The technique of physics was developed under the influence of a belief in the metaphysical reality of "matter" which now no longer exists, and the new quantum mechanics has a different technique which dispenses with false metaphysics. The technique of psychology, to some extent, was developed under a belief in the metaphysical reality of the "mind." It seems possible that, when physics and psychology have both been completely freed from these lingering errors, they will both develop into one science dealing neither with mind nor with matter, but with events, which will not be labelled either "physical" or "mental."
Source: Bertrand Russell: Religion and Science, 1935, chapt. 8:
More info.: https://russell-j.com/beginner/RS1935_08-110.HTM
* a brief comment:
Our attitude toward thinking differs greatly depending on whether we are thinking about things in our everyday lives or approaching them in a scientific and logical manner. As living beings with limited lifespans, it is only natural that we strive to live as comfortably as possible during our time on Earth, engaging in various forms of creative ingenuity and seeking to create new things.
At the same time, we humans possess advanced intellectual capacities, and we use them to attempt to understand the world-the universe, objectively, from a perspective detached from our own personal standpoint. When we pursue this latter perspective to its ultimate end, we arrive at claims such as the one found in "Today's Russell Quotation" (see attached image).
Is it astonishing that human beings are capable of such a mode of thought? Or is it merely another illusion, a product of neural activity within the brain?
It is believed that the sun will become a red giant about five billion years from now and then end its life as a white dwarf, and by that time the Earth will likely have ceased to exist. Will humanity have ventured beyond the solar system before then? Or will we have gone extinct due to global warming, or perhaps a new ice age, long before that?
My own life is far too short to be troubled by such questions, and yet, the fact that the human intellect allows us to pose such vast and profound questions is, in itself, a matter of deep fascination.
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