History and geology take us away from the now, astronomy takes us away from the here. The man whose mind has been filled with these studies gets a feeling that there is something accidental, and almost trivial, about the fact that his ego occupies a very particular portion of the space-time stream. His intellect becomes gradually more and more detached from these physical needs. It acquires in this way a generality and scope and power which is impossible to one whose thoughts are bounded by his animal wants.
Source: Bertrand Russell : Philosophy for Our Time (1953).
More info.: https://russell-j.com/beginner/1026_PfOT-020.HTM
* a brief comment:
"Today's Bertrand Russell Quote" is a statement from 1953. I entered the Faculty of Letters (Humanities Division) at Waseda University because I was attracted by the purpose of the Humanities Division under Dean Shinzaburo Matsunami, which was "to study the thoughts of East and West, past and present, from a contemporary perspective." In other words, it is important to understand Russell's ideas accurately in their historical context, while also re-examining them from a modern viewpoint.
At the beginning of the cited passage, Russell uses the words "History and geology." If he were alive today, it seems likely that he would have used the term "Earth Sciences" rather than "geology."
In any case, theoretical research that is not bound by practical constraints seeks, as far as possible, to transcend the limitations imposed on humans by "the now" and "the here." At the extreme of this is theoretical philosophy. It is impossible to be completely free from the constraints of being human, yet theoretical philosophy challenges this impossibility while being fully aware of it. Theoretical research is thus an effort to surpass human limitations, and this constitutes the very core of Russell's thought.
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