Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Russell jokes that being deified after death would have been stylish for an atheist, showing his ironic take on legacy.
In plain terms
He quips that becoming a god would be cool for an atheist.
What can you take from it?
Humor can highlight contradictions in our beliefs.

Where it applies

  • reflecting on personal legacy
  • discussing belief systems

Putting it to work

  • use humor to defuse serious topics

Questions to consider

  • What does it mean to be remembered?
  • Can humor reveal deeper truths?

Another view

The joke may downplay genuine concerns about meaning after death.

More from Bertrand Russell

  1. And all this madness, all this rage, all this flaming death of our civilization and our hopes, has been brought about because a set of official gentlemen, livi…

    Permalink to quote #193
  2. I used to go to [Einstein's] house, once a week to discuss with him and Godel and Pauli. These discussions were in some ways disappointing, for, although all t…

    Permalink to quote #195
  3. He asked my religion and I replied 'agnostic.' He asked how to spell it, and remarked with a sigh: 'Well, there are many religions, but I suppose they all wors…

    Permalink to quote #192

Related quotes

  1. If I understand Dirac correctly, his meaning is this: there is no God, and Dirac is his Prophet.

    Wolfgang PauliWolfgang Pauli quote #13
  2. It's incredibly flattering, and really ironic. I grew up quoting Fletch and Raising Arizona, and now people quote the flicks I've done back to me. Weird, but n…

    Kevin SmithKevin Smith quote #47
  3. I have heard an atheist defined as a man who had no invisible means of support.

    John BuchanJohn Buchan quote #74