,italics are marked with underscores4   
,ex ,libris    ,c4 ,k4 ,,ogden          
,,conway ,,memorial ,,lecture           
,,free ,,thought    ,,and    ,,official 
,,propaganda      ,,delivered ,,at      
,,south ,,place ,,institute ,,on        
,,march #bd1 #aibb      ,,by    ,the    
,hon4 ,,bertrand ,,russell1    ,m4,a41  
,f4,r4,s4      7,professor ,graham      
,wallas in the ,chair7      ,,watts     
,,co41    ,,johnson',s ,,court1 ,,fleet 
,,street1 ,e4,c4#d    #aibb             
,,chairman',s ,,introductory ,,address  
,i have come here to-night1 partly      
because ,i want to hear ,mr4 ,russell1  
and partly because of an old affection  
for ,south ,place and its  traditions4  
,i myself have been for more than forty 
years a professional  teacher2 and it is
 as a teacher--who thirty-seven years   
ago was  dismissed for refusing         
religious conformity--that ,i most      
easily approach  the problem of free    
thought4 ,though systems of education   
professing to  teach men and women how  

to think have been in use in ,europe    
for1  perhaps1 three thousand years1 we 
have not yet reached that degree of     
success which would be shown if most    
educated people came to much the  same  
conclusions on the great problems of    
life from a study of the same  evidence4
 ,everywhere you have rebels2 but ninety
 per cent4 of ,french or  ,american     
students of history come to ,french or  
,american conclusions1 and  eighty-five 
per cent4 of ,english students come to  
,english conclusions2  eighty per cent4 
of ,eton boys hold ,eton political      
opinions all their  lives2 ninety per   
cent4 of the ,irish ,catholic population
 of the ,united  ,states seem to hold   
generation after generation identical   
opinions on  religion and politics which
 are not held by the vast majority of   
,americans4 ,it may be said that in     
these cases only one kind of evidence   
is allowed to reach the students in each
 institution4 ,but everybody  reads     
newspapers1 and talks with his          

neighbours1 and travels1 and visits     
museums2 and most intelligent people    
read books and magazines4 ,sooner or    
later much of the same evidence reaches 
us all4 ,i myself believe that  one of  
the main reasons why we do not to a     
greater degree draw the same            
conclusions from that evidence is that  
we do not really learn the  difficult   
art of thought4 ,a boy at school is     
taught to memorize and to  understand   
mathematical formul or foreign languages
 or scientific  statements4 ,but in     
weighing evidence the effort of         
memorizing1 and even  the effort of     
understanding1 are not of the first     
importance4 ,the  effective process is a
 sort of painful and watchful           
expectancy4 ,a  schoolboy or a college  
student finds that he has an            
uncomfortable sense  of unreality in    
repeating some accustomed formula1 or   
writing an essay  to enforce some       
accustomed line of argument4 ,he shrinks
 from that  feeling1 as all animals     

shrink from discomfort4 ,if he were     
taught what  are the conditions of      
effective thought1 and were encouraged  
to act on  that lesson1 he would know   
that it is only by resolutely fastening 
on  such vague and painful premonitions1
 and forcing them to come into full     
consciousness and disclose their deeper 
causes and tendencies that he  can      
arrive at new truth or make some old    
truth his own4    ,but who is going to  
tell him this secret8 ,every day in     
,london thousands  of clever and        
sympathetic boys and girls begin the day
 by sitting  through three-quarters of  
an hour of the dreary 8,cowper-,temple0 
instruction which consists1 as ,bishop  
,temple once said1 of teaching at       
everybody's expense what nobody         
believes4 ,they may be conscious or     
half-conscious of a feeling of          
unreality2 but1 even if they have not   
been taught that it is a sacred duty to 
8struggle against doubt10 they  shrink1 
as the cleverest of them feel that the  

teacher is shrinking1  from any further 
exploration on that path4    ,perhaps   
some day the teachers and students of   
the ordinary school and  college        
subjects may learn something from those 
little isolated  institutions where men 
and women try to prepare themselves for 
the  creative arts4 ,the young painter  
or sculptor or member of a group of     
young poets is often queerly ignorant   
and one-sided4 ,but he lives in  another
 world from that of the big conventional
 sixth-form boy at ,harrow  or ,st4     
,paul's1 or the hockey-playing athlete  
of a girls' ,high ,school1  because he  
has felt the pain and the exhilaration  
reached through pain  by which alone new
 truth and new beauty are born into the 
world4            ,,free ,,thought ,,and
    ,,official ,,propaganda             
,moncure ,conway1 in whose honour we are
 assembled to-day1 devoted his  life to 
two great objects3 freedom of thought   
and freedom of the  individual4 ,in     
regard to both these objects1 something 

has been gained  since his time1 but    
something also has been lost4 ,new      
dangers1 somewhat  different in form    
from those of past ages1 threaten both  
kinds of  freedom1 and unless a vigorous
 and vigilant public opinion can be     
aroused in defence of them1 there will  
be much less of both a hundred  years   
hence than there is now4 ,my purpose in 
this address is to  emphasize the new   
dangers and to consider how they can be 
met4    ,let us begin by trying to be   
clear as to what we mean by 8free       
thought40  ,this expression has two     
senses4 ,in its narrower sense it means 
thought  which does not accept the      
dogmas of traditional religion4 ,in this
 sense  a man is a 8free thinker0 if he 
is not a ,christian or a ,mussulman or a
  ,buddhist or a ,shintoist or a member 
of any of the other bodies of men  who  
accept some inherited orthodoxy4 ,in    
,christian countries a man is  called a 
8free thinker0 if he does not decidedly 
believe in ,god1 though  this would not 

