Essay 02 Bertrand Russell Ideas That Have Harmed Mankind

Lecturer Mubashar Altaf Prose ii
Bertrand Russell
Essay 02
IDEAS THAT HAVE HARMED MANKIND BY

BERTRAND RUSSEL
Bertrand Russell is a well-known British philosopher and a symbolic character in
the analytic movement in Anglo-American philosophy. He is also known as a
logician and social reformer, and a Nobel Prize winner for Literature in 1950.
He wrote numerous books and huge numbers of articles. His subject matters
include social, political and moral issues. He is preeminently known as a promoter
of peace.
Ideas that have harmed mankind, by Bertrand Russell, is an expository essay in

which the writer gives a detailed account of the ideas or things that have harmed
mankind by humans and non-humans. This essay, like ideas that have helped
mankind, is also among the unpopular essays of Russell.
Russell starts the essay by pointing out the two sources that have caused the
misfortunes of mankind.
According to him, first of all, humans are harmed because of non-human

environment that inflicts suffering upon them;
secondly, the human themselves are responsible for their sufferings.
Russell desolately declares “man is that man’s worst enemy”. In past time,
calamities like famine etc. were mostly natural, but nowadays man, in order to attain
power over other men, destroys the crops and starves them to death. They easily
decrease the shortage of food in one place by increasing the food supply at other.
To Russell, some who inflict evils on others are more like sadists who enjoy the
sufferings of other beings.
Russell’s ideas that have harmed mankind is explained in the following headings:
Bertrand Russell
• Wrong Religious dogmas:
The superstitions that are connected to religion has harmed the mankind. For
instance, it was thought the sacrifice of human would mend the crops; afterward,
a religious belief that the oppressed people should be eradicated completely.
The cows and sheep, even, were not secure. The Christian saint believed a
superstition that all the pagans would be imperilled to everlasting torments after
their death.
Consequently, all the saints of this belief refrained themselves from the pleasures of
the world. They establish their gratification in the belief that the ones who didn’t
have alike spiritual beliefs to them would experience inexpressible torments in
the hell.
This Christian belief, in modern times, acquired a political form.
The Nazis of Germany and the Communist of Russia commanded a great amount
of work and altruism from their admirers on the fact that the one who didn’t obey
them would be discharged. These sort of political dogmas that are based on
absurd religious beliefs directed to substantial harassment and misery.
• The faith in Enchantments:
Russell mentions another wrong concept that has harmed the mankind significantly
is the importance every individual assigns to himself.
The belief that every misfortune happened to us is because of the intention of

others and to this we create any kind of superstitions to describe our evil fortune.
The black magic and witchcraft is the invention of this state of mind.
Russell effectively illustrated the various ideas, coining from religion that has
harmed mankind. In religion, no doubt, there are dogmas that in reality are just
superstitions and inflicted excessive miseries in the world.
Bertrand Russell
The historic example, illustrated by Russell, is quite authentic. The Christians

attitude toward the pagans is justified by Russell when he quoted Bible which claims:
“thou shall not suffer a witch to live”.
This shows that the punishments inflicted upon the people who don’t believe in
punishing the witches are impartial. Russell, time and again, provides evidence from
real life and from literature to prove his point.
The rational ones between us are by this time conscious that technical discoveries
have chased away many illogical beliefs associated with religion. But if a great
majority even of educated people carry on to grasp gullible dogmas, then, it shows
their reluctance to be educated.
• Jealousy:
Another source, besides religion, that causes false beliefs is jealousy.
We often heard a proverb regarding women jealousy, but jealousy not only prevails
among women but among men as well. The men jealousy is particular to their
official circle.
This envy becomes tremendous when prevails among nations and dominates the
attitudes of people for each other. Jealousy among the nations may cause the
misunderstanding of financial interest of one country.
In modern time, a false concept or philosophy prevails among the nations that the
economic interest of one nation will result in devastations of others. This
untruthful faith crops worldwide revulsions and conflicts and therefore lead to
confrontation.
Russell, by adopting a philosophical approach, suggests that the world wars in the
past are deep-rooted as the envy in human hearts.
Bertrand Russell
He illustrates that the competition among the “butchers” and the “bakers” and their
feelings of envy made them only concentrate upon their opponent, forgetting the
altogether prosperity through their customers.
• Pride:
Another urge that gives rise to politically harmful dogmas is pride. The pride in
nationality, the pride in sex, the pride in class, the pride in race, and the pride in
creed are all sorts of pride that we have and are very dangerous.
It was time that English people were thought to be inherently superior to French
nations. Alike feeling of superiority valued other nations as well.
For Russell, the superiority of race is more deterrent than that on national pride.
The aim of education should be to eliminate the pride in races and creeds.
Another concept that has harmed mankind is the notion that men are superior to
women in all respects. Men claim themselves to be more rational, more
imaginative, and less influenced by emotions than that of women. This dominance
in sex has great influence upon married life. Husband, being superior to wife, treat
her wife like slaves, considering themselves to be masters.
The pride in class perseveres even in America where all men are considered to be
equal; in theory. As far as the disparities of mammon will last, the vanity in
classes will stay.
Russell points out towards England, a country where discrimination of wealth is

