Critical Thinking Quotes

• The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Education, Teacher, Teaching

  Martin Luther King (1992). “The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr”, p.124, Univ of California Press

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• Governments don't want a population capable of critical thinking, they want obedient workers, people just smart enough to run the machines and just dumb enough to passively accept their situation.You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own, and control the corporations. They've long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear.

  George Carlin

  Running, Smart, Thinking

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• It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

  Aristotle

  Inspirational, Motivational, Leadership

  Attributed to Aristotle in "Religion and the Pursuit of Truth" by Lowell Lindsay Bennion, p. 52, 1959.

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• Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

  Mark Twain

  Inspirational, Motivational, Change

  Mark Twain (2016). “The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain”, p.97, Chartwell

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• Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.

  Henry Ford

  Inspirational, Funny, Motivational

  The High School Teacher, Vol. XI, 1935.

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• Learn to use your brain power. Critical thinking is the key to creative problem solving in business.

  Richard Branson

  Thinking, Keys, Creative

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• Too often we... enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

  John F. Kennedy

  Wisdom, Thinking, Government

  Yale University Commencement Address, delivered 11 June 1962

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• Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with hard work.

  Adrienne Rich

  Strong Women, Hard Work, Mean

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  A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.

  William James

  Motivational, Inspiring, Attitude

  "American Treasury, 1455 - 1955". Book by Clifton Fadimany, 1455 - 1955, 1955.

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• If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.

  George S. Patton

  Motivational, Business, Military

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• It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well.

  Rene Descartes

  Inspirational, Education, Teaching

  "Discourse on the Method". Book by Rene Descartes (Part 1), 1637.

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• The most fundamental attack on freedom is the attack on critical thinking skills.

  Travis Nichols

  Thinking, Skills, Fundamentals

  "Scratches in the Temple Wall - An Interview with Travis Nichols". Interview with Paul Killebrew, logger.believermag.com. July 29, 2013.

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• To every complex question there is a simple answer and it is wrong.

  H. L. Mencken

  Simple, Thinking, Answers

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• The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself.

  H. L. Mencken

  Men, Thinking, Social Taboos

  H.L. Mencken (2012). “Mencken Chrestomathy”, p.145, Vintage

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• Governments don't want a population capable of critical thinking, they want obedient workers, people just smart enough to run the machines and just dumb enough to passively accept their situation.

  George Carlin

  Running, Smart, Thinking

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• Obstacles, of course, are developmentally necessary: they teach kids strategy, patience, critical thinking, resilience and resourcefulness.

  Naomi Wolf

  Kids, Thinking, Resilience

  "This pampered private school elite can only lead to US decline" by Naomi Wolf, www.theguardian.com. March 22, 2012.

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• The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks.

  Christopher Hitchens

  Lying, Independent, Thinking

  Christopher Hitchens (2009). “Letters to a Young Contrarian”, p.3, Basic Books

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• It is especially important to encourage unorthodox thinking when the situation is critical

  Boris Yeltsin

  Thinking, Important, Unorthodox

  Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1990). “Against the grain: an autobiography”, Simon & Schuster

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  Do not indoctrinate your children. Teach them how to think for themselves, how to evaluate evidence, and how to disagree with you.

  Richard Dawkins

  Education, Atheist, Children

  Richard Dawkins (2008). “The God Delusion”, p.300, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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• The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one.

  Malcolm Forbes

  Inspirational, Education, Travel

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• We are approaching a new age of synthesis. Knowledge cannot be merely a degree or a skill... it demands a broader vision, capabilities in critical thinking and logical deduction without which we cannot have constructive progress.

  Li Ka-shing

  Inspirational, Business, Knowledge

  "Financial Expert Witness Communication: A Practical Guide to Reporting and Testimony". Book by Bradley J. Preber (p. 81), May 9, 2014.

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• If there was one life skill everyone on the planet needed, it was the ability to think with critical objectivity

  Josh Lanyon

  Thinking, Objectivity, Skills

  Josh Lanyon (2011). “Come Unto These Yellow Sands”, p.21, Samhain Publishing

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• When you write a book, you spend day after day scanning and identifying the trees. When you’re done, you have to step back and look at the forest.

  Stephen King

  Kings, Book, Writing

  "Beyond cuts: the many roles of a writer's editor" by Nell Frizzell, www.theguardian.com. March 12, 2014.

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• Imagination is more important than knowledge.

  Albert Einstein

  Inspirational, Positive, Leadership

  Albert Einstein (2015). “Bite-Size Einstein: Quotations on Just About Everything from the Greatest Mind of the Twentieth Century”, p.32, St. Martin's Press

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• The capacity to innovate - the ability to solve problems creatively or bring new possibilities to life - and skills like critical thinking, communication and collaboration are far more important than academic knowledge.

  Tony Wagner

  Communication, Thinking, Skills

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