Bertrand Russell Quotes

Bertrand Russell Quotes 366


What I am saying is that punishment, where justifiable, is a regrettable necessity and not something to rejoice at as a just retribution. ...
It is not in this way that conventional moralists view “sinners”. On the contrary, a belief in sin is held to justify those emotions of hatred to which most people are prone. This is especially disastrous when it is a whole nation or race or creed that is thought wicked. The world in which we live is filled with such collective hatreds; and it is they, more than anything else, that threaten mankind with disaster.

Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, (1954), chapter 12:Superstitious Ethics, n.7
More info.: https://russell-j.com/cool/47T-1207.htm

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This may be a claim we are tired of hearing, but it is a matter that we should clearly understand and be aware of.
 The Hate Speech Regulation Law has been enacted against hate speech. However, there are still people out there who continue to claim that it is an 'opinion' and should not be regulated, when in fact it is hate speech. Unfortunately, this does not stop people who are outraged when such words are hurled at them, but do not see any problem when they hurl similar words at others.
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