suffice to make a man a 8free thinker0  
in a ,buddhist  country4    ,i do not   
wish to minimize the importance of free 
thought in this sense4  ,i am myself a  
dissenter from all known religions1 and 
,i hope that every  kind of religious   
belief will die out4 ,i do not believe  
that1 on the  balance1 religious belief 
has been a force for good4 ,although ,i 
am  prepared to admit that in certain   
times and places it has had some good   
effects1 ,i regard it as belonging to   
the infancy of human reason1 and to  a  
stage of development which we are now   
outgrowing4    ,but there is also a     
wider sense of 8free thought10 which ,i 
regard as of  still greater importance4 
,indeed1 the harm done by traditional   
religions  seems chiefly traceable to   
the fact that they have prevented free  
thought in this wider sense4 ,the wider 
sense is not so easy to define as  the  
narrower1 and it will be well to spend  
some little time in trying to  arrive at
 its essence4    ,when we speak of      

anything as 8free10 our meaning is not  
definite unless  we can say what it is  
free from4 ,whatever or whoever is      
8free0 is not  subject to some external 
compulsion1 and to be precise we ought  
to say  what this kind of compulsion is4
 ,thus thought is 8free0 when it is free
  from certain kinds of outward control 
which are often present4 ,some of  these
 kinds of control which must be absent  
if thought is to be 8free0  are obvious1
 but others are more subtle and elusive4
    ,to begin with the most obvious4    
,thought is not 8free0 when legal       
penalties are incurred by the holding or
 not holding of certain  opinions1 or by
 giving expression to one's belief or   
lack of belief on  certain matters4     
,very few countries in the world have as
 yet even this  elementary kind of      
freedom4 ,in ,england1 under the        
,blasphemy ,laws1 it is  illegal to     
express disbelief in the ,christian     
religion1 though in  practice the law is
 not set in motion against the          

well-to-do4 ,it is also  illegal to     
teach what ,christ taught on the subject
 of non-resistance4  ,therefore1 whoever
 wishes to avoid becoming a criminal    
must profess to  agree with ,christ's   
teaching1 but must avoid saying what    
that teaching  was4 ,in ,america no one 
can enter the country without first     
solemnly  declaring that he disbelieves 
in anarchism and polygamy2 and1 once    
inside1 he must also disbelieve in      
communism4 ,in ,japan it is illegal to  
express disbelief in the divinity of the
 ,mikado4 ,it will thus be seen  that a 
voyage round the world is a perilous    
adventure4 ,a ,mohammedan1 a            
,tolstoyan1 a ,bolshevik1 or a          
,christian cannot undertake it without  
at  some point becoming a criminal1 or  
holding his tongue about what he        
considers important truths4 ,this1 of   
course1 applies only to steerage        
passengers2 saloon passengers are       
allowed to believe whatever they        
please1 provided they avoid offensive   

obtrusiveness4    ,it is clear that the 
most elementary condition1 if thought is
 to be  free1 is the absence of legal   
penalties for the expression of         
opinions4  ,no great country has yet    
reached to this level1 although most of 
them  think they have4 ,the opinions    
which are still persecuted strike the   
majority as so monstrous and immoral    
that the general principle of           
toleration cannot be held to apply to   
them4 ,but this is exactly the same     
view as that which made possible the    
tortures of the ,inquisition4 ,there    
was a time when ,protestantism seemed as
 wicked as ,bolshevism seems now4       
,please do not infer from this remark   
that ,i am either a ,protestant or a    
,bolshevik4    ,legal penalties are1    
however1 in the modern world1 the least 
of the  obstacles to freedom of         
thoughts4 ,the two great obstacles are  
economic  penalties and distortion of   
evidence4 ,it is clear that thought is  
not  free if the profession of certain  

opinions makes it impossible to earn a  
living4 ,it is clear also that thought  
is not free if all the arguments  on one
 side of a controversy are perpetually  
presented as attractively  as possible1 
while the arguments on the other side   
can only be  discovered by diligent     
search4 ,both these obstacles exist in  
every large  country known to me1 except
 ,china1 which is the last refuge of    
freedom4  ,it is these obstacles with   
which ,i shall be concerned--their      
present  magnitude1 the likelihood of   
their increase1 and the possibility of  
their diminution4    ,we may say that   
thought is free when it is exposed to   
free competition  among beliefs--i4e41  
when all beliefs are able to state their
 case1 and  no legal or pecuniary       
advantages or disadvantages attach to   
beliefs4  ,this is an ideal which1 for  
various reasons1 can never be fully     
attained4 ,but it is possible to        
approach very much nearer to it than we 
do at present4    ,three incidents in my

 own life will serve to show how1 in    
modern  ,england1 the scales are        
weighted in favour of ,christianity4 ,my
 reason  for mentioning them is that    
many people do not at all realize the   
disadvantages to which avowed           
,agnosticism still exposes people4      
,the first incident belongs to a very   
early stage in my life4 ,my father  was 
a ,freethinker1 but died when ,i was    
only three years old4 ,wishing me  to be
 brought up without superstition1 he    
appointed two ,freethinkers as  my      
guardians4 ,the ,courts1 however1 set   
aside his will1 and had me  educated in 
the ,christian faith4 ,i am afraid the  
result was  disappointing1 but that was 
not the fault of the law4 ,if he had    
directed  that ,i should be educated as 
a ,christadelphian or a ,muggletonian or
 a  ,seventh-,day ,adventist1 the       
,courts would not have dreamed of       
objecting4 ,a  parent has a right to    
ordain that any imaginable superstition 
shall be  instilled into his children   

