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Meaning
This can be taken to mean that progress depends less on comfort than on a willingness to expect something better. Russell’s contrast between hope and fear reads as a warning that societies stagnate when caution becomes the main mood, and it lands in arguments about reform, science, or public life when energy and confidence are needed.
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Original Language & Translation
Originally said in English.
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About Bertrand Russell
Welsh mathematician and philosopher
Bertrand Russell was a Welsh mathematician and philosopher, and a founder of analytic philosophy. He became one of the leading philosophers of the 20th century, known for work in logic, set theory, and the philosophy of language. He also helped bring philosophy to a wider public through his books and commentary. Outside academic philosophy, he was widely known for his outspoken atheism, pacifism, and opposition to nuclear weapons, and he often wrote on social and political questions.
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More Progress quotes
- “The Center for American Progress rates Maryland as the best state in the nation for women. I couldn't agree m…”Martin O'Malley
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More Fear quotes
- “You should never be scared of failing.”Gethin Jones
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READ THE SOURCE
Books by Bertrand Russell
The Problems of Philosophy
2007
Roads to Freedom
2007
Unpopular Essays
2020
Authority and the Individual
1985
Autobiography
2000