"Never let yourself be diverted by what you wish to believe, or what you think would have beneficent social effects if it were believed. Look only at what are the facts." This so very much applies to our political leaders today that it's not even funny.
"Everything sane and sensible and quiet that we do is absolutely ignored by the press." "I can't bear the thought of many hundreds of millions of people dying in agony only and solely because the rulers of the world are STUPID and WICKED." "Love is wise. Hatred is foolish." What a LEGEND.
"Everything sane and sensible and quiet that we do [against nuclear weapons and war] is absolutely ignored by the press. ... I can't bare the thought of many hundreds of millions of people dying in agony only and solely because the rules of the world are stupid and wicked -- and I can't bear it! ... I owe my life to smoking. ... Love is wise, hatred is foolish."
this man changed my life with his very great book from 1945...as a matter of fact... it changed his life too... he died the year i graduated high school... he uses the ancient term in his book when referring to 1632 ..when gallileo died and newton was born...metampsychosis... i live in hope
@SoulOfCrystals - "Never let yourself be diverted, either by what you wish to believe, or by what you think would have beneficient socially facts if it were believed", is what I believe to hear...
@jjvanka "Never let yourself be diverted, either by what you wish to believe, or by what you think would have beneficent social effects if it were believed. But look only and solely at what are the facts."
@jjvanka I think you are really close! I believe he said "Never let yourself be diverted, either by what you wish to believe, or by what you think would have beneficient (beneficial) social EFFECTS if it were believed"
i.e. believe the facts, don't twist them to the situation or your own ideas/purposes, let them speak for themselves. The underlying hope is that a rational, fact-focused society will be more tolerant and peaceful. <3 Bertie!
This may have already been said, but I would like to say thankyou to the interviewer, for asking Lord Russel that final question. Aswell as the man himself, for what I percieve as a very genuine, and heartfelt answer.
@firedragoncow1234 yeah, i was impressed, too. one darn lucky bastard indeed :D i wish they had done a program on his health secrets :D diet, perhaps? :D
@SigDrums i'm sure he's had minor hair loss but not every man goes bald! There are ten's of millions of men who have a full head of hair their whole lives....so its not like he is special in that area
A Man way ahead of his time. he seemed very down to earth. didnt like the bullshit. id like to watch a documentary on him. they should make a movie of him... maybe an older owen wilson could play him.
@JusticeNature I can indeed. I would start with 'In praise of idleness' this is a series of essays dealing with may subjects including the pursuit of 'useless' knowledge. Another work i would recommend is 'why I am not a christian' which obviously discusses his atheist views. And if you can get through the 750 pages his masterwork 'History of Western Philosophy' will lead you from the rise of Greek civilisation to John Dewey, whom Russel at the time regarded as the leading American philoshopher
@JusticeNature I'd also recommend "The Conquest of Happiness" as a starter. It doesn't delve into "high philosophy" so much but it's a very enjoyable and inspiring read, as well as providing a good insight into the reasons he was such a jolly old bastard :)
Thanks so much for this upload... It's really great to see such an eminent philosopher so at ease, with no ivory tower in sight. Inspiring and important. If only more people could get past the archaic format and learn...
hey thanks for posting this... my late father loved Bertrand Russell and i have many of his books courtesy of my father... it is great to see this interview... such a wonderful man with that naughty spark in his eyes... i will dig out all those books and finally read them one by one... something i should have done along time ago... better late than never... Russell is such a great inspiration... we used to think, talk, educate and conduct ourselves in this wonderful manner...what happened to us?
I've just finished reading Logicomix - a graphic novel by Apostolis Doxiadis and Christos Papadimitriou - about the quest to provide solid logical foundations for mathematics, in which Bertrand Russel is the central figure (& I highly recommend it!). These 3 videos provided a lovely counterpoint to the graphic novel. Thanks for posting :-)
Unfortunately, if that is the case, I am at loss as to what this question means in this context.
Initially, I thoght the question means something to the effect of: "Do you intend to publish another biography in your lifetime?"
But what does being denied to publish have to do with the previous subject (i.e. Russel's biography) and with his reply (things having to wait some time after Russel's death) I do not know....
At 4.05 his passionate anti-war stance (granted he regarded himself an "orthodox supporter of WWII) really shines through in his manner, you can hear it in his voice and see it as his expression of gentle welcomeness falls to one much more dark and grave. He may well be very old in this video, but you can still see the deep, purposeful fury that unjustified war provoked in him. What a remarkable man.
Russel seems to have been pushed into many extended variations of thought, many of which are useless or offer nothing new, although he represents quite a lot.
Bertrand reminds me in many ways like andy pandy, he was of the same time period. This in itself is not aimed to be derogetory though..He disagrees with nietzsche simply because he doesnt like him.
Bertrand Russell was able to provide straight forward and sensible resolutions to complex problems. This is what made him extroadinary and well respected. Thank you for posting this trio.
