The excerpt below was from legendary British philosopher Bertrand Russell, borrowing from his article, “Liberalism– The Best Answer to Fanaticism“, published by The New York Times in December, 1951. I’ve placed my comments in response in italics.
TEN THINGS TO REMEMBER FROM BERTRAND RUSSELL
Bertrand Russell
1. Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.
Including not feeling absolutely certain about not being absolutely certain of anything? I’m not too certain of this one, but I’m not feeling certain that I’m not certain … but I’m not certain about that feeling either.
I wonder if Bertrand was certain of #1?
5. Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.
Well, this kind of puts the kibosh on taking seriously either Russell or his N.Y. Slimes piece. I’m sure I can find a contrary authority that would say Russell is full of hot dog filler.