after his death1 but has not the right  
to  say that they shall be kept free    
from superstition if possible4    ,the  
second incident occurred in the year    
#aiaj4 ,i had at that time a  desire to 
stand for ,parliament as a ,liberal1 and
 the ,whips recommended  me to a certain
 constituency4 ,i addressed the ,liberal
 ,association1 who  expressed themselves
 favourably1 and my adoption seemed     
certain4 ,but1 on  being questioned by a
 small inner caucus1 ,i admitted that ,i
 was an  ,agnostic4 ,they asked whether 
the fact would come out1 and ,i said it 
probably would4 ,they asked whether ,i  
should be willing to go to church       
occasionally1 and ,i replied that ,i    
should not4 ,consequently1 they         
selected another candidate1 who was duly
 elected1 has been in ,parliament  ever 
since1 and is a member of the present   
,government4    ,the third incident     
occurred immediately afterwards4 ,i was 
invited by  ,trinity ,college1          
,cambridge1 to become a lecturer1 but   

not a ,fellow4 ,the  difference is not  
pecuniary2 it is that a ,fellow has a   
voice in the  government of the         
,college1 and cannot be dispossessed    
during the term of  his ,fellowship     
except for grave immorality4 ,the chief 
reason for not  offering me a           
,fellowship was that the clerical party 
did not wish to add  to the             
anti-clerical vote4 ,the result was that
 they were able to dismiss  me in #aiaf1
 when they disliked my views on the     
,war4#a ,if ,i had been  dependent on my
 lectureship1 ,i should have starved4   
,these three incidents illustrate       
different kinds of disadvantages        
attaching to avowed freethinking even in
 modern ,england4 ,any other  avowed    
,freethinker could supply similar       
incidents from his personal  experience1
 often of a far more serious character4 
,the net result is  that people who are 
not well-to-do dare not be frank about  
their  religious beliefs4    ,it is not1
 of course1 only or even chiefly in     

regard to religion that  there is lack  
of freedom4 ,belief in communism or free
 love handicaps a  man much more than   
,agnosticism4 ,not only is it a         
disadvantage to hold  those views1 but  
it is very much more difficult to obtain
 publicity for  the arguments in their  
favour4 ,on the other hand1 in ,russia  
the  advantages and disadvantages are   
exactly reversed3 comfort and power are 
achieved by professing ,atheism1        
communism1 and free love1 and no        
opportunity exists for propaganda       
against these opinions4 ,the result is  
that in ,russia one set of fanatics     
feels absolute certainty about one  set 
of doubtful propositions1 while in the  
rest of the world another set  of       
fanatics feels equal certainty about a  
diametrically opposite set of  equally  
doubtful propositions4 ,from such a     
situation war1 bitterness1  and         
persecution inevitably result on both   
sides4    ,william ,james used to preach
 the 8will to believe40 ,for my part1 ,i

  should wish to preach the 8will to    
doubt40 ,none of our beliefs are quite  
true2 all have at least a penumbra of   
vagueness and error4 ,the methods  of   
increasing the degree of truth in our   
beliefs are well known2 they  consist in
 hearing all sides1 trying to ascertain 
all the relevant  facts1 controlling our
 own bias by discussion with people who 
have the  opposite bias1 and cultivating
 a readiness to discard any hypothesis  
which has proved inadequate4 ,these     
methods are practised in science1 and   
have built up the body of scientific    
knowledge4 ,every man of science  whose 
outlook is truly scientific is ready to 
admit that what passes for  scientific  
knowledge at the moment is sure to      
require correction with  the progress of
 discovery2 nevertheless1 it is near    
enough to the truth  to serve for most  
practical purposes1 though not for all4 
,in science1  where alone something     
approximating to genuine knowledge is to
 be found1  men's attitude is tentative 

and full of doubt4    ,in religion and  
politics1 on the contrary1 though there 
is as yet  nothing approaching          
scientific knowledge1 everybody         
considers it de  rigueur to have a      
dogmatic opinion1 to be backed up by    
inflicting  starvation1 prison1 and war1
 and to be carefully guarded from       
argumentative competition with any      
different opinion4 ,if only men could   
be brought into a tentatively agnostic  
frame of mind about these  matters1     
nine-tenths of the evils of the modern  
world would be cured4  ,war would become
 impossible1 because each side would    
realize that both  sides must be in the 
wrong4 ,persecution would cease4        
,education would aim  at expanding the  
mind1 not at narrowing it4 ,men would be
 chosen for jobs  on account of fitness 
to do the work1 not because they        
flattered the  irrational dogmas of     
those in power4 ,thus rational doubt    
alone1 if it  could be generated1 would 
suffice to introduce the millennium4    

,we have had in recent years a brilliant
 example of the scientific temper  of   
mind in the theory of relativity and its
 reception by the world4  ,einstein1 a  
,german-,swiss-,jew pacifist1 was       
appointed to a research  professorship  
by the ,german ,government in the early 
days of the ,war2 his  predictions were 
verified by an ,english expedition which
 observed the  eclipse of #aiai1 very   
soon after the ,armistice4 ,his theory  
upsets the  whole theoretical framework 
of traditional physics2 it is almost as 
damaging to orthodox dynamics as ,darwin
 was to ,genesis4 ,yet physicists       
everywhere have shown complete readiness
 to accept his theory as soon as  it    
appeared that the evidence was in its   
favour4 ,but none of them1 least  of all
 ,einstein himself1 would claim that he 
has said the last word4 ,he  has not    
built a monument of infallible dogma to 
stand for all time4  ,there are         
difficulties he cannot solve2 his       
doctrines will have to be  modified in  

their turn as they have modified        
,newton's4 ,this critical  undogmatic   
receptiveness is the true attitude of   
science4    ,what would have happened if
 ,einstein had advanced something       
equally new  in the sphere of religion  
or politics8 ,english people would have 
found  elements of ,prussianism in his  
theory2 anti-,semites would have        
regarded  it as a ,zionist plot2        
nationalists in all countries would have
 found it  tainted with lily-livered    
pacifism1 and proclaimed it a mere dodge
 for  escaping military service4 ,all   
the old-fashioned professors would have 
approached ,scotland ,yard to get the   
importation of his writings  prohibited4
 ,teachers favourable to him would have 
been dismissed4 ,he1  meantime1 would   
have captured the ,government of some   
backward country1  where it would have  
become illegal to teach anything except 
his  doctrine1 which would have grown   
into a mysterious dogma not understood  
by anybody4 ,ultimately the truth or    

