[Bread-Baking Typewriter] A World Falling into Madness... The Power to Postpone Judgment Is Needed

'Why is the world increasingly falling into madness?'

This is a question that the British genius philosopher Bertrand Russell pondered throughout his life. Born in the late 19th century, he devoted his life to exploring freedom and democracy. He constantly questioned why excellent democratic systems experience turmoil and how freedom can be preserved. Having lived through two world wars, Russell deeply agonized over how to save human society from descending into madness.

Russell encapsulated these concerns in his book A Society Without Thought. In this book, he identified 'dogmatic extremism' as the reason the world falls into madness. Dogmatism is the attitude of blindly believing in a particular ideology, religion, or theory. This attitude leads one to accept only information that aligns with their beliefs, ultimately resulting in extremism that rejects and seeks to eliminate the opposing side.

Russell warned that a society dominated by dogmatism is inevitably doomed to destruction. He emphasized, "Whether left or right, one must never succumb to dogmatism," and stressed the importance of firmly believing in the values of individual freedom, academic freedom, and mutual tolerance. Otherwise, in a world overflowing with weapons and new technologies capable of annihilating opponents, survival would be difficult.

History proves how dangerous dogmatism is. Russell criticized how Crusaders and Muslims, Protestants and Papists, communists and fascists wasted time and shed blood because of dogmatism. Under the frame of "We are the truth, the other is heresy," they confronted each other as fanatic groups and lost peace.

Today’s world does not escape Russell’s warning. The 'post-truth era,' where people believe only information that fits their beliefs, has already arrived. Social networking service (SNS) algorithms recommend information tailored to users’ preferences, making it easier for us to fall into the errors of post-truth. As a result, society is increasingly moving toward extremes. It is not uncommon to see people resorting to violence or harming others simply because they dislike decisions made within democratic systems.

Fortunately, Russell also proposed a way to escape dogmatism: the 'power to withhold judgment.' This means cultivating the habit of not rushing to certainty without evidence or solid grounds. He advised that in conversations, instead of asserting "I know this," it is better to say, "I know something somewhat similar to this." Russell said that even a little study of philosophy can help one acquire this attitude.

The attitude that "I might be wrong" leads to embracing others. In fact, the quality Russell said the world needs most today is 'compassion and tolerance.' In these turbulent times, to prevent our society from mutually destroying itself through extremism, we need to reflect on Russell’s words. We cannot build peace on the misfortune of others. The effort to accept those different from ourselves is urgent.

A Society Without Thought | Written by Bertrand Russell | Translated by Jang Seokbong | 21st Century Books | 292 pages | 19,800 KRW