There is no nonsense so arrant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate government action. Bertrand Russell
What men really want is not knowledge but certainty. Bertrand Russell
Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so. Bertrand Russell
A sense of duty is useful in work, but offensive in personal relations. Bertrand Russell
Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric. Bertrand Russell
Mathematics, rightly viewed, posses not only truth, but supreme beauty — a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture. Bertrand Russell
One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important. Bertrand Russell
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts. Bertrand Russell
If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing. Bertrand Russell
To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness. Bertrand Russell
The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation. Bertrand Russell
One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny. Bertrand Russell
No satisfaction based upon self-deception is solid, and however unpleasant the truth may be, it is better to face it once for all, to get used to it, and to proceed to build your life in accordance with it. Bertrand Russell
Continuity of purpose is one of the most essential ingredients of happiness in the long run, and for most people this comes chiefly through their work. Bertrand Russell
Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent rather than passive agreement; for if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter. Bertrand Russell
We know too much and feel too little. At least, we feel too little of those creative emotions from which a good life springs. Bertrand Russell
The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. Bertrand Russell
Even when the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken. Bertrand Russell
The fundamental defect with fathers is that they want their children to be a credit to them. Bertrand Russell
No one gossips about other people’s secret virtues. Bertrand Russell
The most savage controversies are about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way. Bertrand Russell
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
The commonest objection to birth control is that it is against nature. Bertrand Russell
Against my will, in the course of my travels, the belief that everything worth knowing was known at Cambridge gradually wore off. In this respect my travels were very useful to me. Bertrand Russell
Ethics is in origin the art of recommending to others the sacrifices required for cooperation with oneself. Bertrand Russell
Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones. Bertrand Russell
Dread of disaster makes everybody act in the very way that increases the disaster. Bertrand Russell
Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact. Bertrand Russell
The fundamental concept in social science is Power, in the same sense in which Energy is the fundamental concept in physics. Bertrand Russell
Much that passes as idealism is disguised hatred or disguised love of power. Bertrand Russell
Machines are worshipped because they are beautiful, and valued because they confer power; they are hated because they are hideous, and loathed because they impose slavery. Bertrand Russell
Why is propaganda so much more successful when it stirs up hatred than when it tries to stir up friendly feeling? Bertrand Russell
Punctuality is a quality the need of which is bound up with social co-operation. Bertrand Russell
The theoretical understanding of the world, which is the aim of philosophy, is not a matter of great practical importance to animals, or to savages, or even to most civilized men. Bertrand Russell
To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. Bertrand Russell
We have two kinds of morality side by side: one which we preach but do not practice and another which we practice but seldom preach. Bertrand Russell
Every man, wherever he goes, is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions, which move with him like flies on a summer day. Bertrand Russell
To acquire immunity to eloquence is of the utmost importance to the citizens of a democracy. Bertrand Russell
Nothing is so exhausting as indecision, and nothing is so futile. Bertrand Russell