falsehood of his doctrine would be      
decided on the battlefield1 without the 
collection of any fresh evidence  for or
 against it4 ,this method is the logical
 outcome of ,william ,james's  will to  
believe4    ,what is wanted is not the  
will to believe1 but the wish to find   
out1  which is its exact opposite4      
,if it is admitted that a condition of  
rational doubt would be desirable1  it  
becomes important to inquire how it     
comes about that there is so much       
irrational certainty in the world4 ,a   
great deal of this is due to the        
inherent irrationality and credulity of 
average human nature4 ,but this  seed of
 intellectual original sin is nourished 
and fostered by other  agencies1 among  
which three play the chief part--namely1
 education1  propaganda1 and economic   
pressure4 ,let us consider these in     
turn4    7#a7 ,education4--,elementary  
education1 in all advanced countries1 is
 in  the hands of the ,state4 ,some of  
the things taught are known to be false 

by the officials who prescribe them1 and
 many others are known to be  false1 or 
at any rate very doubtful1 by every     
unprejudiced person4 ,take1  for        
example1 the teaching of history4 ,each 
nation aims only at  self-glorification 
in the school text-books of history4    
,when a man  writes his autobiography he
 is expected to show a certain modesty2 
but  when a nation writes its           
autobiography there is no limit to its  
boasting  and vainglory4 ,when ,i was   
young1 school books taught that the     
,french  were wicked and the ,germans   
virtuous2 now they teach the opposite4  
,in  neither case is there the slightest
 regard for truth4 ,german school       
books1 dealing with the battle of       
,waterloo1 represent ,wellington as all 
but defeated when ,blcher saved the     
situation2 ,english books represent     
,blcher as having made very little      
difference4 ,the writers of both the    
,german and the ,english books know that
 they are not telling the truth4        

,american school books used to be       
violently anti-,british2 since the ,war 
they have become equally pro-,british1  
without aiming at truth in either  case 
7see ,the ,freeman1 ,feb4 #ae1 #aibb1 p4
 #ecb74 ,both before and since1  one of 
the chief purposes of education in the  
,united ,states has been to  turn the   
motley collection of immigrant children 
into 8good ,americans40  ,apparently it 
has not occurred to any one that a 8good
 ,american10 like a  8good ,german0 or a
 8good ,japanese10 must be1 pro tanto1 a
 bad human  being4 ,a 8good ,american0  
is a man or woman imbued with the belief
 that  ,america is the finest country on
 earth1 and ought always to be          
enthusiastically supported in any       
quarrel4 ,it is just possible that      
these propositions are true2 if so1 a   
rational man will have no quarrel  with 
them4 ,but if they are true1 they ought 
to be taught everywhere1 not  only in   
,america4 ,it is a suspicious           
circumstance that such propositions  are

 never believed outside the particular  
country which they glorify4  ,meanwhile 
the whole machinery of the ,state1 in   
all the different  countries1 is turned 
on to making defenceless children       
believe absurd  propositions the effect 
of which is to make them willing to die 
in  defence of sinister interests under 
the impression that they are  fighting  
for truth and right4 ,this is only one  
of countless ways in  which education is
 designed1 not to give true knowledge1  
but to make the  people pliable to the  
will of their masters4 ,without an      
elaborate system  of deceit in the      
elementary schools it would be          
impossible to preserve  the camouflage  
of democracy4    ,before leaving the    
subject of education1 ,i will take      
another example  from ,america#b--not   
because ,america is any worse than other
 countries1  but because it is the most 
modern1 showing the dangers that are    
growing  rather than those that are     
diminishing4 ,in the ,state of ,new     

,york a  school cannot be established   
without a licence from the ,state1 even 
if  it is to be supported wholly by     
private funds4 ,a recent law decrees    
that  a licence shall not be granted to 
any school 8where it shall appear that  
the instruction proposed to be given    
includes the teachings of the  doctrine 
that organized ,governments shall be    
overthrown by force1  violence1 or      
unlawful means40 ,as the ,new ,republic 
points out1 there is  no limitation to  
this or that organized ,government4 ,the
 law therefore  would have made it      
illegal1 during the ,war1 to teach the  
doctrine that  the ,kaiser's ,government
 should be overthrown by force2 and1    
since then1  the support of ,kolchak or 
,denikin against the ,soviet ,government
 would  have been illegal4 ,such        
consequences1 of course1 were not       
intended1 and  result only from bad     
draughtsmanship4 ,what was intended     
appears from  another law passed at the 
same time1 applying to teachers in      

,state  schools4 ,this law provides that
 certificates permitting persons to     
teach  in such schools shall be issued  
only to those who have 8shown           
satisfactorily0 that they are 8loyal and
 obedient to the ,government of  this   
,state and of the ,united ,states10 and 
shall be refused to those who  have     
advocated1 no matter where or when1 8a  
form of government other  than the      
,government of this ,state or of the    
,united ,states40 ,the  committee which 
framed these laws1 as quoted by the ,new
 ,republic1 laid  it down that the      
teacher who 8does not approve of the    
present social  system444444must        
surrender his office10 and that 8no     
person who is not  eager to combat the  
theories of social change should be     
entrusted with  the task of fitting the 
young and old for the responsibilities  
of  citizenship40 ,thus1 according to   
the law of the ,state of ,new ,york1    
,christ and ,george ,washington were too
 degraded morally to be fit for the     

