What makes a free thinker is not his beliefs, but the way in which he holds them. If he holds them because his elders told him they were true when he was young, or if he holds them because if he did not he would be unhappy, his thought is not free; but if he holds them because, after careful thought, he finds a balance in their favor, then his thought is free, however odd his conclusions may seem.
-- Bertrand Russell, "The Value of Free Thought"
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Quote of the Day: More Bertrand Russell
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
JA,
So true. I've said many times that it is far less important what you believe than why you believe it.
it's not a binary choice, much as Russel (and you?) would like to think so. There's so much in between blind acceptance of tradition and unbiased evaluation.
Very well said, Bertrand Russell. I am a Christian and I believe this is important for Christians and all people of faith of various religions. We must make our believes truly "our own."
But just because someone thinks freely does not mean that what they think is healthy and constructive. I have plently of "free-thinking" clients who have buried themselves so much in their free thinking that they've buried any sort of thruth.
Post a Comment