Quotes about thinking
552 quotes from 279 people
Iain Banks1954–2013The Hydrogen Sonata (2013), Chapter 7 (p. 127)
John Stuart Mill1806–1873The Subjection of Women (1869), Ch. 1
Horace Mann1796–1859Thoughts Selected from the Writings of Horace Mann (1867), p. 199
Charlie Chaplin1889–1977My Autobiography (1964), p. 291Intelligence consists in ignoring things that are irrelevant.
Nassim Nicholas Talebborn 1960The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010), p. 78Reason shapes the future, but superstition infects the present.
Iain Banks1954–2013The State of the Art (1991), “Piece” (p. 75)Mental clarity is the child of courage, not the other way around.
Nassim Nicholas Talebborn 1960The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010), p. 57In a battle between force and an idea, the latter always prevails.
Ludwig von Mises1881–1973Liberalism (1927), Ch. 1: The Foundations of Liberal Policy § 10. The Argument of FascismAn army of principles will penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot.
Thomas Paine1737–1809Agrarian Justice (1797)You have absolute control over but one thing, and that is your thoughts.
Napoleon Hill1883–1970Think and Grow Rich (1938)Great theories are expansive; failures mire us in dogmatism and tunnel vision.
Stephen Jay Gould1941–2002Eight Little Piggies (1993), “More Light on Leaves”, p. 165Acquire the contemplative way of seeing how all things change into one another.
Marcus Aurelius121–180Meditations, Book X, 11Rank beliefs not according to their plausibility but by the harm they may cause.
Nassim Nicholas Talebborn 1960The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (2007), p. 203All humans are stupid, but the smarter ones at least have a handle on their own ignorance.
John Cleeseborn 1939In conversation with Matthew Syed. Matthew Syed, “When dogma beats data, reason is lost”, The Sunday Times (27 September 2020), p. 21You can prove anything you want by coldly logical reason—if you pick the proper postulates.
Isaac Asimov1920–1992I, Robot (1950), “Reason”, p. 63