Will Religious Faith Cure Our Troubles? (1954) by Bertrand Russell

[James Warren]

Will Religious Faith Cure Our Troubles? (1954) by Bertrand Russell

“There is something feeble, and a little contemptible, about a man who
cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable myths.
Almost inevitably some part of him is aware that they are myths and that
he believes them only because they are comforting. But he dare not face
this thought, and he therefore cannot carry his own reflections to any
logical conclusion. Moreover, since he is aware, however dimly, that his
opinions are not rational, he becomes furious when they are disputed. He
therefore adopts persecution, censorship, and a narrowly cramping
education as essentials of statecraft. In so far as he is successful, he
produces a population which is timid and unadventurous and incapable of
progress. Authoritarian rulers have always aimed at producing such a
population. They have usually succeeded, and by their success have
brought their countries to ruin.“
— Bertrand Russell, Human Society in Ethics and Politics (1954), Ch.
XII: Will Religious Faith Cure Our Troubles?, p. 219

[HRM Resident]

Post by James Warren
Will Religious Faith Cure Our Troubles? (1954) by Bertrand Russell
“There is something feeble, and a little contemptible, about a man who
cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable
myths.

<snip<

When he retired from boxing, two years later Ali made an
ill-advised comeback and suffered a horrible beating at the hands of
Larry Holmes in a bout that was stopped after 11 rounds. The final
fight of Ali’s career was a loss by decision to Trevor Berbick in
1981.

Damage to his brain caused by blows to the head resulted in slurred
speech, slowed movement, and other symptoms of Parkinson syndrome. I
wish he had not tried to come back. :-) I felt he was the greatest
boxer ever. :-)

[James Warren]

Post by HRM Resident

Post by James Warren
Will Religious Faith Cure Our Troubles? (1954) by Bertrand Russell
“There is something feeble, and a little contemptible, about a man who
cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable myths.

<snip<
When he retired from boxing, two years later Ali made an
ill-advised comeback and suffered a horrible beating at the hands of
Larry Holmes in a bout that was stopped after 11 rounds. The final
fight of Ali’s career was a loss by decision to Trevor Berbick in
1981.
Damage to his brain caused by blows to the head resulted in slurred
speech, slowed movement, and other symptoms of Parkinson syndrome. I
wish he had not tried to come back. :-) I felt he was the greatest
boxer ever. :-)

Does not pertain to Bertrand Russell.
You have lost your way. :)

[HRM Resident]

Post by James Warren
Does not pertain to Bertrand Russell.
You have lost your way. :)

Around 1978-1979, I took my father to see Trevor Berbick fight
somebody (I forget who) at the Halifax Metro Centre. It cost a lot at
the time (I forget that too.) It's a good thing they had an undercard
of welter-weights. Berbick nailed the other guy halfway through the
first round, and it took the doctor 3-4 minutes to bring him around.

I also took a couple of older, uneducated guys to the Halifax Forum
about the same time-frame to watch wrestling. They really believed that
stuff, and watched it on TV all the time. Ring-side seats were $5. We
saw the Cuban Assassin, Killer Karl Krupp, Don Leo Jonathan, and a
couple of midgets take on some other "winners" in a tag-team match. The
midgets won because they ran between the big guy's legs and threw salt
in their eyes. Yes, I know the term midget is considered offensive
today by some people, but that's what the called themselves.

It was billed as a "World Championship" match, but they had fought
for the same thing in New Glasgow and Truro the previous two night. It
was as silly as it gets, but I guess I made the two guys I took happy.
I would have taken you if I had known you back then. :-)

Did Bertrand Russell ever fight either Trevor Berbick or Muhammed
Ali? He doesn't sound like he could have beat either one. :-)

[James Warren]

Post by HRM Resident

Post by James Warren
Does not pertain to Bertrand Russell.
You have lost your way. :)

Around 1978-1979, I took my father to see Trevor Berbick fight
somebody (I forget who) at the Halifax Metro Centre. It cost a lot at
the time (I forget that too.) It's a good thing they had an undercard
of welter-weights. Berbick nailed the other guy halfway through the
first round, and it took the doctor 3-4 minutes to bring him around.
I also took a couple of older, uneducated guys to the Halifax Forum
about the same time-frame to watch wrestling. They really believed that
stuff, and watched it on TV all the time. Ring-side seats were $5. We
saw the Cuban Assassin, Killer Karl Krupp, Don Leo Jonathan, and a
couple of midgets take on some other "winners" in a tag-team match. The
midgets won because they ran between the big guy's legs and threw salt
in their eyes. Yes, I know the term midget is considered offensive
today by some people, but that's what the called themselves.
It was billed as a "World Championship" match, but they had fought
for the same thing in New Glasgow and Truro the previous two night. It
was as silly as it gets, but I guess I made the two guys I took happy.
I would have taken you if I had known you back then. :-)
Did Bertrand Russell ever fight either Trevor Berbick or Muhammed
Ali? He doesn't sound like he could have beat either one. :-)