And yet I will not doubt that all emotions, values and virtues are of... social nature. They are interdependent and it is impossible to live completely and solely out of yourself. As ling as you don't want to "disappear" the zen-way. ;) And yet the old moral nor ancient concepts of metaphysics, turned into mass-propaganda in the name of the lord by Televangelists, will help us answer the one and only question: what is the value of a human life - also...my life.
It is demanding enough to be a human being - which is actually what I was born as. Very demanding. I do not need a branding of "good, evil, sinner, saint". Concepts - concepts! To control, manipulate, herd, blind, abuse people and turn them into religiously, or ideologicaly addicted people, easily to guide be a certain (morally) higher class. That is the actual misery, that keeps us from living: the imprisonment, the slavery of our own, by natural fact, our own mind.
Oh yeah and "Intolerance" is where we seperate the people into two *piles* "the righteous" (U.S.) and the "evil" people - murderers, rapists, thieves and all the niggers who didn't use rubbers in this place somewhere on the map we call Af-..Afri...oh yeah: Africa. (the fucks) And then send them to the eternal concentration camp (because they WANTED it, 'cause the fucks didn't love - o my god!) we call "hell". Hel no!
In the world it is called Tolerance, but in hell it is called Despair, the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.
Rusell, from his lofty and insulated position of elitist influence, makes for a poor compass in matters of the human heart.
"Tolerance" is a key trigger word today. Along with "diversity" it is one of the latest bits of dumbing down jargon from the Fabian Society types and their acolytes. Tolerance is not good nor does it have any benefits whatsoever.
When you get flu your body does not tolerate it. It does not work on the basis that the flu virus has a right to exist and should be "tolerated". It destroys it.
Tolerance is the act of passive submission and not pro-active correction. It is despair.
So I tke it we should maintain hostilities among each other? Tolerance is a key trigger word today perhaps because this age demands such an attribute, if there is to be any semblance of peace on this planet and if we can be dissuaded from destroying each other. We also need to be mindful of the reality of diversity, and within the parameters of civility respect others who may not be like us. Human existence depends on this. Dorothy L.'s words may have resonated in her world, but not in this one.
Individuals cannot maintain hostility toward one another for more than a few minutes. Only Govts do that as part of a smoke screen for scaring their own sheeple into compliance with their plans. Before a Govt makes war on a foreign power, it first makes war on its own people to get them to fight the "new" enemy.
Your response also shows that tolerance is in fact a mind controlling chimera. You do not tolerate the view of Dorothy L. Why should you if you disgree? Tolerance is mind control.
The word tolerance itself implies the company of something unpleasant or disliked - one does not 'tolerate' one's friends.
It is impossible to agree at all times with the views and attidtudes of our fellow man; surely, if friendship is out of the question, tolerance would be preferable to hostility.
I love listening to intelligent men like Bertrand Russell. He is one of my hero's because of his pacifism, his dedication to reason, his love of mathematics, and his kind and candid way. No one is saying he was perfect, but neither was Gandhi or Einstein. I will proudly claim Russell as a hero.
"...love is wise, hatred is foolish. In this world...getting more and more closely interconnected, we have to learn to tolerate each other...to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don't like. We can only live together in that way and if we are to live and not die together we must learn a kind of charity and...tolerance...absolutely vital to the continuance of human life on this planet."
I have no respect for this man. Charming yes. Intelligent no doubt. But misguided, in my view, absolutely.
Here is just a snippet of his so-called thinking:
"Gradually, by selective breeding, the congenital differences between rulers and ruled will increase until they become almost different species. A revolt of the plebs would become as unthinkable as an organized insurrection of sheep against the practice of eating mutton."
I have great deal of respect for this man. I have enjoyed the work of his that I have read. As someone who studies Philosophy and has a deep passion for the subject, I may be biased in my saying so, but he is an inspiration and one of the the greatest and cleverest men.
My thanks is with the one who uploaded this. It was enjoyable to watch and hear his words.
"When you are studying any mater or considering any philosophy, ask yourself ONLY what are the FACTS and what is the truth that the facts bear out.
Never let yourself be diverted aether by what you WISH to believe or by what you THINK could have beneficial social effects if it were believed, but look ONLY and SOLELY at what are the FACTS." B. Russell
i look at it now 20/05/2009 "love is wise, hatred is foolish" this may seem like a trite point that many could spout in their twilight years, but coming from a great intellectual and social thinker, things must be inferred. The tide perhaps is too strong in these uncertain times, doomsday seems a blink away, but the incontrovertible essence of humanity will survive in some way shape or form, I say good luck to those lucky few who will inherit the earth and perhaps understand 'our' condition.
...love is wise, hatred is foolish. In this world...getting more and more closely interconnected, we have to learn to tolerate each other...to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don't like. We can only live together in that way and if we are to live and not die together we must learn a kind of charity and...tolerance...absolutely vital to the continuance of human life on this planet.
