1 Resource on Intellectual Courage
Bertrand Russell held many unpopular and controversial views, however his logic was usually difficult or impossible to refute. In a Free Man’s Worship, Russell peers unblinkingly into the infinite void and arrives at a discomforting conclusion. He thought that the evidence of science indicated that we live in a universe without purpose or plan. He felt that the Laws of Thermodynamics predict that the universe will end in an entropic death, and no matter how humans may strive, their own end, decreed by nature, is certain. Yet, Russell believes that humans may have some freedom of choice. They can thereby assert a ‘subtle mastery over the thoughtless forces of Nature’ and stand ‘proudly defiant of irresistible forces.’ ”