 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
Only passion can control passion, and only a contrary impulse or desire can check impulse. Reason, as it is preached by traditional moralists, is too of negative, too little living, to make a good life. It is not by reason alone that wars can be prevented, but by a positive life of impulses and passions antagonistic to those that lead to war. It is the life of impulse that needs to be changed, not only the life of conscious thought.
Source： Bertrand Russell: Principles fo Social Reconstrucition, 1916, chapt.1: the principles of growth
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Problems that relate solely to facts and knowledge need to be solved solely by reason. However, in the case of social problems that affect individual impulses and desires, it is necessary to focus not only on reason but also on the individual's impulses and desires. It is not very effective to use reason alone to persuade people who make hate speech or who have a strong passion for something. You need to work on both sides of the person's reason and desire to see what the consequences are, or could be, of dealing with the issue in an attitude that disrespects reason.
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