Nice story! Is it an allegory? :)

[HRM Resident]

Post by James Warren
Nice story! Is it an allegory? :)

No, it is a true story. There is no hidden meaning. But
people have always tried to compare Ali to past greats,
like Rocky Marciano or Jack Dempsey. But there was no
easy way to compare. And I asked you if Bertrand Russell
ever fought Berbick or Ali. Obviously, he did not, but if they
did fight, who do you think would win? Don’t look for a
complicated meaning to a simple question. Remember
Occam’s Razor. :-)

If I had taken you and, say, Jackass to the wrestling match,
and you two were a tag team, do you think you guys could
have beaten those salt-throwing midgets? Again, it is a
simple question with no hidden agenda or meaning. :-)

[James Warren]

Post by HRM Resident

Post by James Warren
Nice story! Is it an allegory? :)

No, it is a true story. There is no hidden meaning. But
people have always tried to compare Ali to past greats,
like Rocky Marciano or Jack Dempsey. But there was no
easy way to compare. And I asked you if Bertrand Russell
ever fought Berbick or Ali. Obviously, he did not, but if they
did fight, who do you think would win? Don’t look for a
complicated meaning to a simple question. Remember
Occam’s Razor. :-)
If I had taken you and, say, Jackass to the wrestling match,
and you two were a tag team, do you think you guys could
have beaten those salt-throwing midgets? Again, it is a
simple question with no hidden agenda or meaning. :-)

Bertrand Russell died in 1970 at the age of 98. In Ali's era he would
have been an octogenarian, no match for a prize fighter in his prime.

I am in awe of our depth of knowledge of the fight game both legit and
theatrical. I vaguely remember wresting in black and white in to 60s. We
concluded it was show biz.

[HRM Resident]

Post by James Warren
Bertrand Russell died in 1970 at the age of 98. In Ali's era
he would have been an octogenarian, no match for a prize
fighter in his prime.
I am in awe of our depth of knowledge of the fight game
both legit and theatrical. I vaguely remember wresting in
black and white in to 60s. We concluded it was show biz.

Oh, we all knew it was a show. A 300-lb ape jumping off
the top ropes of the ring onto his opponent’s head with big
boots on would have killed him. But for some reason my
father, my grandfather, and many other older men who
were out current age now bounced around in their chairs
clenching their fists, etc. They all said it was fake, but it
seemed to take their brains over for a short while. Go
figure.

Regarding the match up between Ali and past greats,
these were more thought experiments than anything else.
I think someone tried to write a computer simulation in the
1980s or 1990s, but it didn’t work. There is no way to
determine who was the greatest boxer of all time because
times and rules change.

Maybe Russell could have beat Ali when they were both
25-30, but they were never the same age at the same time.
Just like you and the midget tag-team wrestlers. :-)

[James Warren]

Post by HRM Resident

Post by James Warren
Bertrand Russell died in 1970 at the age of 98. In Ali's era
he would have been an octogenarian, no match for a prize
fighter in his prime.
I am in awe of our depth of knowledge of the fight game
both legit and theatrical. I vaguely remember wresting in
black and white in to 60s. We concluded it was show biz.

Oh, we all knew it was a show. A 300-lb ape jumping off
the top ropes of the ring onto his opponent’s head with big
boots on would have killed him. But for some reason my
father, my grandfather, and many other older men who
were out current age now bounced around in their chairs
clenching their fists, etc. They all said it was fake, but it
seemed to take their brains over for a short while. Go
figure.
Regarding the match up between Ali and past greats,
these were more thought experiments than anything else.
I think someone tried to write a computer simulation in the
1980s or 1990s, but it didn’t work. There is no way to
determine who was the greatest boxer of all time because
times and rules change.
Maybe Russell could have beat Ali when they were both
25-30, but they were never the same age at the same time.
Just like you and the midget tag-team wrestlers. :-)

Would you say that this discussion in now in the realm of the ridiculous
or the realm of the sublime? :)

[HRM Resident]

Post by James Warren
Would you say that this discussion in now in the realm of
the ridiculous or the realm of the sublime? :)

Oh, I don’t know. That is a hard choice. Maybe it is like
quantum fluctuations or quantum jumps. Might it be
changing at unpredictable times, more or less appearing to
be random? :-)

I bought a ball cactus today. They are neat to look at,
and they make great back scratchers. Have you ever tried
one?

