying Time

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Bertrand Russell

Philosopher, Mathematician

Philosophical

“I once saw a photograph of a large herd of wild elephants in Central Africa Seeing an airplane for the first time, and all in a state of wild collective terror... As, however, there were no journalists among them, the terror died down when the airplane was out of sight.”

Funny Airplane Elephants

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Philosophical

“When you are studying any matter or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only: what are the facts, and what is the truth that the facts bear out. Never let yourself be diverted by what you wish to believe, but look only and surely at what are the facts.”

Believe Philosophy Wish

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Philosophical

“What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, which is the exact opposite.”

Believe Science Opposites

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Philosophical

“Christ said "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" and when asked "who is thy neighbour? went on to the parable of the Good Samaritan. If you wish to understand this parable as it was understood by his hearers, you should substitute "Germans and Japanese" for Samaritan. I fear my modern day Christians would resent such a substitution, because it would compel them to realize how far they have departed from the teachings of the founder of their religion.”

Christian Teaching Departed

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Philosophical

“Change is scientific; progress is ethical; change is indubitable, whereas progress is a matter of controversy.”

Science Change History

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Philosophical

“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.”

Way Two Teacher

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Philosophical

“The whole conception of a God is a conception derived from the ancient oriental despotisms. It is a conception quite unworthy of free men. We ought to stand up and look the world frankly in the face. We ought to make the best we can of the world, and if it is not so good as we wish, after all it will still be better than what these others have made of it in all these ages.”

Men Age Wish

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Philosophical

“One of the main causes of trouble in the world is dogmatic and fanatical belief in some doctrine for which there is no adequate evidence”

World Doctrine Adequate

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Philosophical

“The demand for certainty is one which is natural to man, but is nevertheless an intellectual vice.”

Men Intellectual Vices

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Philosophical

“It is not what the man of science believes that distinguishes him, but how and why he believes it. His beliefs are tentative, not dogmatic; they are based on evidence, not on authority or intuition.”

Men Believe Intuition

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Philosophical

“Science, by itself cannot, supply us with an ethic.”

Morality Ethics

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Bertrand Russell — Philosophical Quotes

Bertrand Russell Quotes