I would like to thank the person who posted this interview. I have always enjoyed his essays ("Unpopular Essays", "In praise of idleness" etc.) and even do to this day. It was a pleasure to sort of meet him in person through this 1959 video interview. I am curious what he would have thought about issues in the present era: economic recession/depression, the "wars on terror", religious fundamentalism, climate change.
A total dunderhead who didn't understand the first question of philosophy : what is being ? (Aristotle). It's not even a question for this supergenius, who in his own opinion (and that of many of his sad followers) eclipsed everyone before him, purely by means of his long-winded and sometimes tedious logical proofs - which, however, never dealt with the foundations of logic or the inquiry into being which gave rise to them - an inquiry pursued doggedly by the father of logic himself, Aristotle.
Thanks for this vid. A Great Man ! - some say the 'greatest logician since ancient Greece' - and as to the importance of 'facts', Richard Dawkins would be proud.
"The fact is that scientific man cannot survive if he is going to continue to make war."
Can't believe he talked about warlord Bush at 4:10
"I cant bear the thought of many hundreds of millions of people dying in agony only and solely because the rulers of the world are stupid and wicked; and I cant bear it."
Russell's oposition to logical positivism can be explored in the essays collected in 'Logic & Knowledge' and can be appreciated by reading most of what he published in metaphysics in books such as 'The Analysis of Matter', 'The Relation of Universals & Particulars', 'An Iquiry into Meaning and Truth' and 'Human Knowledge'. There is in fact a collection, 'Russell on Metaphysics' by Routledge which comprises much interesting material. About metaontology Sider's 'Ontological Realism' is a good read
At the end of the day, the current dispute about truth is central to the contemporary debate between realists and anti-realists. The former accept bivalence while the latter reject it. In metaontology, the former accept existential quantificacion simpliciter while the latter do not. Yet, neither group would dimiss objectivity. Fullsome relativism undermines itself, so notions like 'truth', 'fact', 'assertibility' have as much weight on current views as in Russell's day.
Russell of course was aware of bivalence, having developed classical logic and set theory along with Frege, Whitehead, Cantor, Zermelo and others. So, when he asserts that we must strive for the truth, and that truth for a non-tautologous proposition is correspondence with fact, that does not entail that he believes we can get that unequivocally. One may grant that facts and observations are theory laden, yet that doesn't entail either relativism or subjectivism about truth.
First of all, Russell was not a positivist, neither in the sense in which Comte was one, nor in the sense of logical positivism. He in fact always pointed out that, though he shared certain views with the members of the Vienna Circle, he rejected their verification principle. Now, I don't see what conviction in an idea has to do with pragmatism. Of course our convictions might be false, but that follows trivially from bivalence.
What a cool guy :)
RobertHannah89 1 month ago
@RobertHannah89 4:39 *sigh*
RobertHannah89 1 month ago
What a great man. would have liked to thumb up this video so i commented instead
AdamBatayneh 1 month ago
"Never let yourself be diverted by what you wish to believe, or what you think would have beneficent social effects if it were believed. Look only at what are the facts." This so very much applies to our political leaders today that it's not even funny.
dominictemple 1 month ago
"Everything sane and sensible and quiet that we do is absolutely ignored by the press." "I can't bear the thought of many hundreds of millions of people dying in agony only and solely because the rulers of the world are STUPID and WICKED." "Love is wise. Hatred is foolish." What a LEGEND.
Askimoula 3 months ago
@Askimoula Indeed. He is an inspiration. Personally, I'm going to follow his example and do something about the stupid and wicked rulers.
peoman2 1 month ago
6:48 yes.
pacifiedfools 3 months ago
@pacifiedfools haha, yes
t3hpez 3 months ago
very good thank you for this, I feel it would be somewhat Ironic to say Bertrand Russell is a God
MrPoetical 4 months ago
Bertrand is filled withswag
muffinma79 5 months ago
Thanks for posting this -- I just blogged it --
"Everything sane and sensible and quiet that we do [against nuclear weapons and war] is absolutely ignored by the press. ... I can't bare the thought of many hundreds of millions of people dying in agony only and solely because the rules of the world are stupid and wicked -- and I can't bear it! ... I owe my life to smoking. ... Love is wise, hatred is foolish."
SamHusseini 5 months ago
So be it... Jedi....
fsharp64 5 months ago
What he says at 4:10 - 4:30 is very powerful.
NiHuWi 6 months ago
@SoulOfCrystals "Or what you think would have beneficial social effects if it were to be believed. Look only and solely, at what are the facts."
