I think that the evils that men inflict on each other, and by reflection upon themselves, have their main source in evil passions rather than in ideas or beliefs. But ideas and principles that do harm are, as a rule, though not always, cloaks for evil passions.
Source: Bertrand Russell, : Ideas That Have Harmed Mankind，1946
More info.: https://russell-j.com/beginner/0861HARM-020.HTM
* a brief comment:
If a person holds strong prejudices or biases, they may fail to make an effort to understand others (or other countries) and may easily develop ill feelings toward them over minor matters. Furthermore, when someone asserts or strongly believes something, this is often because they feel that it cannot be logically disproved based on facts or evidence. After all, if something could be logically demonstrated, there would be no need to "believe" it. A typical example of this tendency is the disputes between those who follow a religion and those who do not.
When one believes that, based on facts and evidence, it is possible to persuade another person logically, one can reasonably expect that the other will eventually understand -- or at least tolerate -- even if full understanding is not achieved, and can therefore respond calmly. Easier said than done.
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