Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Russell's Opinions

Democracy Should women have the right to vote? Agree The objections which are explicitly urged against women's suffrage are, of course, not those which weigh most with most men. Men fear that their liberty to act in ways that are injurious to women will be curtailed... To substitute cooperation for subjection is everywhere the effort of democracy, and it is one of the strongest arguments in favour of the enfranchisement of women that it will further this substitution in all that concerns the relations of men and women. The Mob Pitch   The Liberal Pitch   Edit Pitches 01 Jan 1910    Source Christianity Would the world be better off without the Catholic Church? Agree 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. Edit Pitches 06 Mar 1927    Source God Must God exist to explain how the universe began? Disagree If everything must have a cause, then God must have a cause. If there can be anything without a cause, it may just as well be the world as God, so that there cannot be any validity in that argument. It is exactly of the same nature as the Hindu's view, that the world rested upon an elephant and the elephant rested upon a tortoise; and when they said, "How about the tortoise?" the Indian said, "Suppose we change the subject." The [First Cause] argument is really no better than that. Edit Pitches 06 Mar 1927    Source Does God exist? Disagree My conclusion [to the question: is there a god?] is that there is no reason to believe any of the dogmas of traditional theology and, further, that there is no reason to wish that they were true. Man, in so far as he is not subject to natural forces, is free to work out his own destiny. The responsibility is his, and so is the opportunity. The Tenuous Evidence Pitch   Edit Pitches 01 Jan 1952    Source

Psychology Is free will an illusion? Agree No man treats a motorcar as foolishly as he treats another human being. When the car will not go, he does not attribute its annoying behaviour to sin; he does not say, "You are a wicked motorcar, and I shall not give you any more petrol until you go." He attempts to find out what is wrong and to set it right. An analogous way of treating human beings is, however, considered to be contrary to the truths of our holy religion. Edit Pitches 01 Jan 1930    Source Do we work unnecessarily long hours? Agree Being a highly virtuous child, I believed all that I was told, and acquired a conscience which has kept me working hard down to the present moment. But although my conscience has controlled my actions, my opinions have undergone a revolution. I think that there is far too much work done in the world, that immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous, and that what needs to be preached in modern industrial countries is quite different from what always has been preached. Edit Pitches 01 Jan 1932    Source Is it worthwhile to die for your beliefs? Disagree Of course not. After all, I may be wrong. Edit Pitches 01 Jan 1970    Source Science Is there life after death? Disagree But in the present state of psychology and physiology, belief in immortality can, at any rate, claim no support from science, and such arguments as are possible on the subject point to the probable extinction of personality at death. Edit Pitches 01 Jan 1935    Source

Comparisons with Other Experts and Influencers

The similarity between Bertrand Russell and each expert and influencer is calculated by looking at how the same questions were answered. These figures are used to calculate conforming, nonconforming, and projected opinions. The accuracy of the analysis depends on Bertrand Russell's coverage, which grows with the number of their opinions entered into TakeOnIt.

Conforming Opinions

Bertrand Russell's conforming opinions are opinions that align with the group of experts and influencers Bertrand Russell typically agrees with.

Projected Opinions

Bertrand Russell's projected opinions are opinions Bertrand Russell is expected to have if their opinions align with the experts and influencers that they typically agree with.