ImperialUSA 7 months ago
this man changed my life with his very great book from 1945...as a matter of fact... it changed his life too... he died the year i graduated high school... he uses the ancient term in his book when referring to 1632 ..when gallileo died and newton was born...metampsychosis... i live in hope
rocky6081 7 months ago
my goodness what a mind!
ktzimeas 7 months ago
@SoulOfCrystals - "Never let yourself be diverted, either by what you wish to believe, or by what you think would have beneficient socially facts if it were believed", is what I believe to hear...
jjvanka 8 months ago
@jjvanka I hear "...beneficent social effects if it were believed...".
TheDeclan72 8 months ago
@jjvanka I hear "...beneficent social effects if it were believed...".
TheDeclan72 8 months ago
@jjvanka "Never let yourself be diverted, either by what you wish to believe, or by what you think would have beneficent social effects if it were believed. But look only and solely at what are the facts."
heptadecagon 7 months ago
@jjvanka Sorry, I didn't read below that you already answered. In any case, I'm sure what I posted is what he said.
heptadecagon 7 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@jjvanka I think you are really close! I believe he said "Never let yourself be diverted, either by what you wish to believe, or by what you think would have beneficient (beneficial) social EFFECTS if it were believed"
i.e. believe the facts, don't twist them to the situation or your own ideas/purposes, let them speak for themselves. The underlying hope is that a rational, fact-focused society will be more tolerant and peaceful. <3 Bertie!
lucash1980 6 months ago
@jjvanka I think you're right, except I heard "beneficient social effects"?
deahofacentury 5 months ago
Comment removed
77pmac 5 months ago
It is too bad this man died about 8 years before my birth. I would have liked to have known him.
skywize 8 months ago
I lmao when he said "I thought the water was cold."
derman077 10 months ago
This may have already been said, but I would like to say thankyou to the interviewer, for asking Lord Russel that final question. Aswell as the man himself, for what I percieve as a very genuine, and heartfelt answer.
daehllaw 11 months ago
I love this bloke!
I can see why so many people(That I have deep respect for) have invoked his name.
RandomVortex 11 months ago
"What did you think while you were swimming if the fjord?" - "I thought the water was cold." - LOL
MooMooManist 11 months ago
A very interesting interview with an intelligent and humane man. Thank you for posting this.
Bfdidc 11 months ago
Smoking a pipe for 70 years, and he lived to 97. Plane crash at 70 years old, swam in a freezing fjord to save his life.
If only we could be so lucky...
firedragoncow1234 1 year ago
@firedragoncow1234 yeah, i was impressed, too. one darn lucky bastard indeed :D i wish they had done a program on his health secrets :D diet, perhaps? :D
manatsunoshi 1 year ago
@firedragoncow1234 I'm guessing his tobacco was natural and not laced with additives as the tobacco of today.
derman077 10 months ago
@derman077: This is highly likely.
chinopisces 10 months ago
89 years old and no loss of hair. I could comment on much more important matters, but I found this interesting.
SigDrums 1 year ago
@SigDrums i'm sure he's had minor hair loss but not every man goes bald! There are ten's of millions of men who have a full head of hair their whole lives....so its not like he is special in that area
whole27 1 year ago
Such a sagacious individual who brims with as much erudition as him is too essential to ignore.
burnzgotshot 1 year ago
A Man way ahead of his time. he seemed very down to earth. didnt like the bullshit. id like to watch a documentary on him. they should make a movie of him... maybe an older owen wilson could play him.
MochizMuM 1 year ago
great mind without a doubt.
billgate8 1 year ago
Betrand Russell-
hswatnik 1 year ago
This man is the embodiment of vision, genius, compassion, and reason. I honor him .
MrAnthonyVance 1 year ago
I am reminded of Einstein "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
eahazell 1 year ago
de ja vu... yes i did
tsardooka 1 year ago
Can anyone recommend any interesting books he has written (are there any classics)
JusticeNature 1 year ago
@JusticeNature I can indeed. I would start with 'In praise of idleness' this is a series of essays dealing with may subjects including the pursuit of 'useless' knowledge. Another work i would recommend is 'why I am not a christian' which obviously discusses his atheist views. And if you can get through the 750 pages his masterwork 'History of Western Philosophy' will lead you from the rise of Greek civilisation to John Dewey, whom Russel at the time regarded as the leading American philoshopher
YERAULDA 1 year ago
@YERAULDA Many Thanks ! Sounds like a good christmas reading list to me.
JusticeNature 1 year ago
@JusticeNature I'd also recommend "The Conquest of Happiness" as a starter. It doesn't delve into "high philosophy" so much but it's a very enjoyable and inspiring read, as well as providing a good insight into the reasons he was such a jolly old bastard :)
deahofacentury 5 months ago
@deahofacentury many thanks...looking for the ebook now
JusticeNature 5 months ago
Thanks for posting. Interesting guy. I would like to learn more.
