Quotes by Bertrand Russel

When one admits that nothing is certain one must, I think, also admit that some things are much more nearly certain than others.
("Am I An Atheist Or An Agnostic?", 1947)

When one admits that nothing is certain one must, I think, also admit that some things are much more nearly certain than others. It is much more nearly certain that we are assembled here tonight than it is that this or that political party is in the right. Certainly there are degrees of certainty, and one should be very careful to emphasize that fact, because otherwise one is landed in an utter skepticism, and complete skepticism would, of course, be totally barren and completely useless.
("Am I An Atheist Or An Agnostic?", 1947)

Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact.
(Conquest of Happiness (1930) ch. 1)

A sense of duty is useful in work, but offensive in personal relations. People wish to be liked, not be endured with patient resignation.
(Conquest of Happiness (1930) ch. 10)

Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.
(Conquest of Happiness (1930) ch. 12)

To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very few people have reached this level.
(Conquest of Happiness (1930) ch. 14)

One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.
(Conquest of Happiness (1930) ch. 5)

One should as a rule respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny, and is likely to interfere with happiness in all kinds of ways.
(Conquest of Happiness (1930) ch. 9)

Aristotle maintained that women have fewer teeth than men; although he was twice married, it never occurred to him to verify this statement by examining his wives' mouths.
(Impact of Science on Society (1952) ch. 1)

To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.
(Marriage and Morals (1929) ch. 19)

The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.
(Marriage and Morals (1929) ch. 5)

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.
(Mysticism and Logic (1917) ch. 4)

Every man, wherever he goes, is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions, which move with him like flies on a summer day.
( Sceptical Essays (1928), "Dreams and Facts")

We have, in fact, two kinds of morality side by side: one which we preach but do not practice, and another which we practice but seldom preach.
(Sceptical Essays (1928), "Eastern and Western Ideals of Happiness")

It is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatsoever for supposing it is true.
(Sceptical Essays (1928), "On the Value of Scepticism")

It is obvious that 'obscenity' is not a term capable of exact legal definition; in the practice of the Courts, it means 'anything that shocks the magistrate.'
(Sceptical Essays (1928), "Recrudescence of Puritanism")

The point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.
(The Philosophy of Logical Atomism)

Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.
(Unpopular Essays (1950), "Outline of Intellectual Rubbish")

Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones.
(Unpopular Essays (1950), "Outline of Intellectual Rubbish")