Bertrand Russell’s 10 Commandments:
The Ten Commandments that, as a teacher, I should wish to promulgate, might be set forth as follows:
- Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.
- Do not think it worth while to proceed by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light.
- Never try to discourage thinking for you are sure to succeed.
- When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your
husband or your children, endeavour to overcome it by argument and not
by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and
illusory.- Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.
- Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.
- Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
- Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent that in passive agreement,
for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a
deeper agreement than the latter.- Be scrupulously truthful, even if the truth is inconvenient, for it is more inconvenient when you try to conceal it.
- Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool’s paradise, for only a fool will think that it is happiness.
I don’t necessarily disagree with all of these points, but it is remarkable to observe far they fall short of the original Decalogue, even though the original was produced with considerably less human history upon which to draw. Let’s compare them, one commandment at a time.
One: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
Russell: “Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.”
The Decalogue sets down the basis for an objective and universal morality. Russell, on the other hand, undermines any possibility of morality, but science as well, by establishing uncertainty as his foundation.
Two: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.”
Russell: “Do not think it worth while to proceed by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light.”
While the problem of graven images is somewhat mysterious, lacking any basis for distinguishing right from wrong, Russell is forced to resort to a demonstrably false justification for what would otherwise be a reasonable claim.
Three: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”
Russell: “Never try to discourage thinking for you are sure to succeed.”
Again, the commandment is clear, though its import is unknown. But it is still superior to Russell’s, which again relies upon an observably false justification.
Four: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
Russell: “When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your
husband or your children, endeavour to overcome it by argument and not
by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and
illusory.”
Russell scores a half-point here because he has the sense to limit his commandment to an exhortation, although he again sabotages his position with a false justification. We aren’t even sure when the sabbath day is, or understand how to keep it holy.
Five: “Honour thy father and thy mother.”
Russell: “Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.”
This commandment is the basis for civilization. Russell’s is the road towards barbarism. Not only is the justification again false, but the commandment is intrinsically pernicious. Legitimate authority merits respect, it is only illegitimate authority that does not.
Six: “Thou shalt not kill.”
Russell: “Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.”
This is Russell’s first truly coherent point, but it can’t compare in significance or rhetorical power to the original.
Seven: “Thou shalt not commit adultery”
Russell: “Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.”
And here the essential triviality of the atheist exposes itself again. Once more, the justification is observably false. The importance of inviolate marriages, on the other hand, is integral to sustainable societies, as is becoming more and more apparent in their increased absence.
Eight: “Thou shalt not steal”
Russell: “Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent that in passive agreement,
for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a
deeper agreement than the latter.”
Now Russell is just babbling. Intelligent dissent does not necessarily imply any agreement at all. And what percentage of the populace is “valuing intelligence as you should” likely to apply in any meaningful manner anyhow?
Nine: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.”
Russell: “Be scrupulously truthful, even if the truth is inconvenient, for it is more inconvenient when you try to conceal it.”
It is a pity Russell has the need to produce a justification, even a fairly solid one, for an otherwise strong commandment. But that points back to the flaws in his first commandment and his failure to establish a moral warrant. Russell’s commandment is literally stronger than the original, although the latter is usually taken to be metaphorical and more broadly applied than its literal meaning.
Ten: “Thou shalt not covet”
Russell: “Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool’s paradise, for only a fool will think that it is happiness.”
So, envy is fine, so long as one is envying the happiness of those who are genuinely happy. This is a pernicious doctrine.
It is fascinating, is it not, to see that a crude and primitive Bronze Age people, working with considerably less information to hand, somehow managed to produce a moral code that is considerably superior in terms of fact, logic, structure, scope, and style than the code produced by one of the most elite and celebrated minds of the 20th century.
By taking God out of his equations, the atheist loses everything, because he destroys the foundation upon which so much of what he values is constructed.