In Bertrand Russell’s essay “How to Escape from the Intellectual Rubbish,” he presents practical guidelines for avoiding and overcoming erroneous beliefs and prejudices. He asserts that avoiding foolish opinions does not require superhuman abilities, just simple rules to prevent silly mistakes.

Russell’s Essay:

Testing Opinions Against Experience:

Russell emphasizes the importance of testing opinions against real-life experience. He illustrates this with the example of Aristotle, who mistakenly declared that women have fewer teeth than men without actually checking. Russell suggests that this error stemmed from Aristotle’s belief that he already knew the answer, highlighting the danger of such assumptions.

Recognizing Personal Bias:

Russell advises that if a contrary opinion makes someone angry, it often indicates subconscious doubt about their own belief. He contrasts arithmetic, which is based on knowledge, with theology, which is based on opinion. He encourages individuals to scrutinize their ideas through observation whenever they feel angered by differing opinions.

Combating Dogmatism:

Exposure to Different Opinions: Russell recommends traveling or engaging with people who hold different views to reduce insular prejudices. His own experiences of living in various countries helped him broaden his perspective.

Reading Opposing Newspapers: If one cannot travel, reading newspapers from opposing political viewpoints can be enlightening. He warns that if opposing views seem irrational or malevolent, one should remember that their own views might appear the same to others.

Learning from Different Cultures: Russell warns against blind conformity to other cultures’ practices, as seen when the Manchus and Chinese adopted each other’s customs rather than dropping their own foolish traditions.

Imaginary Dialogues:

Engaging in imaginary dialogues with someone holding a different bias can be a useful method to challenge one’s own beliefs. Russell mentions that he often changed his mind through such mental exercises.

Avoiding Self-Flattering Opinions:

Opinions that enhance self-esteem should be approached with caution. Russell suggests tempering the sense of superiority with modesty and recognizing that other cultures and their values are equally respectable. He points out the difficulty of overcoming the general sense of human superiority, proposing that recognizing the vastness and potential superiority of life elsewhere in the cosmos can help.

Overcoming Fear:

Fear, according to Russell, is a major source of error. It can lead to negative and harmful imaginings, such as fear of disastrous wars or belief in superstitions like ghosts. Overcoming fear leads to greater rationality and freedom. Russell uses examples of magic, sorcery, and witchcraft to show how they create illusions of freedom, whereas true freedom is achieved through rationality.

He also notes that fear of the future and speculation about life after death often arise from dissatisfaction with the present world, as demonstrated by Socrates’ reflections on the day of his death.

Conclusion:

Russell’s essay provides a framework for intellectual humility and critical thinking. By testing beliefs against experience, recognizing personal biases, combating dogmatism through exposure to different perspectives, engaging in imaginary dialogues, avoiding self-flattering opinions, and overcoming fear, individuals can escape from intellectual rubbish and cultivate a more rational and open-minded approach to knowledge and belief.