Aristotle could have avoided the mistake of thinking that women have fewer teeth than men, by the simple device of asking Mrs. Aristotle to keep her mouth open while he counted. Bertrand Russell on men
I've made an odd discovery. Every time I talk to a savant I feel quite sure that happiness is no longer a possibility. Yet when I talk with my gardener, I'm convinced of the opposite. Bertrand Russell on nature
Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons. Bertrand Russell on patriotism
The true spirit of delight, the exaltation, the sense of being more than Man, which is the touchstone of the highest excellence, is to be found in mathematics as surely as poetry. Bertrand Russell on poetry
Religions, which condemn the pleasures of sense, drive men to seek the pleasures of power. Throughout history power has been the vice of the ascetic. Bertrand Russell on power
The fundamental concept in social science is Power, in the same sense in which Energy is the fundamental concept in physics. Bertrand Russell on power
Much that passes as idealism is disguised hatred or disguised love of power. Bertrand Russell on power
Next to enjoying ourselves, the next greatest pleasure consists in preventing others from enjoying themselves, or, more generally, in the acquisition of power. Bertrand Russell on power
Admiration of the proletariat, like that of dams, power stations, and aeroplanes, is part of the ideology of the machine age. Bertrand Russell on power
Machines are worshipped because they are beautiful and valued because they confer power they are hated because they are hideous and loathed because they impose slavery. Bertrand Russell on power
Religion is something left over from the infancy of our intelligence, it will fade away as we adopt reason and science as our guidelines. Bertrand Russell on religion
I say quite deliberately that the Christian religion, as organized in its Churches, has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. Bertrand Russell on religion
It is possible that mankind is on the threshold of a golden age but, if so, it will be necessary first to slay the dragon that guards the door, and this dragon is religion. Bertrand Russell on religion
One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny. Bertrand Russell on respect
There is no need to worry about mere size. We do not necessarily respect a fat man more than a thin man. Sir Isaac Newton was very much smaller than a hippopotamus, but we do not on that account value him less. Bertrand Russell on respect
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. Bertrand Russell on respect
Religion is something left over from the infancy of our intelligence, it will fade away as we adopt reason and science as our guidelines. Bertrand Russell on science
Science is what you know, philosophy is what you don't know. Bertrand Russell on science
The fundamental concept in social science is Power, in the same sense in which Energy is the fundamental concept in physics. Bertrand Russell on science
Almost everything that distinguishes the modern world from earlier centuries is attributable to science, which achieved its most spectacular triumphs in the seventeenth century. Bertrand Russell on science