The fundamental concept in social science is Power, in the same sense in which Energy is the fundamental concept in physics.
Right discipline consists, not in external compulsion, but in the habits of mind which lead spontaneously to desirable rather than undesirable activities.
To acquire immunity to eloquence is of the utmost importance to the citizens of a democracy.
Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.
The place of the father in the modern suburban family is a very small one, particularly if he plays golf.
No; we have been as usual asking the wrong question. It does not matter a hoot what the mockingbird on the chimney is singing. The real and proper question is: Why is it beautiful?
Both in thought and in feeling, even though time be real, to realise the unimportance of time is the gate of wisdom.
The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
Mathematics takes us into the region of absolute necessity, to which not only the actual word, but every possible word, must conform.
Religions that teach brotherly love have been used as an excuse for persecution, and our profoundest scientific insight is made into a means of mass destruction.
A process which led from the amoeba to man appeared to the philosophers to be obviously a progress though whether the amoeba would agree with this opinion is not known.
Religions, which condemn the pleasures of sense, drive men to seek the pleasures of power. Throughout history power has been the vice of the ascetic.
The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation.
The demand for certainty is one which is natural to man, but is nevertheless an intellectual vice.
I say quite deliberately that the Christian religion, as organized in its Churches, has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world.
Democracy is the process by which people choose the man who'll get the blame.
If any philosopher had been asked for a definition of infinity, he might have produced some unintelligible rigmarole, but he would certainly not have been able to give a definition that had any meaning at all.
The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.
Machines are worshipped because they are beautiful and valued because they confer power; they are hated because they are hideous and loathed because they impose slavery.
Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
The theoretical understanding of the world, which is the aim of philosophy, is not a matter of great practical importance to animals, or to savages, or even to most civilised men.
Conventional people are roused to fury by departure from convention, largely because they regard such departure as a criticism of themselves.
One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny.
I like mathematics because it is not human and has nothing particular to do with this planet or with the whole accidental universe - because, like Spinoza's God, it won't love us in return.
Work is of two kinds: first, altering the position of matter at or near the earth's surface relative to other matter; second, telling other people to do so.
To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.
The most savage controversies are about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way.
In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.
Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact.
Patriots always talk of dying for their country and never of killing for their country.
Many people when they fall in love look for a little haven of refuge from the world, where they can be sure of being admired when they are not admirable, and praised when they are not praiseworthy.
Awareness of universals is called conceiving, and a universal of which we are aware is called a concept.
I've made an odd discovery. Every time I talk to a savant I feel quite sure that happiness is no longer a possibility. Yet when I talk with my gardener, I'm convinced of the opposite.
None but a coward dares to boast that he has never known fear.
It is possible that mankind is on the threshold of a golden age; but, if so, it will be necessary first to slay the dragon that guards the door, and this dragon is religion.