BlogsofWoolhouse 1 year ago
This is one of the best things I have seen. Especially the bit at the end. What a man. Thank you for posting
fredwba84 1 year ago
@fredwba84 I know right! And the bit about smoking was just hilarious
93simonk 1 year ago
I can't stop thinking of Rowley Birkin QC
tcorp 1 year ago
A true gentleman
PapaWilk 1 year ago
What a brilliant man
ExtremeBogom 1 year ago
What a contrast between Russell's intellect and rationality and the babbling boobies who infest public life today.
geoff2204 1 year ago
It's amazing how relevant his ideas still are even 50 years on. If only everyone were so sane and rational...
MuckyMcPuppy 1 year ago
his last remark was just wonderful. wonderful.
brianandsharon07 1 year ago
I would love to thumb up this video please lol
LameCrippled 1 year ago
wow
khashy87 1 year ago
4:10 Pertinent words for now when the "rulers of the world" are just as "stupid and wicked" as ever. Well said Bertrand Russell!
The end of this interview brought me to tears.
andiejanefisher 1 year ago
4:10 Pertinent words for now when the "rulers of the world" are just as "stupid and wicked" as ever. Well said Bertrand Russell!
andiejanefisher 1 year ago
fantastic interview, thanks, what a character
MrJimus1 1 year ago
whats the music at the end
post the youtube of it if there is one
matchbox555 1 year ago
what does he say after 'what you wish to believe or ..... ' around 8.30 when asked abt what he wanted to say to our future generations
vasantheee 1 year ago
@vasantheee 'By what you think could have benificent social effects if it were believed'
ExMachine 1 year ago
I love when he says that the rulers of the world are stupid and wicked, so much passion
Alecal89 1 year ago
smart as a whip
mattfuckingbarber 1 year ago
The lady said he was Lewd, Lecherous, Obscene and APHRODISIAC?? Hahaha. No one ever said that about Chomsky!
Diosibundo 1 year ago
Wonderful
duboisdvoleur 1 year ago
Thanks so much for this upload... It's really great to see such an eminent philosopher so at ease, with no ivory tower in sight. Inspiring and important. If only more people could get past the archaic format and learn...
Epistemofo 1 year ago
Wow. Not bad for an old fart.
yocanbanconit 1 year ago
4:10 great
mogghee 2 years ago
Such a good man that faced such traditional condemnation. Kinda sad, but entirely inspirational.
MultiUniv3rsal 2 years ago
Every single person should see this interview.
Alecal89 2 years ago
Great video, what an amazing man. His observations are still valid today. The wonderful matter-of-fact anecdote about how smoking saved his life.
"Look only at the facts."
"Love is wise hate is foolish."
Still way ahead of our time
Kralhonj 2 years ago
hey thanks for posting this... my late father loved Bertrand Russell and i have many of his books courtesy of my father... it is great to see this interview... such a wonderful man with that naughty spark in his eyes... i will dig out all those books and finally read them one by one... something i should have done along time ago... better late than never... Russell is such a great inspiration... we used to think, talk, educate and conduct ourselves in this wonderful manner...what happened to us?
rugbyboy198127 2 years ago
I've just finished reading Logicomix - a graphic novel by Apostolis Doxiadis and Christos Papadimitriou - about the quest to provide solid logical foundations for mathematics, in which Bertrand Russel is the central figure (& I highly recommend it!). These 3 videos provided a lovely counterpoint to the graphic novel. Thanks for posting :-)
misteraich 2 years ago
brilliant! thanx for the vid..
squidward2909 2 years ago
very interesting interview, cheers to the uploader!
razvaNazdravan 2 years ago
What is he asked at 7:16?
Anyone got it?
radaphhesig 2 years ago
@radaphhesig
'Are you been denied to publish in your lifetime?'
?
jjvanka 2 years ago
Thank you for the reply
Unfortunately, if that is the case, I am at loss as to what this question means in this context.
Initially, I thoght the question means something to the effect of: "Do you intend to publish another biography in your lifetime?"
But what does being denied to publish have to do with the previous subject (i.e. Russel's biography) and with his reply (things having to wait some time after Russel's death) I do not know....
radaphhesig 2 years ago
@jjvanka no he is asking whether Russell will allow his autobiography to be published in his lifetime..
waspix 1 year ago
@jjvanka - The interviewer means his autobiography.
timmyn101 1 year ago
@timmyn101
!
jjvanka 1 year ago
@jjvanka 'Are you going to allow it to be published in your lifetime?'
I'm pretty sure that's it.
MisterFitzGibbon 9 months ago
@MisterFitzGibbon That's what I heard too. And it would be the most logical considering his answer.
SmokeWeedEveryHour 9 months ago
"Are you going to allow it to be published in your lifetime?"
aldkru 2 years ago
Thank you!
This settles it...
radaphhesig 2 years ago
Comment removed
misteraich 2 years ago
@radaphhesig "Are you going to allow it to be published in your lifetime?"
SeaTurtle00 1 year ago
@radaphhesig "Are you going to allow it [the autobiography] to be published in your lifetime?"
