Bertrand Russell

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

#asking #avoided #could #counted #device

It seems to be the fate of idealists to obtain what they have struggled for in a form which destroys their ideals. ↗

— Bertrand Russell

#fate #form #idealists #ideals #obtain

Italy, and the spring and first love all together should suffice to make the gloomiest person happy. ↗

— Bertrand Russell

#first love #happy #italy #love #make

Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones. ↗

— Bertrand Russell

#animal #bad #belief #believe #credulous

Mathematics takes us into the region of absolute necessity, to which not only the actual word, but every possible word, must conform. ↗

— Bertrand Russell

#absolute necessity #actual #conform #every #into

Much that passes as idealism is disguised hatred or disguised love of power. ↗

— Bertrand Russell

#hatred #idealism #love #much #passes

No; we have been as usual asking the wrong question. It does not matter a hoot what the mockingbird on the chimney is singing. The real and proper question is: Why is it beautiful? ↗

— Bertrand Russell

#beautiful #been #chimney #does #hoot

Right discipline consists, not in external compulsion, but in the habits of mind which lead spontaneously to desirable rather than undesirable activities. ↗

— Bertrand Russell

#compulsion #consists #desirable #discipline #external

Admiration of the proletariat, like that of dams, power stations, and aeroplanes, is part of the ideology of the machine age. ↗

— Bertrand Russell

#aeroplanes #age #dams #ideology #like

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. ↗

— Bertrand Russell

#doubt #full #intelligent #stupid #trouble