education of the young4 ,if ,christ were
 to go to ,new ,york and say1  8,suffer 
the little children to come unto me10   
the ,president of the ,new  ,york       
,school ,board would reply3 8,sir1 ,i   
see no evidence that you are  eager to  
combat theories of social change4       
,indeed1 ,i have heard it said  that you
 advocate what you call the kingdom of  
heaven1 whereas this  country1 thank    
,god1 is a republic4 ,it is clear that  
the ,government of  your kingdom of     
heaven would differ materially from that
 of ,new ,york  ,state1 therefore no    
children will be allowed access to you40
 ,if he  failed to make this reply1 he  
would not be doing his duty as a        
functionary entrusted with the          
administration of the law4    ,the      
effect of such laws is very serious4    
,let it be granted1 for the sake  of    
argument1 that the government and the   
social system in the ,state of  ,new    
,york are the best that have ever       
existed on this planet2 yet even  then  

both would presumably be capable of     
improvement4 ,any person who  admits    
this obvious proposition is by law      
incapable of teaching in a  ,state      
school4 ,thus the law decrees that the  
teachers shall all be either  hypocrites
 or fools4    ,the growing danger       
exemplified by the ,new ,york law is    
that resulting  from the monopoly of    
power in the hands of a single          
organization1  whether the ,state or a  
,trust or federation of ,trusts4 ,in the
 case of  education1 the power is in the
 hands of the ,state1 which can prevent 
the  young from hearing of any doctrine 
which it dislikes4 ,i believe there  are
 still some people who think that a     
democratic ,state is scarcely           
distinguishable from the people4 ,this1 
however1 is a delusion4 ,the ,state  is 
a collection of officials1 different for
 different purposes1 drawing            
comfortable incomes so long as the      
status quo is preserved4 ,the only      
alteration they are likely to desire in 

the status quo is an increase  of       
bureaucracy and of the power of         
bureaucrats4 ,it is1 therefore1  natural
 that they should take advantage of such
 opportunities as war  excitement to    
acquire inquisitorial powers over their 
employees1  involving the right to      
inflict starvation upon any subordinate 
who  opposes them4 ,in matters of the   
mind1 such as education1 this state of  
affairs is fatal4 ,it puts an end to all
 possibility of progress or  freedom or 
intellectual initiative4 ,yet it is the 
natural result of  allowing the whole of
 elementary education to fall under the 
sway of a  single organization4         
,religious toleration1 to a certain     
extent1 has been won because people     
have ceased to consider religion so     
important as it was once thought to  be4
 ,but in politics and economics1 which  
have taken the place formerly  occupied 
by religion1 there is a growing tendency
 to persecution1 which  is not by any   
means confined to one party4 ,the       

persecution of opinion in  ,russia is   
more severe than in any capitalist      
country4 ,i met in ,petrograd  an       
eminent ,russian poet1 ,alexander       
,block1 who has since died as the       
result of privations4 ,the ,bolsheviks  
allowed him to teach sthetics1 but  he  
complained that they insisted on his    
teaching the subject 8from a  ,marxian  
point of view40 ,he had been at a loss  
to discover how the theory  of rhythmics
 was connected with ,marxism1 although1 
to avoid starvation1  he had done his   
best to find out4 ,of course1 it has    
been impossible in  ,russia ever since  
the ,bolsheviks came into power to print
 anything  critical of the dogmas upon  
which their regime is founded4    ,the  
examples of ,america and ,russia        
illustrate the conclusion to which we   
seem to be driven--namely1 that so long 
as men continue to have the  present    
fanatical belief in the importance of   
politics free thought on  political     
matters will be impossible1 and there is

 only too much danger  that the lack of 
freedom will spread to all other        
matters1 as it has  done in ,russia4    
,only some degree of political          
scepticism can save us  from this       
misfortune4    ,it must not be supposed 
that the officials in charge of         
education desire  the young to become   
educated4 ,on the contrary1 their       
problem is to  impart information       
without imparting intelligence4         
,education should have  two objects3    
first1 to give definite                 
knowledge--reading and writing1         
languages and mathematics1 and so on2   
secondly1 to create those mental  habits
 which will enable people to acquire    
knowledge and form sound  judgments for 
themselves4 ,the first of these we may  
call information1  the second           
intelligence4 ,the utility of           
information is admitted  practically as 
well as theoretically2 without a        
literate population a  modern ,state is 
impossible4 ,but the utility of         

intelligence is admitted  only          
theoretically1 not practically2 it is   
not desired that ordinary  people should
 think for themselves1 because it is    
felt that people who  think for         
themselves are awkward to manage and    
cause administrative  difficulties4     
,only the guardians1 in ,plato's        
language1 are to think2 the  rest are to
 obey1 or to follow leaders like a herd 
of sheep4 ,this  doctrine1 often        
unconsciously1 has survived the         
introduction of  political democracy1   
and has radically vitiated all national 
systems of  education4    ,the country  
which has succeeded best in giving      
information without  intelligence is the
 latest addition to modern civilization1
 ,japan4  ,elementary education in      
,japan is said to be admirable from the 
point of  view of instruction4 ,but1 in 
addition to instruction1 it has another 
purpose1 which is to teach worship of   
the ,mikado--a far stronger creed  now  
than before ,japan became modernized4#c 