[James Warren]

Post by HRM Resident

Post by James Warren
Would you say that this discussion in now in the realm of
the ridiculous or the realm of the sublime? :)

Oh, I don’t know. That is a hard choice. Maybe it is like
quantum fluctuations or quantum jumps. Might it be
changing at unpredictable times, more or less appearing to
be random? :-)

Maybe. Or maybe it's just a take on Deepak Chopra.

Post by HRM Resident
I bought a ball cactus today. They are neat to look at,
and they make great back scratchers. Have you ever tried
one?

No.

[HRM Resident]

Post by James Warren
Maybe. Or maybe it's just a take on Deepak Chopra.

Is he the guy who recently won a Nobel Prize for
medicine? The name is quite familiar. Is he your family
physician?

Post by James Warren
No.

Hmmm. OK. But they do stop a person from noticing the
itch. To each their own.

[James Warren]

Post by HRM Resident

Post by James Warren
Maybe. Or maybe it's just a take on Deepak Chopra.

Is he the guy who recently won a Nobel Prize for
medicine? The name is quite familiar. Is he your family
physician?

He is this guy. You channel him often.

http://www.wisdomofchopra.com/

Post by HRM Resident

Post by James Warren
No.

Hmmm. OK. But they do stop a person from noticing the
itch. To each their own.

[HRM Resident]

Post by James Warren
He is this guy. You channel him often.
http://www.wisdomofchopra.com/

Ah, what does that link have to do with the thread? We
were discussing boxing and wrestling, I thought. Try to
follow the game. You can out-argue anyone. But when it
comes to silly, I am your man! You cannot out-silly me.

Which reminds me. I see the neighbours have their dogs
dressed in a pink scarf, a green shirt, and a black pair of
trousers with no legs. The poor doggies must be sweating
(or panting) in misery. It was 17-18 C today. Dogs do not
need to be dressed up like people, do they? Do you dress
your dogs? It doesn't seem warm-hearted, but the dogs
belong to them, so it’s not my place to tell them what to do.

Besides, these dogs are the kind that are half head. They
could bite your arm off in one snap. I won’t go near them.
They are mail-order kit dogs, I think. And no doubt they
put them together themselves. Don’t you have to hire a
professional to assemble a kit dog? Especially if the parts
are numbered incorrectly and made in China.

[James Warren]

Post by HRM Resident

Post by James Warren
He is this guy. You channel him often.
http://www.wisdomofchopra.com/

Ah, what does that link have to do with the thread? We
were discussing boxing and wrestling, I thought. Try to
follow the game. You can out-argue anyone. But when it
comes to silly, I am your man! You cannot out-silly me.
Which reminds me. I see the neighbours have their dogs
dressed in a pink scarf, a green shirt, and a black pair of
trousers with no legs. The poor doggies must be sweating
(or panting) in misery. It was 17-18 C today. Dogs do not
need to be dressed up like people, do they? Do you dress
your dogs? It doesn't seem warm-hearted, but the dogs
belong to them, so it’s not my place to tell them what to do.
Besides, these dogs are the kind that are half head. They
could bite your arm off in one snap. I won’t go near them.
They are mail-order kit dogs, I think. And no doubt they
put them together themselves. Don’t you have to hire a
professional to assemble a kit dog? Especially if the parts
are numbered incorrectly and made in China.

Your claim to be the king of silly cannot be challenged. That would be
the height of folly. I plead no contest. :)

[HRM Resident]

Post by James Warren
Your claim to be the king of silly cannot be challenged. That would be
the height of folly. I plead no contest. :)

Thank you. I feel good at being the champion of something. :-)

[James Warren]

Post by HRM Resident

Post by James Warren
Your claim to be the king of silly cannot be challenged. That would be
the height of folly. I plead no contest. :)

Thank you. I feel good at being the champion of something. :-)

Congratulations! Your prize is a sack of hammers and two eggplants. :)

[HRM Resident]

Post by James Warren
Congratulations! Your prize is a sack of hammers and two eggplants. :)

You competitive weasel. And I use weasel in the nicest sense of the
word. You are not statisfied with first place in arguing. Now you are
trying to unseat me from my one talent - being silly. Eggplants and
hammers, eh? You'll have to do better than that! :-)

[James Warren]

Post by HRM Resident

Post by James Warren
Congratulations! Your prize is a sack of hammers and two eggplants. :)

You competitive weasel. And I use weasel in the nicest sense of the
word. You are not statisfied with first place in arguing. Now you are
trying to unseat me from my one talent - being silly. Eggplants and
hammers, eh? You'll have to do better than that! :-)

OK. Poop bags and tomatoes. :)