Ideas that have helped mankind is an essay written by Bertrand Russel. In this essay, he talks about the growth of human civilization.
He says that We are civilized today but thousands of years ago we were uncivilized. We were living in jungles and caves like animals.
But today we are civilized. We have the pleasure of Alcohol, music, poetry, Science, and game but Animals don’t have. It is our intellect and moral qualities that make us different from animals.
The ideas that helped most to mankind may be divided into two kinds.
(ii) those that were concerned with morals and politics.
The writer is not sure whether the language began first or fire began first. He says that fire was used for cooking and thus the long history of cookery began.
Writings like speech developed gradually in the form of pictures and speech. Thus, the ideas that have helped mankind is about the growth of our thoughts.
1. Ideas that have helped Mankind is written by ………..
- Bertrand Russell
- Germaine Greer
- Pearl S Buck
- Shiga Naoya
Answer:- Bertrand Russell
2. Bertrand Russell was a philosopher and a ……….[2018]
- scientist
- geologist
- historian
- politician
Answer:- historian
3. Who got Nobel prize in literature in 1950?
- Dr. Zakir Hussain
- Bertrand Russell
- Mahatma Gandhi
- H.E. Bates
Answer:- Bertrand Russell
4. Who wrote, ‘Why I am not a Christian?
- H.E. Bates
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Bertrand Russell
- Shiga Naoya
Answer:- Bertrand Russell
5. When ………….. was a very rare species.
- homo-sapiens
- monkey
- animal
- bird
Answer:- homo-sapiens
6. Which creatures, according to the author die of hunger in large numbers during the winter?
- human beings
- animals
- birds
- plants
Answer:- birds
7. Who were a philosopher, historian, and a mathematician?
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Bertrand Russell
- H.E. Bates
- Dr. Zakir Hussain
Answer:- Bertrand Russell
8. Civilization taught us ………….
- to be friendly towards others
- to be unlawful
- to be rude
- to be a human
Answer:- to be friendly towards others, to be a human
9. ………….. was also a commentator on a large variety of topics.
- Bertrand Russell
- Dr. Zakir Hussain
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Answer:- Bertrand Russell
10. In ………… the last step was never taken.
- India
- China
- Germany
- France
Answer:- China
11. Bertrand Russell belonged to ………..
- Iceland
- Germany
- Ireland
- Britain
Answer:- Britain
12. Long infancy was a biological advantage to ……….
- Animals
- Birds
- Mankind
- Earth
Answer:- Mankind
13. Who progressed in the course of time?
- Animals
- Birds
- Humans
- Cereals
Answer:- Humans
14. The two broad categories of ideas that have helped mankind.
- Imagination and knowledge
- Dream and skill
- Knowledge and technique
- Concern and humanity
Answer:- Knowledge and technique
15. When was Bertrand Russell born?
Answer:- 1872
16. When did Russell die?
Answer:- 1970
17. When was Bertrand Russell awarded with Nobel Prize in literature?
Answer:- 1950
18. After language, the second most important thing which helped mankind was ……
- gold
- silver
- fire
- None of these
Answer:- fire
19. Survival for homo-sapiens primarily was ………
- a problem
- never a problem
- both of them
- None of these
Answer:- a problem
20. Every human death by starvation is preceded by a long period of ……..
- sorrow
- anxiety
- happiness
- None of these
Answer:- anxiety
21. Human beings suffer more due to their ………
- ignorance
- intelligence
- reluctance
- None of these
Answer:- intelligence
22. The invention of ……… was more important than the domestication of animals.
- car
- fire
- agriculture
- None of these
Answer:- agriculture
Subjective
1. What ideas have helped mankind in prehistoric times?
Ans:- There are various ideas that have helped mankind in prehistoric times. They are as follows-
> Invention of fire
> Taming of animals
> Invention of agriculture
> Art of writing
> Invention of language
2. Did language play a major role in the development of mankind?
Ans:- Yes, language has indeed played a major role in the development of mankind with language. We have been able to communicate with each other and share our ideas, feelings, and emotions.
3. How with modern civilization the means of enjoyment increased?
Ans:- The means of enjoyment such as poetry, music, wine, football, mobile, etc. became available to us with the growth of civilization.
But the question is whether they have made us happier than we were earlier.
4. How has civilization taught us to be more friendly towards one another?
Ans:- Civilization gave us family life. We began to live in families and love our children and respect the elders. We also started being fond of domesticated animals.
All this made us be more friendly towards one another.
5. What was the role of fire in our development?
Ans:- The invention of fire proved a milestone in our development. We began to fry our food. It acquainted us with creating light in the darkness and protecting us from wild animals. Later on, it resulted in the art of cookery.
6. How did the domestication of animals start?
Ans:- The domestication of animals started under the influence of religion and the needs of agricultural and family life.
7. What was the condition of man in the beginning?
Ans:- The condition of man, in the beginning, was miserable. They led a nomadic life, lived in caves and jungles. They were afraid of wild animals. In the beginning, they don’t know how to prepare food.
Explanations
1. But I shall be told that is neither numbers nor multiplicity of pleasures ………… moral qualities.
>>> In the essay Ideas that have helped mankind, the writer Bertrand Russell tells us that it is our intellectual and moral qualities that will make us really civilized and cultural.
Simple increasing the number of human beings and amassing the means of comforts will not serve this purpose. It is our intellect that makes us different from animals.
2. The taming of domestic animals …………. more secure.
>>> This line has been taken from the essay, Ideas that have helped mankind written by Bertrand Russell. He thinks that the taming of domestic animals have made life much pleasanter and secure.
It is a milestone in the initiation of agricultural life. People began to grow crops and even eat animals with the invention of fire. Life became stable and comfortable.
3. It is obvious that we know more than animals do, and it is common to consider this, one of our advantages.[2018]
>>> These lines have been taken from the essay Ideas that have helped mankind by Bertrand Russell. He says that it is indeed an advantage that human beings are more intelligent than animals.
With their power of communication and intellect, they are able to establish themselves as superior to all living creatures in this world.
4. Even more important than the domestication of animals was the invention of agriculture, which however introduced bloodthirsty practices.
>>> These lines are from the essay Ideas that have helped mankind written by Bertrand Russell. The writer says that the domestication of animals was very important for human beings.
But the invention of agriculture was even more important than the domestication of animals. Agriculture paved the way for the permanent settlement of human beings. But it introduced bloodthirsty practices.
Sacrifices were given to please the deity of agriculture. Children were sacrificed for more and more crops. It was a very bad practice which were started by human beings.
5. Has civilization taught us to be more friendly towards one another?
>>> The line has been taken from Ideas that have helped mankind which is written by Bertrand Russell. Yes, civilization has taught us to be more friendly toward one another.
Our survival is dependent on helping each other. Without the help of one another, we can’t progress. Co-existence is essential for all beings. All civilization teaches us to live in a friendly manner.