Onchei 1 year ago
@radaphhesig "Are you going to allow it to be published in your lifetime?"
JimbleBass 1 year ago
@radaphhesig he says "Are you going to allow it to be published in your life time"
Patbuchanan 1 year ago
@radaphhesig
"Are you going to allow it to be published in your lifetime?"
geoff2204 1 year ago
@radaphhesig It's 'Are you going to allow it to be published in your lifetime?', to which he replies 'No, no, not til I'm dead'.
mrmykul 1 year ago
Comment removed
philiphoward123 1 year ago
@radaphhesig "Are you ready (or "willing"?) to allow it to be published in your lifetime?"
Branstrom 1 year ago
@radaphhesig "Are you going to allow it to be published in your lifetime?" (referring to his autobiography)
higher7000 1 year ago
@radaphhesig 'are you going to allow it to be published in your lifetime?'
MetaCraken 10 months ago
Comment removed
maxpfahler 9 months ago
Comment removed
maxpfahler 9 months ago
@radaphhesig "Are you going to allow it to be published in your lifetime?"
heptadecagon 8 months ago
@radaphhesig "Are you going to publish it in your lifetime?"
ImperialUSA 7 months ago
At 4.05 his passionate anti-war stance (granted he regarded himself an "orthodox supporter of WWII) really shines through in his manner, you can hear it in his voice and see it as his expression of gentle welcomeness falls to one much more dark and grave. He may well be very old in this video, but you can still see the deep, purposeful fury that unjustified war provoked in him. What a remarkable man.
Crosskeys 2 years ago
I ve read a lot about him but after watching those videos now i feel very deep respect for this man
SirBenOni 2 years ago
i nealry cryed at the elequence at the end of this vid
there is so much love in this man he makes me proud to be British.
currentslacker 2 years ago
He was 87 years old at the time of this interview.
renumeratedfrog 2 years ago
dam that was some DEEP but simple wisdom at the end there..... got to love the man
gimlithepimp88 2 years ago
Russel seems to have been pushed into many extended variations of thought, many of which are useless or offer nothing new, although he represents quite a lot.
weedkilla73 2 years ago
Bertrand reminds me in many ways like andy pandy, he was of the same time period. This in itself is not aimed to be derogetory though..He disagrees with nietzsche simply because he doesnt like him.
weedkilla73 2 years ago
Bertrand Russell was able to provide straight forward and sensible resolutions to complex problems. This is what made him extroadinary and well respected. Thank you for posting this trio.
operbathosa 2 years ago
Any chance of seeing some snatch? translated for you!
weedkilla73 2 years ago
And yet I will not doubt that all emotions, values and virtues are of... social nature. They are interdependent and it is impossible to live completely and solely out of yourself. As ling as you don't want to "disappear" the zen-way. ;) And yet the old moral nor ancient concepts of metaphysics, turned into mass-propaganda in the name of the lord by Televangelists, will help us answer the one and only question: what is the value of a human life - also...my life.
Aristoteles83 2 years ago
It is demanding enough to be a human being - which is actually what I was born as. Very demanding. I do not need a branding of "good, evil, sinner, saint". Concepts - concepts! To control, manipulate, herd, blind, abuse people and turn them into religiously, or ideologicaly addicted people, easily to guide be a certain (morally) higher class. That is the actual misery, that keeps us from living: the imprisonment, the slavery of our own, by natural fact, our own mind.
Aristoteles83 2 years ago
Oh yeah and "Intolerance" is where we seperate the people into two *piles* "the righteous" (U.S.) and the "evil" people - murderers, rapists, thieves and all the niggers who didn't use rubbers in this place somewhere on the map we call Af-..Afri...oh yeah: Africa. (the fucks) And then send them to the eternal concentration camp (because they WANTED it, 'cause the fucks didn't love - o my god!) we call "hell". Hel no!
Aristoteles83 2 years ago
Dorothy L Sayers on "Tolerance":
In the world it is called Tolerance, but in hell it is called Despair, the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.
Rusell, from his lofty and insulated position of elitist influence, makes for a poor compass in matters of the human heart.
OpenFreePress 2 years ago
"Tolerance" is a key trigger word today. Along with "diversity" it is one of the latest bits of dumbing down jargon from the Fabian Society types and their acolytes. Tolerance is not good nor does it have any benefits whatsoever.
When you get flu your body does not tolerate it. It does not work on the basis that the flu virus has a right to exist and should be "tolerated". It destroys it.
Tolerance is the act of passive submission and not pro-active correction. It is despair.
