Windows on Humanity

In response to: "Bertrand Russell on prejudices and thinking" 5 days old
by Tom Hershberger [Visitor]

Russell, one of my favorite guys. more…

In response to: "Marcus Aurelius on bearing misfortune " 95 days old
by jenny [Visitor]

Marcus's writings have really helped me day to day. My husband is currently battling a serious brain tumor which is also cancerous. His words help me to remember that i cannot let myself be weighed down by depression or sadness because that does not help or change my situation. The greatest power we have is positive thinking.

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In response to: "Mark Twain on loyalty to petrified opinions" 161 days old
by Patrice Marie [Visitor]

Rah -- Nice quote! ... "Mavericks of all kinds have always changed the course of their own lives, and sometimes the "scope" of the worlds "ordering" -- in the most amazing ways! Be your "own" "BEST PERSON"! - Patrice Marie more…

In response to: "Bertrand Russell on democracy, trade unionism, and birth control " 193 days old
by Steve [Visitor]

I totally agree with your thoughts. The article still contains multiple grammatical and spelling errors, however. more…

In response to: "Bertrand Russell on democracy, trade unionism, and birth control " 193 days old
by Steve [Visitor]

I totally agree with your thoughts. The article still contains multiple grammatical and spelling errors, however. more…

In response to: "Steven Pinker on the worst features of human nature" 201 days old
by jaskaw ^Pro

Zahid, do you know in which countries of the world the state can execute you for simply changing religion or there is "a demand for absolute submission of all members of the society to one set of religious ideas". Surprise, surprise: they are all Islamic states. more…

In response to: "Steven Pinker on the worst features of human nature" 201 days old
by Zahid Khan [Visitor]

It is quite puzzling for me with my very limited knowledge to see how such comments like:
"The demand for absolute submission of all members of the society to one set of religious ideas just cannot be in place in a real democracy."
has been derived. Which Islam are we talking about. I was made aware by Stuart Croft, the writer of the more…

In response to: "Steven Pinker on the worst features of human nature" 203 days old
by tom merle [Visitor]

It societies must pass through stages of enlightenment that take generations then we cannot help but be very pessimistic about change in the Muslim world. Both China and Russia moved from authoritarian regimes pre communism to authoritarian regimes via communism. But both 'countries' have a younger populace open to the ideas floating around the I more…

In response to: "Bertrand Russell on the virtue of enduring uncertainty " 219 days old
by Mark Johnston [Visitor]

Ah, Marcus would have said as much, if he would have had the time. more…

In response to: "Seneca the Younger on fortune" 225 days old
by Vince Kueter [Visitor]

...although R prescribed more than being at peace with yourself as an antidote. ;)
more…

In response to: "Seneca the Younger on fortune" 225 days old
by Vince Kueter [Visitor]

This reminds me a LOT of Rousseau's famous: "Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains." more…

choisir un ethylotest's comment">In response to: "Jaakko Wallenius on understanding quotes " 230 days old
by choisir un ethylotest [Visitor]

vous êtes réellement un webmaster excellente. Le rythme de chargement site web est incroyable. Il se sent type de ce que vous faites n'importe quel tour distinctif. En outre, les contenus sont chef-d'œuvre. vous avez fait une grande activité sur cette question! more…

In response to: "Isaac Asimov on violence" 257 days old
by Vincent FY [Visitor]

Hello,
i've read the Fondation serie a while ago, but i remember very well this quote (it's a famous one anyway), i like the idea very much. When you say "War is a continuation of politics after politicians have failed in their job." not only i agree, but it reminds me : back then when i read this line, i immediatly thought of sun tzu. A stro more…

In response to: "Marcus Aurelius on the needless fear of death" 260 days old
by Trish Ramirez [Visitor]

I don't think that ANYONE can truly be free of the fear of death, it is a natural part of human life as we tend to fear anything we don't understand - particularly when it pertains to us. That being said, turning to baseless and unfounded beliefs to help avoid fearing death and writing your entire life story based upon those beliefs in an effort t more…

In response to: "Thomas Paine on renouncing reason" 265 days old
by jaskaw ^Pro

Don says: "I haven't met anyone who has "renounced" the use and authority or reason." I say: Good for you, Don, if you have never met a person who believe that scriptures tell the only and final truth about everything imaginable. You haven't missed a lot though, as such persons are normally quite incapable of any kind of coherent conversation. more…

In response to: "Thomas Paine on renouncing reason" 265 days old
by Don [Visitor]

I haven't met anyone who has "renounced" the use and authority or reason.

