Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the difficulty many have in engaging in deep thought and reflection.
Bertrand Russell's quote highlights the tendency of individuals to avoid critical thinking and introspection, suggesting that many would rather go through life unexamined than confront challenging thoughts or ideas. It suggests a fear of the complexity that comes with thinking deeply, implying that, in some way, people metaphorically die to their capacity for thought by choosing ignorance or superficiality over contemplation.
In practice
In a philosophy class while discussing the importance of critical thinking.
St. Paul introduced an entirely novel view of marriage, that it existed primarily to prevent the sin of fornication. It is just as if one were to maintain that the sole reason for baking bread is to prevent people from stealing cake.
Freedom comes only to those who no longer ask of life that it shall yield them any of those personal goods that are subject to the mutations of time.
Of these austerer virtues the love of truth is the chief, and in mathematics, more than elsewhere, the love of truth may find encouragement for waning faith. Every great study is not only an end in itself, but also a means of creating and sustaining a lofty habit of mind; and this purpose should be kept always in view throughout the teaching and learning of mathematics.
At all times, except when a monarch could enforce his will, war has been facilitated by the fact that vigorous males, confident of victory, enjoyed it, while their females admired them for their prowess.
Moreover, the attitude that one ought to believe such and such a proposition, independently of the question whether there is evidence in its favor, is an attitude which produces hostility to evidence and causes us to close our minds to every fact that does not suit our prejudices.
Extreme hopes are born from extreme misery.
We owe the origin and development of human society and, consequently, of culture and civilization, to the fact that work performed under the division of labor is more productive than when performed in isolation.
A duel is just two murders who agree to take turns trying to kill each other.
Environmental degradation, overpopulation, refugees, narcotics, terrorism, world crime movements, and organized crime are worldwide problems that don't stop at a nation's borders.
We believe that the spreading out and perpetuity of the institution of slavery impairs the general welfare. We believe - nay, we know, that that is the only thing that has ever threatened the perpetuity of the Union itself.
A man's most open actions have a secret side to them.
Another victory like that and we are done for.
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