OpenFreePress 2 years ago
So I tke it we should maintain hostilities among each other? Tolerance is a key trigger word today perhaps because this age demands such an attribute, if there is to be any semblance of peace on this planet and if we can be dissuaded from destroying each other. We also need to be mindful of the reality of diversity, and within the parameters of civility respect others who may not be like us. Human existence depends on this. Dorothy L.'s words may have resonated in her world, but not in this one.
kadene2 2 years ago
Individuals cannot maintain hostility toward one another for more than a few minutes. Only Govts do that as part of a smoke screen for scaring their own sheeple into compliance with their plans. Before a Govt makes war on a foreign power, it first makes war on its own people to get them to fight the "new" enemy.
Your response also shows that tolerance is in fact a mind controlling chimera. You do not tolerate the view of Dorothy L. Why should you if you disgree? Tolerance is mind control.
OpenFreePress 2 years ago
The word tolerance itself implies the company of something unpleasant or disliked - one does not 'tolerate' one's friends.
It is impossible to agree at all times with the views and attidtudes of our fellow man; surely, if friendship is out of the question, tolerance would be preferable to hostility.
GeorgesBarras 2 years ago
Define tolerance, as you speak of it.
JacktheDaniels 2 years ago
I love listening to intelligent men like Bertrand Russell. He is one of my hero's because of his pacifism, his dedication to reason, his love of mathematics, and his kind and candid way. No one is saying he was perfect, but neither was Gandhi or Einstein. I will proudly claim Russell as a hero.
codingambition 2 years ago
"...love is wise, hatred is foolish. In this world...getting more and more closely interconnected, we have to learn to tolerate each other...to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don't like. We can only live together in that way and if we are to live and not die together we must learn a kind of charity and...tolerance...absolutely vital to the continuance of human life on this planet."
Bertrand Russell
mose3 2 years ago
I have no respect for this man. Charming yes. Intelligent no doubt. But misguided, in my view, absolutely.
Here is just a snippet of his so-called thinking:
"Gradually, by selective breeding, the congenital differences between rulers and ruled will increase until they become almost different species. A revolt of the plebs would become as unthinkable as an organized insurrection of sheep against the practice of eating mutton."
"The Impact of Science on Society"
A stooge for the elitists.
OpenFreePress 2 years ago
Excellent posts. 4.12 such common sense. I wish more people thought like this. Thanks for posting.
alwayswilling1232000 2 years ago
He was the MAN. A real wise man.
rubenevangelista 2 years ago
..."I always said that I was a fanatic against fanaticsm!" In other words: "Curb the enthusiasm!" Hey, is this Larry David's dad?LOL
D3TOX3R 2 years ago
I have great deal of respect for this man. I have enjoyed the work of his that I have read. As someone who studies Philosophy and has a deep passion for the subject, I may be biased in my saying so, but he is an inspiration and one of the the greatest and cleverest men.
My thanks is with the one who uploaded this. It was enjoyable to watch and hear his words.
TheThinker1991 2 years ago
thank you for posting.....thought provoking
claxxix1 2 years ago
Thank you for posting this series. Very Interesting.
dknaylor 2 years ago
A great man.
SuperLondon1 2 years ago
"When you are studying any mater or considering any philosophy, ask yourself ONLY what are the FACTS and what is the truth that the facts bear out.
Never let yourself be diverted aether by what you WISH to believe or by what you THINK could have beneficial social effects if it were believed, but look ONLY and SOLELY at what are the FACTS." B. Russell
mose3 2 years ago
Nice interview. I like his final words.
ManilaSyndicate 2 years ago
tyvm, really enjoyed that.
AiDeng77 2 years ago
i look at it now 20/05/2009 "love is wise, hatred is foolish" this may seem like a trite point that many could spout in their twilight years, but coming from a great intellectual and social thinker, things must be inferred. The tide perhaps is too strong in these uncertain times, doomsday seems a blink away, but the incontrovertible essence of humanity will survive in some way shape or form, I say good luck to those lucky few who will inherit the earth and perhaps understand 'our' condition.
holyhackjackson8 2 years ago
...love is wise, hatred is foolish. In this world...getting more and more closely interconnected, we have to learn to tolerate each other...to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don't like. We can only live together in that way and if we are to live and not die together we must learn a kind of charity and...tolerance...absolutely vital to the continuance of human life on this planet.
Bertrand Russell
mose3 2 years ago
how profound and meaningful those words are today.
manikraina 2 years ago
I would like to thank the person who posted this interview. I have always enjoyed his essays ("Unpopular Essays", "In praise of idleness" etc.) and even do to this day. It was a pleasure to sort of meet him in person through this 1959 video interview. I am curious what he would have thought about issues in the present era: economic recession/depression, the "wars on terror", religious fundamentalism, climate change.
subhajit0 2 years ago
A total dunderhead who didn't understand the first question of philosophy : what is being ? (Aristotle). It's not even a question for this supergenius, who in his own opinion (and that of many of his sad followers) eclipsed everyone before him, purely by means of his long-winded and sometimes tedious logical proofs - which, however, never dealt with the foundations of logic or the inquiry into being which gave rise to them - an inquiry pursued doggedly by the father of logic himself, Aristotle.
zarakhast 2 years ago
ONLY and SOLELY because the rulers of the world are STUPID and WICKED.
modramafoyomama 3 years ago
lol, smoking saved Russell's life!
shilohwillcome 3 years ago
Awesome. Its encouraging listening to his ideas which still have massive relevance today.
badmofker 3 years ago
Thanks for this vid. A Great Man ! - some say the 'greatest logician since ancient Greece' - and as to the importance of 'facts', Richard Dawkins would be proud.
