In teaching me independence of thought, they had given me…

. . . besides love, independence of thought is the greatest gift an adult can give a child.

— Bryce Courtenay

My only supporter and comrade-in-arms was Georg Helm, who had endeavored to formulate an energetic conception of science before me and had presented his…

— Wilhelm Ostwald

“Freedom is a feeling, and the brave heart gets it ، Independence is a thought, and an enlightened mind can obtain it .”

— Elhachemi Sabi

“The American tradition of separation of church and state grew directly from the freethinking of the Founders. After political independence, they considered independence of…

— Joshua Wolf Shenk

Independence of thought is a most valuable quality in a chess-player, both at the board and when preparing for a game.

— David Bronstein

Now and then women should do for themselves what men have already done—occasionally what men have not done—thereby establishing themselves as persons, and perhaps…

— Amelia Earhart

Among the droves of men with political ambitions in the United States, I found very few with that virile candor, that manly independence of…

— Alexis de Tocqueville

“The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of…

— Henry Steele Commager

“The development of science and of the creative activities of the spirit requires a freedom that consists in the independence of thought from the…

— Albert Einstein

“What this world needs more than almost anything else is independence of thought. The average man has no confidence in his own judgment unless…

— Anonymous

A society with too few independent thinkers is vulnerable to control by disturbed and opportunistic leaders. A society which wants to create and maintain…

— John Dewey

“The mania for giving the Government power to meddle with the private affairs of cities or citizens is likely to cause endless trouble, through…

— Mark Twain

The most unpardonable sin in society is independence of thought.

— Emma Goldman

In the long run [censorship] will create a generation incapable of appreciating the difference between independence of thought and subservience.

— Henry Steele Commager

“We are kind people in an unkind world, to paraphrase Wallace Stevens. How do you pretend you don't know about it, after you see…

— Rob Sheffield