“ To be out of harmony with one’s surroundings is, of course, a misfortune, but it is not always a misfortune to be avoided at all costs. ”
Bertrand Russell, The Conquest of Happiness (1930). copy citation
| Author | Bertrand Russell |
|---|---|
| Source | The Conquest of Happiness |
| Topic | cost harmony |
| Date | 1930 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://russell-j.com/beginner/COH-TEXT.HTM |
Context
“Suppose, for example, that a young person has parents who believe the doctrine of evolution to be wicked. Nothing except intelligence is required in such a case to cause him to be out of sympathy with them. To be out of harmony with one’s surroundings is, of course, a misfortune, but it is not always a misfortune to be avoided at all costs. Where the environment is stupid or prejudiced or cruel, it is a sign of merit to be out of harmony with it. And to some degree these characteristics exist in almost every environment. Galileo and Kepler had ‘dangerous thoughts’”
source
