Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
For a person with good reasoning, fallacious arguments reveal bias.
In plain terms
Good reasoners show bias when they use faulty arguments.
What can you take from it?
Watch for bias when arguments seem illogical, even from competent thinkers.

Where it applies

  • critical analysis
  • self‑assessment

Putting it to work

  • examine hidden biases behind flawed arguments

Questions to consider

  • How can we distinguish bias from error?
  • What tools help detect bias in reasoning?

Another view

Not all fallacies stem from bias; sometimes they are honest mistakes.

More from Bertrand Russell

  1. Dogmatism and skepticism are both, in a sense, absolute philosophies; one is certain of knowing, the other of not knowing. What philosophy should dissipate is …

    Permalink to quote #162
  2. Admiration of the proletariat, like that of dams, power stations, and aeroplanes, is part of the ideology of the machine age.

    Permalink to quote #164
  3. The essence of the Liberal outlook lies not in what opinions are held, but in how they are held: instead of being held dogmatically, they are held tentatively,…

    Permalink to quote #161

Related quotes

  1. Never say, and never take seriously anyone who says, 'I cannot believe that so-and-so could have evolved by gradual selection'. I have dubbed this kind of fall…

    Richard DawkinsRichard Dawkins quote #54
  2. Her reasoning is full of tricks And butterfly suggestions, I know no point to which she sticks; She begs the simplest questions, And, when her premises are str…

    Alfred CochraneAlfred Cochrane quote #1
  3. If we are uncritical we shall always find what we want: we shall look for, and find, confirmations, and we shall look away from, and not see, whatever might be…

    Karl PopperKarl Popper quote #3