What I Believe Quotes

“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, What I Believe

“I cannot, therefore, prove that my view of the good life is right; I can only state my view, and hope that as many as possible will agree. My view is this: The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“الحياة الجيدة هي تلك التي يلهمها الحب وتقودها المعرفة”
― برتراند راسل, ما الذي أؤمن به

“الجمال شأن ذاتي ويوجد فقط في عين من يراه”
― برتراند راسل, ما الذي أؤمن به

“The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge. Neither love without knowledge, nor knowledge without love can produce a good life.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“It is we who create value and our desires which confer value. In this realm we are kings, and we debase our kingship if we bow down to Nature. It is for us to determine the good life, not for Nature - not even for Nature personified as God.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“تنفق الدول المتحضرة أكثر من نصف دخلها على قتل الدول المتحضرة الأخرى”
― برتراند راسل, ما الذي أؤمن به

“the great world, so far as we know it from philosophy of nature, is neither good nor bad, and is not concerned to make us happy or unhappy. All such philosophies spring from self-importance, and are best corrected by a little astronomy.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“Many a man has borne himself proudly on the scaffold; surely the same pride should teach us to think truly about man's place in the world. Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cosy indoor warmth of traditional humanising myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigour, and the great spaces have a splendour of their own.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“If we were not afraid of death, I do not believe that the idea of immortality would ever have arisen.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“Suffering to the criminal can never be justified by the notion of vindictive punishment. If education combined with kindness is equally effective, it is to be preferred; still more is it to be preferred if it is more effective.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“It was so obvious to him that war between nation states was unnecessary, and therefore deeply stupid, that he found it hard to believe that anything could explain it other than a passion for destruction and a desire by the combatants to inflict suffering on others at no matter what price in suffering for themselves.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“«بالنسبة لي شيء ما غريب قليلًا حول التقييمات الأخلاقية لأولئك الذين يفكرون أن إلهًا قادرًا على كل شيء وعالمًا بكل شيء ومحبًا للخير، بعد أن أعد الأرض خلال ملايين عديدة من السنين من سديم لا حياة فيه، أن يعتبر نفسه قد كوفيء المكافأة المناسبة بظهور هتلر وستالين والقنبلة الهدروجينية أخيرًا»”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“لأن الأمل، لا الخوف، كان يسيطر على البشر. إذا أردنا التقدم مرة أخرى، يجب أن يسيطر الأمل ثانية.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“Two people between whom there is love succeed or fail together, but when two people hate each other the success of either is the failure of the other. If”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“most holders of authority were bigoted, illogical and not to be taken seriously. I”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“But there is no conceivable way of making people do things they do not wish to do. What is possible is to alter their desires by a system of rewards and penalties, among which social approval and disapproval are not the least potent. The question for the legislative moralist is, therefore: How shall this system of rewards and punishments be arranged so as to secure the maximum of what is desired by the legislative authority? If I say that the legislative authority has bad desires, I mean merely that its desires conflict with those of some section of the community to which I belong. Outside human desires there is no moral standard.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“What we ‘ought’ to desire is merely what someone else wishes us to desire. Usually it is what the authorities wish us to desire — parents, school-masters, policemen, and judges. If you say to me ‘you ought to do so-and-so’, the motive power of your remark lies in my desire for your approval — together, possibly, with rewards or punishments attached to your approval or disapproval. Since all behaviour springs from desire, it is clear that ethical notions can have no importance except as they influence desire. They do this through the desire for approval and the fear of disapproval.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“When I said that the good life consists of love guided by knowledge, the desire which prompted me was the desire to live such a life as far as possible, and to see others living it; and the logical content of the statement is that, in a community where men live in this way, more desires will be satisfied than in one where there is less love or less knowledge.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“The superfluity of theoretical ethics is obvious in simple cases. Suppose, for instance, that your child is ill. Love makes you wish to cure it, and science tells you how to do so. There is not an intermediate stage of ethical theory, where it is demonstrated that your child had better be cured. Your act springs directly from desire for an end, together with knowledge of means. This is equally true of all acts, whether good or bad. The ends differ, and the knowledge is more adequate in some cases than in others. But there is no conceivable way of making people do things they do not wish to do. What is possible is to alter their desires by a system of rewards and penalties, among which social approval and disapproval are not the least potent... If I say that the legislative authority has bad desires, I mean merely that its desires conflict with those of some section of the community to which I belong. Outside human desire there is no moral standard.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“The energy used in thinking seems to have a chemical origin; for instance, a deficiency of iodine will turn a clever man into an idiot.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“من الواضح أن القواعد الأخلاقية لأي مجتمع ليست مطلقة ومكتفية ذاتياً، بل يجب أن يتم فحصها كي نرى هل تؤدي إلى الحكمة والنزعة نحو الخير. لم تكن القواعد الأخلاقية دائماً معصومة.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“اعتاد وليم جيمس أن يبشّر بـ«إرادة الاعتقاد». من جهتي، أود أن أبشّر بـ«إرادة الشك». كل معتقداتنا ليست صحيحة تماماً، في كل منها غمامة من الغموض والخطأ. طرق زيادة درجة صحة معتقداتنا معروفة جيداً؛ وتكمن في الإنصات إلى كل الأطراف، ومحاولة التحقق من كل الوقائع ذات الصلة، والسيطرة على انحيازاتنا عن طريق النقاش مع من يحملون انحيازات مختلفة، وتطوير استعدادنا للتخلي عن أي فرضية ثبت خطؤها.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“So far, it has been physical science that has had most effect upon our lives, but in the future physiology and psychology are likely to be far more potent. When we have discovered how character depends upon physiological conditions, we shall be able, if we choose, to produce far more of the type of human being that we admire. Intelligence, artistic capacity, benevolence – all these things no doubt could be increased by science. There seems scarcely any limit to what could be done in the way of producing a good world, if only men would use science wisely.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe

“O universo, até onde o conhecemos pela filosofia da natureza, não é bom nem mau, nem se ocupa em nos fazer felizes ou infelizes. Todas essas filosofias nascem da presunção humana e são bem corrigidas por um pouco de astronomia.”
― Bertrand Russell, What I Believe