Intellectual Rubbish

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Aristotle believed women have fewer teeth than men without actually counting them. He could have easily verified this by asking Mrs. Aristotle to open her mouth. This teaches us that 'thinking you kno…

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If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, it's a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason for thinking as you do. When you have solid evidence, you feel pity rather th…

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Dogmatism means insisting on the truth of one's opinion without evidence. Russell suggests reducing it by: 1) Exposing yourself to opinions from different social circles, 2) Traveling or meeting peopl…

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Insular prejudice means being disinterested in ideas from foreign countries or being narrow-minded about one's own culture. Russell reduced his insular prejudice by living in different countries (Fran…

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When Manchus conquered China, Chinese women had small feet and Manchu men wore pigtails. Instead of dropping their own customs, each adopted the other's foolish custom - Chinese men wore pigtails unti…

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Imagining arguments with hypothetical opponents allows you to test your ideas without limitations of time and space. Russell used Gandhi's anti-industrial views as an example, and this method sometime…

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Opinions that flatter our self-esteem often lack objectivity. Russell gives examples: men point to male poets and scientists, women point to male criminals. Both sexes believe in their superiority, bu…

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We all believe our own nation is superior to others. We adjust our standards to make our nation's merits seem important while treating its demerits as trivial. Russell says a rational person should ad…