Bertrand Russell on Dogmatism.
Have our Libertarian Ideals degenerated into Dogma? These quotes could have been used by Purists against 'the cult of the omnipotent state' thirty five years ago. But perhaps by now, they could also be used by Inclusive, Pragmatic Libertarians toward the Purists?
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Posted July 01, 2007
What makes a free thinker is not his beliefs, but the way in which he holds them. If he holds them because his elders told him they were true when he was young, or if he holds them because if he did not he would be unhappy, his thought is not free; but if he holds them because, after careful thought, he finds a balance in their favor, then his thought is free, however odd his conclusions may seem.
—Bertrand Russell, "The Value of Free Thought"
The essence of the liberal outlook lies not in what opinions are held but in how they are held: instead of being held dogmatically, they are held tentatively, and with a consciousness that new evidence may at any moment lead to their abandonment. This is the way opinions are held in science, as opposed to the way in which they are held in theology.
—Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays, "Philosophy and Politics" (1950), p. 149, quoted from James A Haught, ed., 2000 Years of Disbelief
Dogma demands authority, rather than intelligent thought, as the source of opinion; it requires persecution of heretics and hostility to unbelievers; it asks of its disciples that they should inhibit natural kindness in favor of systematic hatred.
—Bertrand Russell, quoted from Laird Wilcox, ed., "The Degeneration of Belief"
Most of the greatest evils that man has inflicted upon man have come through people feeling quite certain about something which, in fact, was false.
—Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays, "Ideas That Have Harmed Mankind" (1950), p. 149, quoted from James A Haught, ed., 2000 Years of Disbelief
Heretical views arise when the truth is uncertain, and it is only when the truth is uncertain that censorship is invoked.
—Bertrand Russell, "The Value Of Free Thought," quoted from Laird Wilcox, ed., "The Degeneration of Belief"
The opinions that are held with passion are always those for which no good ground exists; indeed, the passion is the measure of the holder's lack of rational conviction.
—Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays "On the Value of Skepticism" (1950), quoted from James A Haught, ed., 2000 Years of Disbelief
What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, which is the exact opposite.
—Bertrand Russell, Skeptical Essays (1928)
There is something feeble and a little contemptible about a man who cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable myths. Almost inevitably some part of him is aware that they are myths and that he believes them only because they are comforting. But he dares not face this thought! Moreover, since he is aware, however dimly, that his opinions are not rational, he becomes furious when they are disputed.
—Bertrand Russell, Human Society in Ethics and Politics (1954), quoted from James A Haught, "Breaking the Last Taboo" (1996)
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.
—Bertrand Russell (attributed: source unknown)
Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do.
—Bertrand Russell (attributed: source unknown)
Of course not. After all, I may be wrong.
—Bertrand Russell (attributed), having been asked whether he would be prepared to die for his beliefs, quoted from Encarta® Book of Quotations (1999)
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