What I Believe
1925
This slim, explosive essay made Bertrand Russell unemployable as an academic. Published in 1925, it was used as evidence in a 1940 court case to declare him unfit to teach philosophy, and you can feel why: Russell attacks the foundations of religious morality with surgical precision, arguing that ethics must be grounded in consequences and compassion, not ancient superstition. But this is no mere polemic. Russell offers something constructive too: his vision of the good life, one "inspired by love and guided by knowledge." He believed science could unlock human happiness, but only when tempered by empathy. The result is a book that scandalized the faithful, inspired the freethinking, and remains the clearest window into one of the 20th century's most electrifying minds. If you've ever wondered what a rationalist looks like in the act of hope, this is it.
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“Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own.””
— Bertrand Russell
“I cannot, therefore, prove that my view of the good life is right; I can only state my view, and hope that as many as possible will agree. My view is this: The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.””
— Bertrand Russell
“الحياة الجيدة هي تلك التي يلهمها الحب وتقودها المعرفة””
— Bertrand Russell
“The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge. Neither love without knowledge, nor knowledge without love can produce a good life.””
— Bertrand Russell
“It is we who create value and our desires which confer value. In this realm we are kings, and we debase our kingship if we bow down to Nature. It is for us to determine the good life, not for Nature - not even for Nature personified as God.””
— Bertrand Russell
“the great world, so far as we know it from philosophy of nature, is neither good nor bad, and is not concerned to make us happy or unhappy. All such philosophies spring from self-importance, and are best corrected by a little astronomy.””
— Bertrand Russell
“Many a man has borne himself proudly on the scaffold; surely the same pride should teach us to think truly about man's place in the world. Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cosy indoor warmth of traditional humanising myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigour, and the great spaces have a splendour of their own.””
— Bertrand Russell
“If we were not afraid of death, I do not believe that the idea of immortality would ever have arisen.””
— Bertrand Russell
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Russell, Bertrand. What I Believe. Lex, lex-books.com/book/what-i-believe-da0cfcc6-6bf4-4fb9-9163-c9c8e4157eea.Russell, B. (1925). What I Believe. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/what-i-believe-da0cfcc6-6bf4-4fb9-9163-c9c8e4157eeaRussell, Bertrand. What I Believe. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/what-i-believe-da0cfcc6-6bf4-4fb9-9163-c9c8e4157eea.
