“Sin is geographical.”

— Bertrand Russell

Last update Sept. 29, 2023. History

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Bertrand Russell 562

logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and politi… 1872–1970

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“It seems that sin is geographical.”

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist

From this conclusion, it is only a small step to the further conclusion that the notion of "sin" is illusory, and that the cruelty habitually practised in punishing it is unnecessary.
A Fresh Look at Empiricism: 1927-42 (1996), p. 283
Attributed from posthumous publications

“It seems that sin is geographical. From this conclusion, it is only a small step to the further conclusion that the notion of "sin" is illusory, and that the cruelty habitually practised in punishing it is unnecessary.”

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist

A Fresh Look at Empiricism: 1927-42 (1996), p. 283
Attributed from posthumous publications

“In the deepest sense, the being in a state of sin is the sin, the particular sins are not the continuation of sin, they are expressions of its continuation.”

Sören Kierkegaard (1813–1855) Danish philosopher and theologian, founder of Existentialism

Source: The Sickness Unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition for Upbuilding and Awakening

“The real sin — perhaps it is a sin against the Holy Ghost for which there is no remission — is the sin of heresy, the sin of thinking for oneself.”

Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936) 19th-20th century Spanish writer and philosopher

The Tragic Sense of Life (1913), IV : The Essence of Catholicism
Context: The real sin — perhaps it is a sin against the Holy Ghost for which there is no remission — is the sin of heresy, the sin of thinking for oneself. The saying has been heard before now, here in Spain, that to be a liberal — that is, a heretic — is worse than being an assassin, a thief, or an adulterer. The gravest sin is not to obey the Church, whose infallibility protects us from reason.

“Then love is sin, and let me sinful be.”

John Donne (1572–1631) English poet

“Who is allowed to sin, sins less.”
Cui peccare licet, peccat minus.

Ovid book Amores

Book III, iv, 9
Amores (Love Affairs)

“The only sin is the sin of being born.”

Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) Irish novelist, playwright, and poet

As quoted in "Samuel Beckett Talks About Beckett" by John Gruen, in Vogue, (December 1969), p. 210
Comparable to "The tragic figure represents the expiation of original sin, of the original and eternal sin of him and all his 'soci malorum,' the sin of having been born. 'Pues el delito mayor / Del hombre es haber nacido.'" from his essay Proust, quoting Pedro Calderón de la Barca's La vida es sueño (Life is a Dream).