Bertrand Russell

The essence of the liberal outlook lies not in what opinions are held, but in how they are held; instead of being held dogmatically, they are held tentatively, and with a consciousness that new evidence may at any moment lead to their abandonment.

Modern definitions of truth, such as those as pragmatism and instrumentalism, which are practical rather than contemplative, are inspired by industrialisation as opposed to aristocracy.

The examination system, and the fact that instruction is treated mainly as a training for a livelihood, leads the young to regard knowledge from a purely utilitarian point of view as the road to money, not as the gateway to wisdom.

There is something feeble and a little contemptible about a man who cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable myths.

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

The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

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

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

One must care about a world one will not see.

It is not my prayer and humility that you cause things to go as you wish, but by acquiring a knowledge of natural laws.

The world that I should wish to see would be one freed from the virulence of group hostilities and capable of realizing that happiness for all is to be derived rather from co-operation than from strife. I should wish to see a world in which education aimed at mental freedom rather than imprisoning the minds of the young in rigid armor of dogma calculated to protect them through life against the shafts of impartial evidence.

Never let yourself be diverted, either by what you wish to believe, or what you think could have beneficent social effects if it were believed; but look only and solely at what are the facts.

I wish to propose for the reader's favourable consideration a doctrine which may, I fear, appear wildly paradoxical and subversive. The doctrine in question is this: that it is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true.

Few people can be happy unless they hate some other person, nation, or creed.

The megalomaniac differs from the narcissist by the fact that he wishes to be powerful rather than charming, and seeks to be feared rather than loved. To this type belong many lunatics and most of the great men of history.

I believe that when I die I shall rot, and nothing of my ego will survive.

Education ought to foster the wish for truth, not the conviction that some particular creed is the truth.

Nothing is so exhausting as indecision, and nothing is so futile.

The satisfaction to be derived from success in a great constructive enterprise is one of the most massive that life has to offer.

Public opinion is always more tyrannical towards those who obviously fear it than towards those who feel indifferent to it.

Any pleasure that does no harm to other people is to be valued.