424 quotes
We need a science to save us from science.
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.
The Philosophy of Logical Atomism (1918)
The Spaniards in Mexico and Peru used to baptize Indian infants and then immediately dash their brains out: by this means they secured these infants went to Heaven.
If evolutionary ethics were sound, we ought to be entirely indifferent as to what the course of evolution may be, since whatever it is is thereby proved to be the best.
The Elements of Ethics (1910)
What does not exist must be something, or it would be meaningless to deny its existence; and hence we need the concept of being, as that which belongs even to the non-existent.
Principles of Mathematics (1903)
The Greeks... discovered mathematics and the art of deductive reasoning. Geometry, in particular, is a Greek invention, without which modern science would have been impossible.
Logic, I should maintain, must no more admit a unicorn than zoology can; for logic is concerned with the real world just as truly as zoology, though with its more abstract and general features.
Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy (1919)
There is no logically necessary connection between events at different times; therefore nothing that is happening now or will happen in the future can disprove the hypothesis that the world began five minutes ago.
The Analysis of Mind (1921)
There is one very serious defect to my mind in Christ's moral character, and that is that He believed in hell. I do not myself feel that any person who is really profoundly humane can believe in everlasting punishment.
Why I Am Not a Christian (1927)
I observe that a very large portion of the human race does not believe in God and suffers no visible punishment in consequence. And if there were a God, I think it very unlikely that he would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt his existence.
Bertrand Russell's Best: Silhouettes in Satire (1958)
A great deal of new political thinking will be necessary if utter disaster is to be averted.
The Bomb and Civilization (1945)
We love those who hate our enemies, and if we had no enemies there would be very few people whom we should love.
What Desires Are Politically Important? (1950)
The degree of one's emotion varies inversely with one's knowledge of the facts – the less you know the hotter you get.
to Russell in Distilled Wisdom (1964)
There are a number of purely theoretical questions, of perennial and passionate interest, which science is unable to answer, at any rate at present.
Philosophy for Laymen (1946)
Remember your humanity, and forget the rest.
The Russell-Einstein Manifesto (1955)
A good notation [is]... like a live teacher.
It is possible that mankind is on the threshold of a golden age; but, if so, it will be necessary first to slay the dragon that guards the door, and this dragon is religion.
Has Religion Made Useful Contributions to Civilization? (1930)
Ordinary language is totally unsuited for expressing what physics really asserts, since the words of everyday life are not sufficiently abstract. Only mathematics and mathematical logic can say as little as the physicist means to say.
The Scientific Outlook (1931)
Suppose atomic bombs had reduced the population of the world to one brother and one sister, should they let the human race die out? I do not know the answer, but I do not think it can be in the affirmative merely on the ground that incest is wicked.
Human Society in Ethics and Politics (1954)
I feel like that intellectual but plain-looking lady who was warmly complimented on her beauty.