For example: if you wish to teach bears to dance, you place them upon a platform so hot that they cannot bear to leave a foot on it for more than a moment, and meanwhile you play "Rule Britannia" on the orchestra. After a time "Rule Britannia" alone will make them dance. Our intellectual life, even in its highest flights, is based upon this principle.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Mind and Matter (1950年11月？)
More info.: https://russell-j.com/beginner/19501110_Mind-Matter090.HTM
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It may even be said that we are showered with music from the time we are in the womb. The sound of the mother's heartbeat has its own rhythm, and the music we hear from the outside world comes with both rhythm and melody.
“Today's Words of Russell" reminds us of how strongly we humans are influenced by music. Even if we pride ourselves on being cool-headed thinkers who cannot be manipulated, we are inevitably affected by anything that stirs our emotions deeply, and this influence can have negative aspects as well.
Indeed, unlike other animals, human beings have the capacity to see themselves objectively. Yet we cannot remain completely unaffected by external stimuli. On the contrary, if we react strongly in an attempt not to be manipulated, we are still being influenced. In fact, they may even be provoking you in the hope of eliciting not agreement but rather opposition.
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