,thus the schools have been  used       
simultaneously to confer knowledge and  
to promote superstition4  ,since we are 
not tempted to ,mikado-worship1 we see  
clearly what is  absurd in ,japanese    
teaching4 ,our own national             
superstitions strike us as  natural and 
sensible1 so that we do not take such a 
true view of them as  we do of the      
superstitions of ,nippon4 ,but if a     
travelled ,japanese were  to maintain   
the thesis that our schools teach       
superstitions just as  inimical to      
intelligence as belief in the divinity  
of the ,mikado1 ,i  suspect that he     
would be able to make out a very good   
case4    ,for the present ,i am not in  
search of remedies1 but am only         
concerned  with diagnosis4 ,we are faced
 with the paradoxical fact that         
education  has become one of the chief  
obstacles to intelligence and freedom of
  thought4 ,this is due primarily to the
 fact that the ,state claims a          
monopoly2 but that is by no means the   

sole cause4    7#b7 ,propaganda4--,our  
system of education turns young people  
out of the  schools able to read1 but   
for the most part unable to weigh       
evidence or  to form an independent     
opinion4 ,they are then assailed1       
throughout the  rest of their lives1 by 
statements designed to make them believe
 all  sorts of absurd propositions1 such
 as that ,blank's pills cure all ills1  
that ,spitzbergen is warm and fertile1  
and that ,germans eat corpses4 ,the  art
 of propaganda1 as practised by modern  
politicians and governments1  is derived
 from the art of advertisement4 ,the    
science of psychology owes  a great deal
 to advertisers4 ,in former days most   
psychologists would  probably have      
thought that a man could not convince   
many people of the  excellence of his   
own wares by merely stating emphatically
 that they  were excellent4 ,experience 
shows1 however1 that they were mistaken 
in  this4 ,if ,i were to stand up once  
in a public place and state that ,i am  

the most modest man alive1 ,i should be 
laughed at2 but if ,i could raise       
enough money to make the same statement 
on all the busses and on  hoardings     
along all the principal railway lines1  
people would presently  become convinced
 that ,i had an abnormal shrinking from 
publicity4 ,if ,i  were to go to a small
 shopkeeper and say3 8,look at your     
competitor over  the way1 he is getting 
your business2 don't you think it would 
be a good  plan to leave your business  
and stand up in the middle of the road  
and  try to shoot him before he shoots  
you80--if ,i were to say this1 any      
small shopkeeper would think me mad4    
,but when the ,government says it  with 
emphasis and a brass band1 the small    
shopkeepers become  enthusiastic1 and   
are quite surprised when they find      
afterwards that  business has suffered4 
,propaganda1 conducted by the means     
which  advertisers have found           
successful1 is now one of the recognized
 methods  of government in all advanced 

countries1 and is especially the method 
by  which democratic opinion is created4
    ,there are two quite different evils
 about propaganda as now practised4  ,on
 the one hand1 its appeal is generally  
to irrational causes of belief  rather  
than to serious argument2 on the other  
hand1 it gives an unfair  advantage to  
those who can obtain most publicity1    
whether through wealth  or through      
power4 ,for my part1 ,i am inclined to  
think that too much fuss  is sometimes  
made about the fact that propaganda     
appeals to emotion  rather than reason4 
,the line between emotion and reason is 
not so sharp  as some people think4     
,moreover1 a clever man could frame a   
sufficiently  rational argument in      
favour of any position which has any    
chance of  being adopted4 ,there are    
always good arguments on both sides of  
any real  issue4 ,definite              
mis-statements of fact can be           
legitimately objected to1  but they are 
by no means necessary4 ,the mere words  

8,pear's ,soap10 which  affirm nothing1 
cause people to buy that article4 ,if1  
wherever these  words appear1 they were 
replaced by the words 8,the ,labour     
,party10  millions of people would be   
led to vote for the ,labour ,party1     
although  the advertisements had claimed
 no merit for it whatever4 ,but if both 
sides in a controversy were confined by 
law to statements which a  committee of 
eminent logicians considered relevant   
and valid1 the main  evil of propaganda1
 as at present conducted1 would remain4 
,suppose1  under such a law1 two parties
 with an equally good case1 one of whom 
had  a million pounds to spend on       
propaganda1 while the other had only a  
hundred thousand4 ,it is obvious that   
the arguments in favour of the  richer  
party would become more widely known    
than those in favour of the  poorer     
party1 and therefore the richer party   
would win4 ,this situation  is1 of      
course1 intensified when one party is   
the ,government4 ,in ,russia  the       

,government has an almost complete      
monopoly of propaganda1 but that  is not
 necessary4 ,the advantages which it    
possesses over its opponents  will      
generally be sufficient to give it the  
victory1 unless it has an  exceptionally
 bad case4    ,the objection to         
propaganda is not only its appeal to    
unreason1 but  still more the unfair    
advantage which it gives to the rich and
 powerful4  ,equality of opportunity    
among opinions is essential if there is 
to be  real freedom of thought2 and     
equality of opportunity among opinions  
can  only be secured by elaborate laws  
directed to that end1 which there is  no
 reason to expect to see enacted4 ,the  
cure is not to be sought  primarily in  
such laws1 but in better education and a
 more sceptical  public opinion4 ,for   
the moment1 however1 ,i am not concerned
 to discuss  cures4    7#c7 ,economic   
pressure4--,i have already dealt with   
some aspects of this  obstacle to       
freedom of thought1 but ,i wish now to  

deal with it on more  general lines1 as 
a danger which is bound to increase     
unless very  definite steps are taken to
 counteract it4 ,the supreme example of 
economic pressure applied against       
freedom of thought is ,soviet ,russia1  
where1 until the trade agreement1 the   
,government could and did inflict       
starvation upon people whose opinions it
 disliked--for example1  ,kropotkin4    
,but in this respect ,russia is only    
somewhat ahead of other  countries4 ,in 
,france1 during the ,dreyfus affair1 any
 teacher would have  lost his position  
if he had been in favour of ,dreyfus at 
the start or  against him at the end4   
,in ,america at the present day ,i doubt
 if a  university professor1 however    
eminent1 could get employment if he were
  to criticize the ,standard ,oil       
,company1 because all college presidents
  have received or hope to receive      
benefactions from ,mr4 ,rockefeller4    
,throughout ,america ,socialists are    
marked men1 and find it extremely       

