BY BETRAND RUSSELL

Ideas That Have Harmed Mankind

• Causes of Misfortunes of

Humans:

1. Cruelty of Nature

2. Cruelty of Humans towards one another

• Pleasure Humans receive by the Sight of Suffering of Others.

Example of Heretics burnt in Lisbon

War as Righteous Act

Cruelty as a Product of Evil Passions.

Use of Anesthetics prohibited in Past

Beating a Lunatic to drive away evil

spirit.

Punishing wives necessary to improve their behaviour.

Superstitions

Offering of Blood to Gods to Improve

Crops

Christian Saints enjoyed the torment of Sinners in Afterlife

Ideas that have harmed mankind

Cruelty prompted by certain political beliefs Cruelty prompted by

certain political beliefs

German Nazis

Sacrifice comfort, pleasures and belief in a hard and strenuous life.

Sacrifice comfort, pleasures and belief in a hard and strenuous life.

Slogan was “ guns rather than butter”

The same outlook is fond in communists and Milton’s Satan.

The same outlook is found in communists and Milton’s Satan.

Some are sinners and some are saints.

The cruelty caused by the belief in witchcraft

The cruelty caused by the belief in witchcraft

• People give a great importance to themselves.• Imagine good or evil or good fortune to be the

purpose of other’s action.• This mentality give rise to necromancy and

witchcraft.

• Witch is a person • Injures her neighbours from

• Sheer hatred Sheer hatred

• Not any hope of gain

Not any hope of gain

• Bible supported this belief.• “ thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”

Bible supported this belief.“ thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”

• Religion not only punish witches but also those who refused to believe in witchcraft.

• Science dispel but could not wholly dispel.

Envy

Cause of false believe is envy.

Women are known for their mutual

jealousies and rivalries.

Envy leads a lot of misunderstanding.

1. Economic interest

2. Individual sense

3. National sense

National pride

National pride

• People are proud of their

1. Nationality

2. Race

3. Sex

4. Class

5. creed

Divisive force

• English man are taught to believe that they are superior to Frenchman and Germans.

• This kind of national pride is a divisive force.

Conception of sin and punishment

• conception of sins and punishment for sin is both in religion and in politics.

• Sin is not innate( according to some psychologists)

02/16/15

Use of Irony

• All pervasive in the writings of Russell.• To expose the absurdity of institutions, ideas, beliefs, customs.• Ironical picture of the minds of the Christian saints.• Through fables Russell makes us laugh at the absurdity of human beings.• Irony in the feelings of national, racial and religious pride.

“We are Americans, therefore America is God’s own country. We are white, and therefore God cursed Ham and

his descendants who were black.”

Racial pride

•The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.

More harmful than pride of NationalityBritish and American believe

Attitude of British towards Indian

Jews and ChristianSuperiority over one another Infinite harmAim of education

The Pride of Sex/Gender

Male over femaleNo innate superiority Proved superiority by men

Physical strengthMen more reasonable than womenMore inventiveLess swayed by emotion

False argumentsUnfortunate effects

Concept of marriageMaster and slave

Civilized countries

Concept of marriageMaster and slave

Civilized countries

The Pride of Class

Soviet RussiaSon of proletarian vs son of bourgeois

In democratic countriesIn America

Rich and middle classHypocrisy

In EnglandSnobberyWealth and education

The Pride of Creed

Wrong beliefChristiansMuslims in middle agesEntirely wicked

Pride as food for self-esteem

• Americans feed their self-esteem by the belief that America is God’s own country.

The white races feed their self-esteem by the believe that black people are black because God’s curse upon them.

The Protestant feed their self-esteem by thinking themselves to be

superior to the Catholics.

Men feed their self-esteem by

thinking themselves to be more reasonable

then women.

Women feed their self-esteem by thinking men to be brutes.

Russell’s Humanitarianism

• A great champion of mankind.• Well wisher.• Zeal of a missionary.• Speaks Harmful results of envy.• Ardent love of mankind.

Moral remedy

Social sciences

World Government

Indifference of great mass

Belief about politicians

Virtues of democracy

Lack of experience in nations

Thrusting democracy

Remedies

• Organisation

• Moral Qualities

Moral Qualities

• Charity

• Tolerance

Charity

Tolerance

Organisation

• Political organisation-elimination of war.

• Economic organisation- increase productivity.

• Educational organisation-sane feelings.

Moral and intellectual realisation.

Conclusion