 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
Knowledge, like other good things, is difficult, but not impossible; the dogmatist forgets the difficulty, the sceptic denies the possibility. Both are mistaken, and their errors, when widespread, produce social disaster.
Source: Bertrand Russell: On Education, especially in early childhood, 1926, chap. 2: The Aims of EducationOn Education, especially in early childhood, 1926, chap. 2: The Aims of Education
More info.:https://russell-j.com/beginner/OE02-050.HTM
* a brief comment: original text in Japanese, translated with DeepL.com (free version)
The world is full of what is called 'knowledge' or 'information' and it seems easy to acquire 'knowledge'. However, we think we know a lot of things, but how much do we understand ? For those who don't think much for themselves and unquestioningly believe what the know-it-alls and authorities in the field say, knowledge acquisition is easy: those who go by the name of know-it-alls on TV quiz shows are likely to be a kind of 'intellectual', but of course they are not.
Russell published his massive three-volume work Principia Mathematica ('The Principles of Mathematics') with Whitehead in an attempt to ground mathematics in logic, but it is not until the second volume that the proof of '1 + 1 = 2' appears (or can be mentioned).
No, you might say, knowledge in science (natural science and technology) is certain, but even in physics, for example, the 'existence' (or not, and the nature of time) is a major issue, and not an obvious one. Whether you think such exploration is interesting or a futile quest is likely to give you an idea of a person's attitude to knowledge.