 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
The man who is courageous in any matter except physical danger is also thought ill of. Indifference to public opinion, for example, is regarded as a challenge, and the public does what it can to punish the man who dares to flout its authority. All this is quite opposite to what it should be. Every form of courage, whether in men or women, should be admired as much as physical courage is admired in a soldier.
Source: Bertrand Russell: The Conquest of Happiness, 1930, chap. 5.
More info.: https://russell-j.com/beginner/HA15-070.HTM
* a brief comment (Translated with DeepL.com)
It is a fact that people who think they have ‘common sense’ outnumber those who think they are ‘insane’ by far. However, what is considered ‘common sense’ often means no more than ‘what many people in the region thought at the time’. For example, there are many things that many people thought were ‘common sense’ before World War II that became ‘no longer common sense’ or ‘insane’ after World War II. This was true not only in Japan, but also in many other countries around the world. In contrast, one might say that ‘common sense’ in countries with widespread democracy is more stable, but one would imagine that there are quite a few things that have ‘ceased to be common sense’ in 50 years' time. Well, we won't live that long, so we probably won't have much opportunity to reflect on it...