I haven't met anyone who does not stubbornly cling to some opinions.

I don't think I've ever witnessed anyone convince anyone of anything in a debate.

What I do witness, everyday, is people who believe that their side is right and the more…

In response to: "Bertrand Russell on rejecting certainty" 270 days old
by jaskaw ^Pro

Dear Ryan, it does nothing of the kind. That you cannot be FOREVER sure that some things that you believe in are ABSOLUTELY right does not at all mean that you cannot be sure ENOUGH of the correctness of certain claims and ideas to act upon these ideas in the real world.
Absolute certainty exists only in a theoretical world, but we live in r more…

In response to: "Bertrand Russell on rejecting certainty" 272 days old
by Ryan [Visitor]

“Don’t be so sure—nobody can be certain of anything.” "One cannot be sure that one cannot be sure of anything. The pronouncement means that no knowledge of any kind is possible to man, i.e., that man is not conscious. Furthermore, if one tried to accept that catch phrase, one would find that its second part contradicts its first: if nobody can be c more…

In response to: "Philip K. Dick on reality" 274 days old
by Kristine von Denffer [Visitor]

Brilliant Philip K. Dick, R.I.P.

Have all his books, both in English and in Finnish. Love to reread 'Blade Runner' and 'Ubik' at least once every year...Are we approaching his visions in 2012? more…

In response to: "Bertrand Russell on conquering fear" 282 days old
by Pauline Burke [Visitor]

And how do you conquer fear? Surely wisdom is the goal and if conquering fear is the beginning, explain please how to conquer fear. more…

In response to: "Mark Twain on being dead " 286 days old
by joe [Visitor]

Go on to your god my delusional friend. In reality you'll only find a dark hole. Live this life to the fullest and forget about your religion ball and chain.
more…

In response to: "George Orwell on money" 287 days old
by jaskaw ^Pro

No, he did nothing of the kind. He just saw them as equally dangerous. more…

In response to: "George Orwell on money" 287 days old
by Little Richardjohn [Visitor]

Orwell liked fusing Christian radicalism with Marxist economics. more…

In response to: "Bertrand Russell on the mistakes of Aristotle " 288 days old
by jaskaw ^Pro

Responding in 1964 to a correspondent's inquiry, "Do you still consider the Negroes an inferior race, as you did when you wrote Marriage and Morals?", Russell replied:

"I never held Negroes to be inherently inferior. The statement in Marriage and Morals refers to environmental conditioning. I have had it withdrawn from subsequent editi more…

In response to: "Bertrand Russell on the mistakes of Aristotle " 288 days old
by jaskaw ^Pro

Mark Weiss;

"It is sometimes maintained that racial mixture is biologically undesirable. There is no evidence whatever for this view. Nor is there, apparently, any reason to think that Negroes are congenitally less intelligent than white people, but as to that it will be difficult to judge until they have equal scope and equally good s more…

In response to: "Bertrand Russell on the mistakes of Aristotle " 288 days old
by jaskaw ^Pro

Why do you refuse to believe that Bertrand Russell would not point out the failings of this Greek fellow? The quote is from ""The Impact of Science on Society" (1951). You can check it from there.

In An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish (1943) Bertrand Russell wrote this;

"If the matter is one that can be settled by observat more…

In response to: "Bertrand Russell on the mistakes of Aristotle " 288 days old
by TheAgent [Visitor]

That doesn't fit in with what I believe I know from Russel. Do you have a source to confirm your claim? more…

In response to: "Bertrand Russell on the mistakes of Aristotle " 289 days old
by Mark Weiss [Visitor]

Wrongly (I believe), Russell maintained that "Negroes were inferior to whites..." (that's a paraphrase)

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In response to: "Karl Popper on dangers of Utopias" 289 days old
by Dimitrios Kokkotis [Visitor]

"Nationalism has killed more people than religions or communism put together, even if many of the evil things done in the name of communism had, in fact, nationalistic motives."

"ein gott ein führer"

It is more than obvious that nationalism derives from a mixture of patriotism and religious intolerance. The meaning of the more…

In response to: "George Orwell on controlling history" 307 days old
by konservatiivi [Visitor]

I still have no idea what Christian historians you're talking about. As I said, the point is that things you mention (e.g. persecution of pagans by Theodosius I) were documented by Greek church historians (such as aforementioned Socrates of Constantinople). Contrary to what you claim, they didn't deny or conceal those facts. FYI, I'm a history maj more…