Interviewer to Lord Bertrand Russell…suppose this interview would be looked at by our descendants… like the Dead Sea scrolls, in 1000 years time…what is worth telling that generation about the life you have lived and the lessons you have learned in your life?
Two things I would tell them…the intellectual thing and the moral thing
The Intellectual thing is this… when you are studying any matter or considering any philosophy ask yourself only - what are the facts and what are the truth the facts bear out… never let yourself be diverted either by what you wish to believe or by what would you think would have beneficent social effects if it were believed…look only and solely at what are facts.
The Moral thing…it is very simple…love is wise hatred is foolish...In this world, which is getting more closely interconnected, we have to learn to tolerate each other. We have to learn to put up with the fact that some people say things we don’t like. We can only live together in that way….and not die together…we must learn a kind of charity and a kind of tolerance which is absolutely vital to human life on this planet.
This bit of cool philosophy to live by was given in a History of the Future lecture at Carleton University...it is interesting how Russell addresses this very modern dilemma and a very modern urgency, 50 years later.
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