Bertrand Russell has been dead for more than half a century, as so we can only speculate as to what he’d have to say about the Trump MAGA base. If these people are anything, they’re cock-sure that God sent Trump …
Tag: Bertrand Russell
Is There Any Value in Education? Some Viewpoints on the Subject May Surprise You
All literate English-speaking people have a great deal of respect for Isaac Asimov, but it’s hard to understand his and so many others’ disdain for education as it is delivered in our schools. And some have been so much more …
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Celebrating Noam Chomsky
MIT linguistics professor emeritus Noam Chomsky belongs in the same class as Bertrand Russell: a small group of extremely intelligent people whose contribution to society is a blend of a penetrating understanding of the world, married with a profoundly humanistic …
“It Is Impossible for a Man to Learn What He Believes He Already Knows”
Epictetus said this, though not in modern-day Spanish. It’s just another way of saying what is attributed to Bertrand Russell: “The problem with the world is that fools are completely sure of their beliefs, where wise men are so full …
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Tagged with: Bertrand Russell
Certainty v. Doubt
Spot on. Who hasn’t observed this in his own life? I’m not sure whose idea this was originally, but it certainly predates Bukowski; I’m going with Bertrand Russell. This whole concept goes back to “Socratic wisdom,” i.e., the idea that …
Tagged with: Bertrand Russell
Pat Robertson in Hell?
I agree with what Bertrand Russell said on the subject: Anyone who believes in eternal punishment for any crimes committed in this life cannot be consider to be completely moral. Having said that, the meme here is funny. And, on …
Tagged with: Bertrand Russell
Where Is Trump Going Next?
Good cartoon here. Few people believe in hell; this is fortunate because as Bertrand Russell pointed out, speaking of the defects of Christ’s character, no truly compassionate person can believe in eternal punishment. That notwithstanding, the fortune-teller has nailed Trump’s …
Truth–a Secondary Consideration
From Bertrand Russell: “The first thing to realize…is that most people go through life with a whole world of beliefs that have no sort of rational justification, and that one man’s world of beliefs is apt to be incompatible with …
Will Religion Fade As Our Civilization Adopts Science?
From the time I was a small boy until just the past few years, I believed exactly what Bertrand Russell said here. Two centuries before Russell, Voltaire had pointed out, referring to religion as the basis for most of our …
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Pastor: “Lately, I Hope There Is a Hell”
This from Pastor John Pavlovitz: If there’s a hell, it will be for professed Christians who pretended to care about “life” while making this place a living hell for so much of it. I disagree, and I have to say …