difficult to obtain work unless they    
have great gifts4 ,the tendency1  which 
exists wherever industrialism is well   
developed1 for trusts and  monopolies to
 control all industry1 leads to a       
diminution of the number  of possible   
employers1 so that it becomes easier and
 easier to keep  secret black books by  
means of which any one not subservient  
to the  great corporations can be       
starved4 ,the growth of monopolies is   
introducing in ,america many of the     
evils associated with ,state ,socialism 
as it has existed in ,russia4 ,from the 
standpoint of liberty1 it makes no      
difference to a man whether his only    
possible employer is the ,state or a    
,trust4    ,in ,america1 which is the   
most advanced country industrially1 and 
to a  lesser extent in other countries  
which are approximating to the ,american
  condition1 it is necessary for the    
average citizen1 if he wishes to make  a
 living1 to avoid incurring the         
hostility of certain big men4 ,and these

  big men have an outlook--religious1   
moral1 and political--with which  they  
expect their employees to agree1 at     
least outwardly4 ,a man who  openly     
dissents from ,christianity1 or believes
 in a relaxation of the  marriage laws1 
or objects to the power of the great    
corporations1 finds  ,america a very    
uncomfortable country1 unless he happens
 to be an eminent  writer4 ,exactly the 
same kind of restraints upon freedom of 
thought are  bound to occur in every    
country where economic organization has 
been  carried to the point of practical 
monopoly4 ,therefore the safeguarding   
of liberty in the world which is growing
 up is far more difficult than  it was  
in the nineteenth century1 when free    
competition was still a  reality4       
,whoever cares about the freedom of the 
mind must face this  situation fully and
 frankly1 realizing the inapplicability 
of methods  which answered well enough  
while industrialism was in its infancy4 
,there are two simple principles which1 

if they were adopted1 would solve       
almost all social problems4 ,the first  
is that education should have for  one  
of its aims to teach people only to     
believe propositions when there  is some
 reason to think that they are true4    
,the second is that jobs  should be     
given solely for fitness to do the work4
    ,to take the second point first4    
,the habit of considering a man's       
religious1 moral1 and political opinions
 before appointing him to a post  or    
giving him a job is the modern form of  
persecution1 and it is likely  to become
 quite as efficient as the ,inquisition 
ever was4 ,the old  liberties can be    
legally retained without being of the   
slightest use4  ,if1 in practice1       
certain opinions lead a man to starve1  
it is poor  comfort to him to know that 
his opinions are not punishable by law4 
,there is a certain public feeling      
against starving men for not belonging  
to the ,church of ,england1 or for      
holding slightly unorthodox opinions in 

politics4 ,but there is hardly any      
feeling against the rejection of        
,atheists or ,mormons1 extreme          
communists1 or men who advocate free    
love4  ,such men are thought to be      
wicked1 and it is considered only       
natural to  refuse to employ them4      
,people have hardly yet waked up to the 
fact that  this refusal1 in a highly    
industrial ,state1 amounts to a very    
rigorous  form of persecution4    ,if   
this danger were adequately realized1 it
 would be possible to rouse  public     
opinion1 and to secure that a man's     
beliefs should not be  considered in    
appointing him to a post4 ,the          
protection of minorities is  vitally    
important2 and even the most orthodox of
 us may find himself in  a minority some
 day1 so that we all have an interest in
 restraining the  tyranny of majorities4
 ,nothing except public opinion can     
solve this  problem4 ,socialism would   
make it somewhat more acute1 since it   
would  eliminate the opportunities that 

now arise through exceptional           
employers4 ,every increase in the size  
of industrial undertakings makes  it    
worse1 since it diminishes the number of
 independent employers4 ,the  battle    
must be fought exactly as the battle of 
religious toleration was  fought4 ,and  
as in that case1 so in this1 a decay in 
the intensity of  belief is likely to   
prove the decisive factor4 ,while men   
were convinced  of the absolute truth of
 ,catholicism or ,protestantism1 as the 
case might  be1 they were willing to    
persecute on account of them4 ,while men
 are  quite certain of their modern     
creeds1 they will persecute on their    
behalf4 ,some element of doubt is       
essential to the practice1 though not   
to the theory1 of toleration4 ,and this 
brings me to my other point1  which     
concerns the aims of education4    ,if  
there is to be toleration in the world1 
one of the things taught in  schools    
must be the habit of weighing evidence1 
and the practice of not  giving full    

assent to propositions which there is no
 reason to believe  true4 ,for example1 
the art of reading the newspapers should
 be taught4  ,the schoolmaster should   
select some incident which happened a   
good many  years ago1 and roused        
political passions in its day4 ,he      
should then read  to the school children
 what was said by the newspapers on one 
side1 what  was said by those on the    
other1 and some impartial account of    
what  really happened4 ,he should show  
how1 from the biased account of either  
side1 a practised reader could infer    
what really happened1 and he should     
make them understand that everything in 
newspapers is more or less  untrue4 ,the
 cynical scepticism which would result  
from this teaching  would make the      
children in later life immune from those
 appeals to  idealism by which decent   
people are induced to further the       
schemes of  scoundrels4    ,history     
should be taught in the same way4       
,napoleon's campaigns of #ahac  and     

