Bertrand Russell

The fundamental defect of fathers, in our competitive society, is that they want their children to be a credit to them. ”

Advocates of capitalism are very apt to appeal to the sacred principles of liberty, which are embodied in one maxim: The fortunate must not be restrained in the exercise of tyranny over the unfortunate. ”

When the intensity of emotional conviction subsides, a man who is in the habit of reasoning will search for logical grounds in favour of the belief which he finds in himself. ”

Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones. ”

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. ”

I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong. ”

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

The degree of one's emotions varies inversely with one's knowledge of the facts. ”

Men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education. ”

Order, unity, and continuity are human inventions, just as truly as catalogues and encyclopedias. ”