Bertrand Russell identifies several ideas that have harmed mankind throughout history, including cruelty, superstitions, and harmful political beliefs. He argues that beliefs in witchcraft, racial and national pride, and the pride of sex, class, and creed have divided people and justified cruelty. Russell advocates for social and political organization, as well as moral qualities like charity and tolerance, to remedy the issues caused by harmful beliefs and promote cooperation between all people.

1. BY BETRAND RUSSELL
Ideas That Have
Harmed Mankind

3. • Causes of
Misfortunes of
Humans:

4. 1. Cruelty of Nature

5. 2. Cruelty of Humans
towards one another

6. • Pleasure Humans receive by
the Sight of Suffering of Others.

7. Example of Heretics burnt in Lisbon

8. War as Righteous Act

9. Cruelty as a Product of Evil Passions.

10. Use of Anesthetics prohibited in Past

11. Beating a Lunatic
to drive away evil
spirit.

12. Punishing wives necessary to
improve their behaviour.

13. Superstitions

14. Offering of Blood to
Gods to Improve
Crops

15. Christian Saints enjoyed the torment of
Sinners in Afterlife

16. Ideas that have harmed mankind

17. Cruelty prompted by certain
political beliefsCruelty prompted by
certain political beliefs

18. German Nazis
Sacrifice comfort, pleasures and belief in a hard and
strenuous life.
Sacrifice comfort, pleasures and belief in a hard and
strenuous life.

19. Slogan was “ guns rather than butter”

20. The same outlook is fond in communists and Milton’s
Satan.
The same outlook
is found in
communists and
Milton’s Satan.

21. Some are sinners and
some are saints.

22. The cruelty caused by the belief
in witchcraft
The
cruelty
caused by
the belief
in
witchcraft

23. • People give a great importance to themselves.
• Imagine good or evil or good fortune to be the
purpose of other’s action.
• This mentality give rise to necromancy and
witchcraft.

24. • Witch is a person
• Injures her neighbours from

25. • Sheer hatred Sheer hatred

26. • Not any hope of gain
Not any hope
of gain

27. • Bible supported this belief.
• “ thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”
Bible supported
this belief.
“ thou shalt not
suffer a witch to
live.”

28. • Religion not only punish witches but also
those who refused to believe in witchcraft.

29. • Science dispel but could not wholly dispel.

30. Envy
Cause of false believe is envy.

31. Women are known for
their mutual
jealousies and
rivalries.

32. Envy leads a lot of misunderstanding.
1. Economic interest
2. Individual sense
3. National sense

33. National pride
National
pride

34. • People are proud of their
1. Nationality
2. Race
3. Sex
4. Class
5. creed

35. Divisive force
• English man are taught to believe that they
are superior to Frenchman and Germans.
• This kind of national pride is a divisive force.

36. Conception of sin and
punishment

37. • conception of sins and punishment for sin is
both in religion and in politics.
• Sin is not innate( according to some
psychologists)

38. 02/16/15
Use of Irony
• All pervasive in the writings of Russell.
• To expose the absurdity of institutions, ideas, beliefs, customs.
• Ironical picture of the minds of the Christian saints.
• Through fables Russell makes us laugh at the absurdity of human beings.
• Irony in the feelings of national, racial and religious pride.
“We are Americans, therefore America is God’s own
country. We are white, and therefore God cursed Ham and
his descendants who were black.”

39. Racial pride
•The belief that race accounts for
differences in human character or
ability and that a particular race is
superior to others.

40. More harmful than pride of Nationality
British and American believe

41. Attitude of British
towards Indian

42. Jews and Christian
Superiority over one
another
Infinite harm
Aim of education

43. The Pride of Sex/Gender

44. Male over female
No innate superiority
Proved superiority by men
Physical strength
Men more reasonable than women
More inventive
Less swayed by emotion

45. False arguments
Unfortunate effects

46. Concept of marriage
Master and slave
Civilized countries
Concept of marriage
Master and slave
Civilized countries

47. The Pride of Class
Soviet Russia
Son of proletarian vs son of bourgeois
In democratic countries
In America
Rich and middle class
Hypocrisy
In England
Snobbery
Wealth and education

48. The Pride of Creed
Wrong belief
Christians
Muslims in middle ages
Entirely wicked

49. Pride as food for self-esteem

50. • Americans feed their self-esteem by the belief
that America is God’s own country.

51. The white races feed
their self-esteem by
the believe that black
people are black
because God’s curse
upon them.

53. The Protestant feed their self-
esteem by thinking themselves to be
superior to the Catholics.

54. Men feed their
self-esteem by
thinking
themselves to be
more reasonable
then women.

55. Women feed
their self-
esteem by
thinking men
to be brutes.

56. Russell’s
Humanitarianism
• A great champion of mankind.
• Well wisher.
• Zeal of a missionary.
• Speaks Harmful results of envy.
• Ardent love of mankind.

57. Moral remedy

58. Social sciences

59. World Government

60. Indifference of great mass

61. Belief about politicians

62. Virtues of democracy

63. Lack of experience in nations

64. Thrusting democracy

65. Remedies
• Organisation
• Moral Qualities

66. Moral Qualities
• Charity
• Tolerance

67. Charity

68. Tolerance

69. Organisation
• Political organisation-elimination of war.
• Economic organisation- increase productivity.
• Educational organisation-sane feelings.

70. Moral and intellectual realisation.

71. Conclusion