#ahad1 for instance1 might be studied in
 the ,moniteur1 leading up  to the      
surprise which ,parisians felt when they
 saw the ,allies arriving  under the    
walls of ,paris after they had          
7according to the official  bulletins7  
been beaten by ,napoleon in every       
battle4 ,in the more advanced  classes1 
students should be encouraged to count  
the number of times that  ,lenin has    
been assassinated by ,trotsky1 in order 
to learn contempt for  death4 ,finally1 
they should be given a school history   
approved by the  ,government1 and asked 
to infer what a ,french school history  
would say  about our wars with ,france4 
,all this would be a far better training
 in  citizenship than the trite moral   
maxims by which some people believe     
that civic duty can be inculcated4      
,it must1 ,i think1 be admitted that the
 evils of the world are due to  moral   
defects quite as much as to lack of     
intelligence4 ,but the human  race has  
not hitherto discovered any method of   

eradicating moral  defects2 preaching   
and exhortation only add hypocrisy to   
the previous  list of vices4            
,intelligence1 on the contrary1 is      
easily improved by  methods known to    
every competent educator4 ,therefore1   
until some method  of teaching virtue   
has been discovered1 progress will have 
to be sought  by improvement of         
intelligence rather than of morals4 ,one
 of the chief  obstacles to intelligence
 is credulity1 and credulity could be   
enormously diminished by instruction as 
to the prevalent forms of  mendacity4   
,credulity is a greater evil in the     
present day than it ever  was before1   
because1 owing to the growth of         
education1 it is much easier  than it   
used to be to spread misinformation1    
and1 owing to democracy1  the spread of 
misinformation is more important than in
 former times to  the holders of power4 
,hence the increase in the circulation  
of  newspapers4    ,if ,i am asked how  
the world is to be induced to adopt     

these two  maxims--namely 7#a7 that jobs
 should be given to people on account of
  their fitness to perform them2 7#b7   
that one aim of education should be  to 
cure people of the habit of believing   
propositions for which there is  no     
evidence--,i can only say that it must  
be done by generating an  enlightened   
public opinion4 ,and an enlightened     
public opinion can only  be generated by
 the efforts of those who desire that it
 should exist4 ,i  do not believe that  
the economic changes advocated by       
,socialists will1  of themselves1 do    
anything towards curing the evils we    
have been  considering4 ,i think that1  
whatever happens in politics1 the trend 
of  economic development will make the  
preservation of mental freedom          
increasingly difficult1 unless public   
opinion insists that the employer  shall
 control nothing in the life of the     
employee except his work4  ,freedom in  
education could easily be secured1 if it
 were desired1 by  limiting the function

 of the ,state to inspection and        
payment1 and  confining inspection      
rigidly to the definite instruction4    
,but that1 as  things stand1 would leave
 education in the hands of the          
,churches1  because1 unfortunately1 they
 are more anxious to teach their beliefs
  than ,freethinkers are to teach their 
doubts4 ,it would1 however1 give a  free
 field1 and would make it possible for a
 liberal education to be  given if it   
were really desired4 ,more than that    
ought not to be asked of  the law4      
,my plea throughout this address has    
been for the spread of the  scientific  
temper1 which is an altogether different
 thing from the  knowledge of scientific
 results4 ,the scientific temper is     
capable of  regenerating mankind and    
providing an issue for all our troubles4
 ,the  results of science1 in the form  
of mechanism1 poison gas1 and the yellow
  press1 bid fair to lead to the total  
downfall of our civilization4 ,it is  a 
curious antithesis1 which a ,martian    

might contemplate with amused           
detachment4 ,but for us it is a matter  
of life and death4 ,upon its issue      
depends the question whether our        
grandchildren are to live in a happier  
world1 or are to exterminate each other 
by scientific methods1 leaving  perhaps 
to negroes and ,papuans the future      
destinies of mankind4                   
,,appendix      ,,the ,,conway          
,,memorial ,,lectureship      ,at a     
general meeting of the ,south ,place    
,ethical ,society1 held on ,october     
#bb1 #aijh1 it was resolved1 after full 
discussion1 that an effort should  be   
made to establish a series of lectures1 
to be printed and widely  circulated1 as
 a permanent ,memorial to ,dr4 ,conway4 
,moncure ,conway's untiring zeal for the
 emancipation of the human mind  from   
the thraldom of obsolete or waning      
beliefs1 his pleadings for  sympathy    
with the oppressed and for a wider and  
profounder conception of  human         
fraternity than the world has yet       

reached1 claim1 it is urged1 an         
offering of gratitude more permanent    
than the eloquent obituary or           
reverential service of mourning4    ,the
 range of the lectures 7of which the    
thirteenth is published  herewith7 must 
be regulated by the financial support   
accorded to the  scheme2 but it is hoped
 that sufficient funds will be          
eventually  forthcoming for the         
endowment of periodical lectures by     
distinguished  public men1 to further   
the cause of social1 political1 and     
religious  freedom1 with which ,dr4     
,conway's name must ever be associated4 
,the ,conway ,memorial ,lecture         
,committee1 although not yet in         
possession of  the necessary capital for
 the permanent endowment of the         
,lectureship1  have inaugurated and     
maintained the work while inviting      
further  contributions4 ,the funds in   
hand1 together with those which may     
reasonably be expected from supporters  
of the ,movement1 will ensure the       

delivery of an annual lecture for some  
years at least4    ,the ,committee      
earnestly appeal for either donations or
 subscriptions  from year to year until 
the ,memorial is permanently            
established4  ,contributions may be     
forwarded to the ,hon4 ,treasurer4      
,on behalf of the ,executive            
,committee3--    7,mrs47 ,c4 ,fletcher  
,smith and ,ernest ,carr1 ,hon4         
,secretaries4    7,mrs47 ,f4 ,m4        
,cockburn1 ,hon4 ,treasurer1            
8,peradeniya10 ,northampton ,road1      
,croydon4        ,,printed ,,by ,,watts 
,,and ,,co41 ,,johnson',s ,,court1      
,,fleet ,,street1 ,e4,c4#d4             
,footnotes      #a ,i should add that   
they re-appointed me later1 when war    
passions had  begun to cool4    #b ,see 
,the ,new ,republic1 ,feb4 #a1 #aibb1 p4
 #bei ff4    #c ,see ,the ,invention of 
a ,new ,religion4 ,by ,professor        
,chamberlain1 of  ,tokio4 ,published by 
the ,rationalist ,press ,association4   
7,now out of  print47