"Some modern philosophers have gone so far as to say that words should never be confronted with facts but should live in a pure, autonomous world where they are compared only with other words. When you say, 'the cat is a carnivorous animal,' you do not mean that actual cats eat actual meat, but only that in zoology books the cat is classified among carnivora. These authors tell us that the attempt to confront language with fact is 'metaphysics' and is on this ground to be condemned. This is one of those views which are so absurd that only very learned men could possibly adopt them."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
p. 110
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Bertrand Russell
1872
britischer Mathematiker, Philosoph und Schriftsteller
562 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Bertrand Russell β
Related Quotes
"Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to eβ¦"
"The next stage in the development of a desirable form of sensitiveness is sympathy. There is a purely physical sympatβ¦"
"He was not an ascetic, but he despised luxury and the pursuit of artificial pleasures of the senses."
"The supposed wisdom of proverbs is mainly imaginary. As a rule, proverbs go in pairs which say opposite things. The oβ¦"
"The beliefs appropriate to the impulse of aggression may be seen in Bernhardi, or in the early Mohammedan conquerors,β¦"
"A book is a friend."
"Wherever one finds oneself inclined to bitterness, it is a sign of emotional failure: a larger heart, and a greater sβ¦"
"As we all know, Mr. Russell produces a different system of philosophy every few years..."
"I wanted certainty in the kind of way in which people want religious faith. I thought that certainty is more likely tβ¦"
"Freedom of opinion can only exist when the government thinks itself secure..."