less evident and claims another sort of arrogance among people, i.e. the pride of
class.
According to Russell, by all of these various forms of pride, a “grand” feeling arose
in people. And this feeling, on one hand, makes people happy; but, on the other
hand, all these irrational, false, misleading feelings of superiority roots the
destruction of mankind.
Bertrand Russell
• Imagining Oneself Exceptional to God:
The other harmful belief of mankind that Russell mentions in his essay is people
consider themselves more special to the God.
The superiority complex of a nation leads them to think themselves as the

exceptional creature of God and they are chosen by Him to carry out His tenacity.
For example, the authors speak of Muslim’s obsessive faith that each warriors
dying in the fight for his faith would go straight to heaven.
Likewise, Cromwell believed himself to be chosen by divine will for

overpowering Catholics.
The Marxist, in the 20th century, believed themselves to be appointed for

guaranteeing economic fairness; on the other hand, Hegel communicated that
“dialectic” is the root cause of giving supremacy to Germany.
Marx contradicted the Hegel’s point of view and provides that superiority is not of
Germany but of the working class.
Russell concluded this false belief of superiority to God by illustrating: “Most of the
greatest evils that man has inflicted upon man have come through people
feeling quite certain about something which, in fact, was false”.
• Russell Showing Himself as Rival of

Dogmatism:
Russell, in the concluding paragraphs, shows himself as opponent of dogmatism.

He ironically and satirically illustrates the tenacious and narrow beliefs of different
kinds of people.
Bertrand Russell
He harshly scorns those who ponder themselves to be exceptional creatures of

God and are appointed by Him to do special jobs.
Russell shows himself to be a man of substantial ideas, not committed to any creed,
nor obsessive beliefs.
He is even not obsessive about democracy that is considered as the best form of
government. He illustrates that a Democrat doesn’t believe in the democracy as the
best form of government. Russell points towards those who lack moral potentials and
the political leadership essential for the governmental organizations.
Russell suggested the international government as the best form of

government for preventing wars.

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Lecturer Mubashar Altaf Prose ii

IDEAS THAT HAVE HARMED MANKIND BY

Ideas that have harmed mankind, by Bertrand Russell, is an expository essay in

According to him, first of all, humans are harmed because of non-human

secondly, the human themselves are responsible for their sufferings.

• Wrong Religious dogmas:

This Christian belief, in modern times, acquired a political form.

• The faith in Enchantments:

The belief that every misfortune happened to us is because of the intention of

The historic example, illustrated by Russell, is quite authentic. The Christians

“thou shall not suffer a witch to live”.

Another source, besides religion, that causes false beliefs is jealousy.

Russell points out towards England, a country where discrimination of wealth is

• Imagining Oneself Exceptional to God:

The superiority complex of a nation leads them to think themselves as the

Likewise, Cromwell believed himself to be chosen by divine will for

The Marxist, in the 20th century, believed themselves to be appointed for

• Russell Showing Himself as Rival of

Russell, in the concluding paragraphs, shows himself as opponent of dogmatism.

He harshly scorns those who ponder themselves to be exceptional creatures of

Russell suggested the international government as the best form of

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