Bertrand Russell

Logic, philosophy, pacifism

Modern influential 144 sayings

Sayings by Bertrand Russell

The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.

Approx. 1950s-1960s — Attributed, often found in motivational and self-help literature.
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I am not interested in the universe as a mere collection of facts, but as a system of relations.

1927 — The Analysis of Matter
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.

Undated — Attributed, a variation of the 'fools and fanatics' quote
Controversial Unverifiable

Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty.

1917 — Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays
Controversial Unverifiable

We are faced with the paradox that the more we try to avoid suffering, the more we suffer, because our fear of suffering is greater than the suffering itself.

Undated — Attributed, frequently cited
Controversial Unverifiable

I am a mathematician and a logician. I have no emotions. I am a machine. I am a machine to think.

Undated — Attributed, often quoted in relation to his personality
Controversial Unverifiable

Men are born ignorant, not stupid; they are made stupid by education.

Undated — Attributed, often cited
Controversial Confirmed

Orthodoxy is the graveyard of intelligence.

Undated — Attributed, a common theme in his critiques of dogma
Controversial Unverifiable

The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

1925 — What I Believe
Controversial Unverifiable

Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.

1943 — An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish
Controversial Unverifiable

The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd.

1929 — Marriage and Morals
Controversial Confirmed

There is no logical impossibility in the hypothesis that the world was created five minutes ago, complete with all our memories and records.

1921 — The Analysis of Mind
Controversial Unverifiable

The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not need happiness.

Undated — Attributed, often cited as a paradoxical statement on happiness
Controversial Unverifiable

I do not pretend to be able to prove that there is no God. I equally cannot prove that there are no Greek gods.

1947 — Am I An Atheist or an Agnostic?
Controversial Unverifiable

Many people would sooner die than think. In fact, they do.

1925 — The ABC of Relativity
Controversial Unverifiable

To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.

1943 — An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish
Controversial Unverifiable

What men want is not knowledge but certainty.

1945 — A History of Western Philosophy
Controversial Unverifiable

The greatest punishment of the wicked is to be condemned to their own company.

Undated — Attributed, often cited
Controversial Unverifiable

I am not interested in the universe as a whole, but in certain parts of it.

Undated — Attributed, possibly from interviews or letters
Controversial Unverifiable

The only way to be happy is to like what you are doing.

1930 — The Conquest of Happiness
Controversial Unverifiable