Brain Pick had a wonderful article today “Bertand Russell on Human Nature, Construction vs. Destruction, and Science as a Key to Democracy”.
Some of his writings are hauntingly applicable today (is history circular, episodic, static, slow or random?) – such as – “For the first time in history, it is now possible, owing to the industrial revolution and its byproducts, to create a world where everybody shall have a reasonable chance of happiness ”
The article is short and worth the read but, unfortunately the links don’t work.
Perhaps most germane to this forum is the reference to his “A Liberal Decalogue” or 10 commandments to Teachers:
- Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.
- Do not think it worthwhile to proceed by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light.
- Never try to discourage thinking for you are sure to succeed.
- When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your husband or your children, endeavour to overcome it by argument and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory.
- Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.
- Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.
- Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
- Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent that in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.
- Be scrupulously truthful, even if the truth is inconvenient, for it is more inconvenient when you try to conceal it.
- Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool’s paradise, for only a fool will think that it is happiness.
According to an earlier Brain Pick post, this first appeared in a 1951 NYTimes Magazine article (there was no delivery to Coos Bay, Oregon back then, so I somehow missed it 🙂
Bertrand Russell…well, I missed the article in the NYTimes magazine back in 1951 too…but I did read an awful lot of him in my mid to later teen years. Perhaps single handedly destroyed my unthinking allegiance and loyalty to my Catholic Church upbringing and indoctrination.
Russell was really into Logic. Wittgenstein started out not too far from Russell, and then as he got older took things to a “whole other dimension” as we are fond of saying. A dimension perhaps more dynamic than Russell’s clear and certain axioms. Helpful though they are.
Wittgenstein in his later stages equips us a bit more imo for the truly self reflective universe we inhabit…the McLuhan media is message world. The worldwide web of comments on comments on comments…. But Russell got me started.
The Catholic Church in my youth was not interested in comments. And certainly not comments on comments. Vatican II came along, and things were really different for a while then, but Russell had gotten me too interested in rigorous examination of belief.
Does the Pope twitter in the woods?