Bertrand Russell 1872 – 1970
Bertrand Russell (1872 – 1970) was a British philosopher of the Contemporary era, associated with Analytic Philosophy.
Bertrand Russell was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and political activist whose work is foundational to 20th-century analytic philosophy. With Alfred North Whitehead he co-authored Principia Mathematica, which sought to derive all of mathematics from logic, and his work on the theory of descriptions and logical atomism shaped much of analytic philosophy that followed. His shorter writings, including The Problems of Philosophy, A History of Western Philosophy, and many essays on religion, education, and politics, made him one of the most widely read philosophers of his era. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950 in recognition of his varied and significant writings. He was a prominent public intellectual, pacifist, and campaigner for nuclear disarmament throughout his long life.
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) was born into the British aristocracy — his grandfather was twice Prime Minister — and lived ninety-seven years that spanned the late Victorian era through the height of the Cold War. He produced foundational work in logic, philosophy of mathematics, and analytic philosophy; wrote popular philosophy, history, and political commentary; and remained a prominent public intellectual into his nineties.
Russell's most enduring philosophical work was done early. The Principles of Mathematics (1903) and Principia Mathematica (1910–1913, with Alfred North Whitehead) attempted to ground mathematics in logic and discovered the paradox of the class of all classes that are not members of themselves — Russell's paradox, which Russell answered with the theory of types. On Denoting (1905) gave the canonical analytic treatment of definite descriptions. His logical atomism developed the metaphysical implications of his logical work.
Russell's later career was as much political as philosophical. He was imprisoned for pacifist activity during World War I, dismissed from CCNY by court order in 1940, and led the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in his eighties. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. His autobiography, History of Western Philosophy, and many essays remain widely read. Wittgenstein was his most consequential student, and the early analytic tradition is unimaginable without him.
Key facts
- Nationality
- British
- Era
- Contemporary
- Movements
- Analytic Philosophy
Selected quotes
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“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.”
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. -
Attributed to Bertrand Russell:
“Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.”
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“The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.”
What I Believe, 1925 -
“To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.”
Marriage and Morals, 1929 -
“It is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true.”
Ch. 1: The Value of Scepticism
Bertrand Russell by topic
Bertrand Russell vs other philosophers
Three-way comparisons including Bertrand Russell
Frequently asked about Bertrand Russell
- When did Bertrand Russell live?
- Bertrand Russell was born in 1872 and died in 1970.
- Where was Bertrand Russell from?
- Bertrand Russell was a British philosopher of the Contemporary era.
- What philosophical movements is Bertrand Russell associated with?
- Bertrand Russell was associated with Analytic Philosophy.
- What was Bertrand Russell known for?
- Bertrand Russell was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and political activist whose work is foundational to 20th-century analytic philosophy.
- How many quotes are attributed to Bertrand Russell?
- There are 48 attributed quotations from Bertrand Russell in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.
Quotes that are not actually from Bertrand Russell
These lines are widely circulated as Bertrand Russell, but they do not appear in Bertrand Russell's works. Each entry below identifies the actual source.
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“None but a coward dares to boast that he has never known fear.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but the actual source is Marshal Lannes. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: Attributed to Russell in M. Kumar Dictionary of Quotations , p. 76, but actually said by Marshal Lannes , according to The London Literary Gazette and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences (1824), p. 664
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“If forty million people say a foolish thing it does not become a wise one, but the wise man is foolish to give them the lie.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but its actual source is uncertain or unverified in the standard reference works. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: W. Somerset Maugham , A Writer's Notebook (1949), entry for 1901 | Sometimes misquoted as "If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing. | Sometimes misattributed to Anatole France | Note that Russell does say something similar in Marriage and Morals (1929): "The fact tha
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“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but its actual source is uncertain or unverified in the standard reference works. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: From Marthe Troly-Curtin's Phrynette Married (1912). Misattributed to Bertrand Russell due to an ambiguous entry in Laurence J. Peter 's Peter's Quotations: Ideas for Our Time (1977)
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“The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but its actual source is uncertain or unverified in the standard reference works. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: Attributed to Reverend Theodore Hesburgh in Sol Gordon Let's Make Sex a Household Word: A Guide for Parents and Children (John Day Company, 1975), p. 79
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“If a "religion" is defined to be a system of ideas that contains unprovable statements, then Gödel taught us that mathematics is not only a religion, it is the only religion that can prove itself to be one.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but its actual source is uncertain or unverified in the standard reference works. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: John D. Barrow , Between Inner and Outer Space: Essays on Science, Art and Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-192-88041-1 , Part 4, ch. 13: Why is the Universe Mathematical? (p. 88). Also found in Barrow's "The Mathematical Universe" (1989) and The Artful Universe Expanded (Oxford Uni
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“Not enough evidence God! Not enough evidence!”
As quoted in Wesley C. Salmon's "Religion and Science: A New Look at Hume's Dialogues," Philosophical Studies 33 (1978), p. 176. Also in the New York Times article So God's Really in the Details? (May 11, 2002) by Emily Eakin: "Asked what he would say if God appeared to him after his death and demanded to know why he had failed to believe, the British philosopher and staunch evidentialist Bertrand Russell replied that he would say, 'Not enough evidence, God! Not enough evidence.' The original source of this quote is an article by Leo Rosten published in Saturday Review/World (February 23, 1974) which features an interview with Bertrand Russell. There, Rosten writes : "Confronted with the… (Disputed.)
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“War does not determine who is right – only who is left.”
This has often been published as a quotation of Russell, when an author is given (e.g. in Quote Unquote – A HandBook of Quotation , 2005, p. 291), but without any sourced citations, and seems to have circulated as an anonymous proverb as early as 1932. (Disputed.)
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“In all affairs – love, religion, politics, or business – it's a healthy idea, now and then, to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.”
As quoted in The Reader's Digest , Vol. 37 (1940), p. 90; no specific source given. (Disputed.)
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“Few people can be happy unless they hate some other person, nation, or creed.”
Attributed to Russell in Prochnow 's Speakers Handbook of Epigrams and Witticisms (1955), p. 132 (Disputed.)
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“I believe in using words, not fists... I believe in my outrage knowing people are living in boxes on the street. I believe in honesty. I believe in a good time. I believe in good food. I believe in sex.”
No known source; also attributed to Susan Sarandon . [ citation needed ] (Disputed.)
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“One must care about a world one will not see.”
Attributed to Russell in The Wordsworth Dictionary of Quotations (1997), p. 450, and in Robertson's Dictionary of Quotations (1998), p. 362, but no specific source is given. (Disputed.)
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“A new moral outlook is called for in which submission to the powers of nature is replaced by respect for what is best in man. It is where this respect is lacking that scientific technique is dangerous.”
Attributed to Russell at the end of Isaac Asimov 's short story Franchise with no specific source given. (Disputed.)