Bertrand Arthur William Russell

England
18 May 1872 // 2 Feb 1970
Philosopher / Mathematician

Quotes

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One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important
On the one hand, philosophy is to keep us thinking about things that we may come to know, and on the other hand to keep us modestly aware of how much that seems like knowledge isn't knowledge
Morally, a philosopher who uses his professional competence for anything except a disinterested search for truth is guilty of a kind of treachery
Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact
Mathematics possesses not only truth, but also supreme beauty
Mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true
Many a man will have the courage to die gallantly, but will not have the courage to say, or even to think, that the cause for which he is asked to die is an unworthy one
Man can be scientifically manipulated
Love, children, and work are the great sources of fertilizing contact between the individual and the rest of the world
Love as a relation between men and women was ruined by the desire to make sure of the legitimacy of children
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays