Q0124

“Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main…” — Bertrand Russell (On Education (related))

Verified English quotation. Primary source: On Education (related). Theme: wisdom.

English

Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.
Thinker Bertrand Russell
School Analytic Philosophy
Source On Education (related)
Theme Wisdom
Another quotation More from this thinker

Source and attribution

The archive attributes this English wording to On Education (related) and files it under Analytic Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.

About Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) was a British philosopher, logician, and public intellectual who helped found analytic philosophy. With A.

How to read this passage

Unlike mere information, wisdom concerns judgment. Ancient schools linked it to virtue, moderation, and the right relation to desire. This passage enters that discussion through wisdom, courage.

Concepts in this quote

Wisdom
Wisdom is practical insight under uncertainty: knowing what matters, what one does not know, and how to act without false certainty.
Courage
Courage is the virtue of facing fear without abandoning judgment—central to ethics from Aristotle to modern existential resolve.

How to cite this quotation

APA: Bertrand Russell. (n.d.). Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0124

MLA: Bertrand Russell. “Fear is the main source of superstition, and….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0124.

Chicago: Bertrand Russell. “Fear is the main source of superstition, and….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0124.

Frequently asked questions

What is the source of the quotation “Fear is the main source of superstition, and…”?

The passage is attributed to Bertrand Russell, On Education (related). The archive attributes this English wording to On Education (related) and files it under Analytic Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.

What does Bertrand Russell mean by wisdom?

Unlike mere information, wisdom concerns judgment. Ancient schools linked it to virtue, moderation, and the right relation to desire. This passage enters that discussion through wisdom, courage.

Same thinker

More from Bertrand Russell

  1. The secret of happiness is this: let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions…be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile.
  2. To abandon the struggle for private happiness…to burn with passion for eternal things — this is emancipation.
  3. Next to worry, probably one of the most potent causes of unhappiness is envy.
  4. Envy is itself a terrible obstacle to happiness.
  5. Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty.

All quotations by Bertrand Russell

Same theme

More on wisdom

  1. There are more things that frighten us than crush us, and we suffer more often in imagination than in reality.
  2. When human life lay foully for all to see, crushed to the earth under heavy religion…
  3. The eternal silence of these infinite spaces frightens me.
  4. the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short
  5. Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty.

Browse the wisdom theme