it is of course possible that all or any of our beliefs may be mistaken, and therefore all ought to be held with at least some slight element of doubt. but we cannot have reason to reject a belief except on the ground of some other belief. hence, by organising our instinctive beliefs and their consequences, by considering which among them is most possible, if necessary, to modify or abandon, we can arrive, on the basis of accepting as our sole data what we instinctively believe, at an orderly systematic organisation of our knowledge, in which, though the possibility of error remains, its likelihood is diminished by the interrelation of the parts and by the critical scrutiny which has preceded acquiescence.
this is an incredibly verbose and seemingly unedited passage by Bertrand Russell. "the problems of philosophy" is a good book, but Russell seems to flip-flop between arguments three times every paragraph, but regardless, I am certainly enjoying the book, from the (very) little I've read. xx // I also just received a philosophy book from a college in america, and this is a passage:
the desire for sex is natural but usually can be overcome; and when it can be, it should be because satisfaction of the sexual drive gives intense pleasure. but it involves one in relationships that are usually ultimately more painful than pleasant, and are often extremely painful.
