Bertrand Russell (1872 – 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, and social critic. He won the Nobel Prize in literature for his humanitarian ideals, discovered the Russell’s Paradox, and co-authored the Principia Mathematica. Russel’s final political statement was to condemn Israeli aggression in the Middle East, and was presented in a conference in Cairo, one day after his death. No nation was ever so virtuous as each believes itself, and none was ever so wicked as each believes the other. This quote reminds me of an excellent TED talk on empathy.