BRAIDERMAN 3 years ago
Smoking saves lives.
ax0lotl 3 years ago
Thank you...
mickalene 3 years ago
Wonderful interview. Thnak you so much for uploading this! A real gem.
lelvish1 3 years ago
wow, 8:00 and onwards is truly jaw dropping.
petfoodonly 3 years ago
If I hadn't already loved this guy's whimsical wit, what he says at 1:30 would have made me a believer.
anderebiste 3 years ago
Russell was hypocritical in downplaying his own fanaticism.
NathanHal 3 years ago
Haha, I didnt think I could love Russell more, but after the plane crash story its hit a new high!
schmam121 3 years ago
love is wise hatred is foolish... eloquently put.. thanks for sharing.
arithaul 3 years ago
jjvanka, thanks for posting this series. The final question is a great thing to have online.
beknme 3 years ago
search on youtube for: the fast show-very drunk
Willprestondotmedouk 3 years ago
7:48 ... very cool!
I listen to him on an LCD screen some 60 years in the future.
dweeper1020 3 years ago
"The fact is that scientific man cannot survive if he is going to continue to make war."
Can't believe he talked about warlord Bush at 4:10
"I cant bear the thought of many hundreds of millions of people dying in agony only and solely because the rulers of the world are stupid and wicked; and I cant bear it."
siyengar9821 3 years ago
tenuous interpretation. listen to his intelectual advise at the end
Willprestondotmedouk 3 years ago
What is your point? Can you be any more vague? I guess not.
siyengar9821 3 years ago
I was pretty specific. I said listen to his intelectual advise at the end.
Willprestondotmedouk 3 years ago
doddery old man states the obvious, and talks about himself, wonderful
goalposthead79 3 years ago
Hahaha
Willprestondotmedouk 3 years ago
I like to masturbate to Lord Russell's philosophy.
ludachris475 3 years ago
"Scientific man cannot survive if he is going to continue to make war"
siyengar9821 3 years ago
Old Rusty was a wise old bastard....
However sleeping with his son's wife was a slick move he justified & shuffled under the 'new morality' code he come up with....
If my old man had done that i would go have gone nuts....which his own son did.
dojufitz 3 years ago
He did what?! :o
dear me. LOL.
Gotta read russlian Biographies :o
Lion117 3 years ago
Scepticism is very important in life.....being sceptic solves most of the problems in our lives.
rpdinavahi 3 years ago
Russell's oposition to logical positivism can be explored in the essays collected in 'Logic & Knowledge' and can be appreciated by reading most of what he published in metaphysics in books such as 'The Analysis of Matter', 'The Relation of Universals & Particulars', 'An Iquiry into Meaning and Truth' and 'Human Knowledge'. There is in fact a collection, 'Russell on Metaphysics' by Routledge which comprises much interesting material. About metaontology Sider's 'Ontological Realism' is a good read
3rdEarlRussell 3 years ago
At the end of the day, the current dispute about truth is central to the contemporary debate between realists and anti-realists. The former accept bivalence while the latter reject it. In metaontology, the former accept existential quantificacion simpliciter while the latter do not. Yet, neither group would dimiss objectivity. Fullsome relativism undermines itself, so notions like 'truth', 'fact', 'assertibility' have as much weight on current views as in Russell's day.
3rdEarlRussell 3 years ago
Russell of course was aware of bivalence, having developed classical logic and set theory along with Frege, Whitehead, Cantor, Zermelo and others. So, when he asserts that we must strive for the truth, and that truth for a non-tautologous proposition is correspondence with fact, that does not entail that he believes we can get that unequivocally. One may grant that facts and observations are theory laden, yet that doesn't entail either relativism or subjectivism about truth.
3rdEarlRussell 3 years ago
First of all, Russell was not a positivist, neither in the sense in which Comte was one, nor in the sense of logical positivism. He in fact always pointed out that, though he shared certain views with the members of the Vienna Circle, he rejected their verification principle. Now, I don't see what conviction in an idea has to do with pragmatism. Of course our convictions might be false, but that follows trivially from bivalence.
3rdEarlRussell 3 years ago
Interesting. The intellectual advice is already out of date. But the moral advice is needed more than ever.
randyhelzerman 3 years ago
I think his intellectual advice is very good. Why would you say it is out of date?
pseudonous 3 years ago