Ever since men became capable of free speculation, their actions, in innumerable important respects, have depended upon their theories as to the world and human life, as to what is good and what is evil. This is true in the present day as at any former time. To understand an age or a nation, we must understand its philosophy, and to understand its philosophy we must ourselves be in some degree philosophers. There is here a reciprocal causation: the circumstances of men s lives do much to determine their philosophy, but, conversely, their philosophy does much to determine their circumstances.
Bertrand RussellIf all our happiness is bound up entirely in our personal circumstances it is difficult not to demand of life more than it has to give.
Bertrand RussellOur individual life is brief, and perhaps the whole life of mankind will be brief if measured in astronomical scale
Bertrand Russell