Hester Lynch Piozzi? William James? Bertrand Russell? Mark Twain? Henry David Thoreau? Carl Sagan? Terry Pratchett? Samuel Purchas? John Locke? George B. Cheever? Joseph F. Berg? George Chainey? John Phoenix? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: According to legend a prominent scientist once presented a lecture on cosmology which discussed the solar system and galaxies. Afterwards, a …
Category Archives: Bertrand Russell
Government Can Easily Exist Without Law, But Law Cannot Exist Without Government
Bertrand Russell? Leo Rosten? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The relationship between government and law can be deftly summarized with two contrasting statements: Government can exist without law(s). Law(s) cannot exist without government. These dual notions have been attributed to the famous British mathematician and social critic Bertrand Russell. Would you please help me to find …
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If Fifty Million People Say a Foolish Thing, It Is Still a Foolish Thing
Anatole France? Bertrand Russell? W. Somerset Maugham? Oliver Goldsmith? J. A. Schmit? Laurence J. Peter? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Fifty million people may parrot a false or foolish statement, but that will not metamorphose it into a true or sensible remark. Here are two instances in this family of statements: If fifty million people say …
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Life Is Nothing But a Competition To Be the Criminal Rather Than the Victim
Bertrand Russell? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The prominent intellectual Bertrand Russell apparently expressed in a private letter a deeply cynical viewpoint about humanity. He suggested that the oppressed simply wished to become the oppressors, and the populace competed to become criminals instead of victims. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: …
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To Be Able To Fill Leisure Intelligently Is the Last Product of Civilization
Bertrand Russell? Arnold J. Toynbee? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: People who are attempting to climb the ladder of success today are often working more hours than ever before. Yet, the notable mathematician and intellectual Bertrand Russell envisioned a different future world in which the crucial challenge would be deciding how to fill leisure time intelligently. …
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“Is Your New Baby a Boy Or a Girl?” “Yes”
Bertrand Russell? Leo Rosten? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The prominent British philosopher and essayist Bertrand Russell co-wrote an important book of classical logic titled “Principia Mathematica”. An anecdote about Russell is based on a humorously rigorous logical interpretation of a question. A colleague spoke to Russell shortly after his wife had a baby: “Congratulations. …
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The Difficulty Is To Persuade the Human Race To Acquiesce in Its Own Survival
Bertrand Russell? George Orwell? Arthur Koestler? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Humanity faces many existential dangers: hydrogen bombs, bioweapons, asteroid impacts, nanoplagues, and artificial intelligence. Yet, most of these dangers were created by humankind, and all can be ameliorated by wise decisions. The British philosopher Bertrand Russell once said something like: The question is how to …
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This World Is the Lunatic Asylum of the Universe
Mark Twain? Thomas Jefferson? Voltaire? Edward Young? George Bernard Shaw? Laird MacKenzie? Elsie McCormick? Bertrand Russell? Kurt Vonnegut? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Several thinkers have offered an anguished explanation for the dangerously disordered state of the world. Here are four versions: This world is the lunatic asylum for other planets. Earth is a madhouse …
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Most People Would Die Sooner Than Think—In Fact, They Do So
Bertrand Russell? Sheldon? John Ruskin? Woods Hutchinson? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Cantankerous individuals who believe they are surrounded by an ignorant and unthinking public sometimes proclaim: People would rather die than think. This statement has been enhanced with a funny addition that reinvigorates the cliché. Here are two versions: Many people would sooner die than …
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Language Serves Not Only to Express Thoughts, but to Make Possible Thoughts Which Could Not Exist Without It
Bertrand Russell? Neil Postman? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The relationship between language and thought is complex. The famous philosopher Bertrand Russell held the provocative belief that some thoughts could not exist without language. I believe I read this assertion in a book Russell wrote, but I have not been able to relocate the apposite passage. …