“I believe that love and knowledge are both infinite. We should therefore love infinite love and infinite knowledge... Science is not your enemy; it is your friend. Do not be afraid of it. Fear of the unknown is the source of all superstition and all cruelty.”
—
Bertrand Russell
Attributed to Russell; similar themes in The Scientific Outlook (1931) and various essays
Commentary
Russell advocates pursuing both love (emotional and relational) and knowledge (intellectual and scientific) without limit. Fear of the unknown—anxiety about what we don't understand—drives superstition and cruelty. Science dispels this fear by rendering the unknown knowable.
This combines Russell's rationalism with humanism: reason and love are not opposed; both are infinite in their potential. This addressed twentieth-century anxieties about whether science was cold or humanistic.
Commentary
Russell advocates pursuing both love (emotional and relational) and knowledge (intellectual and scientific) without limit. Fear of the unknown—anxiety about what we don't understand—drives superstition and cruelty. Science dispels this fear by rendering the unknown knowable.
This combines Russell's rationalism with humanism: reason and love are not opposed; both are infinite in their potential. This addressed twentieth-century anxieties about whether science was cold or humanistic.