---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tis the mark of an educated mind to be…"
description: "\"“Tis the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”\" — Aristotle"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7f/aristotle-78_common-sense_tis-the-mark-of-an-educated-mind-to-be-a_1882554.png"
---

#  Tis the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a…

![“Tis the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” quote by Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7f/aristotle-78_common-sense_tis-the-mark-of-an-educated-mind-to-be-a_1882554.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7f/aristotle-78_common-sense_tis-the-mark-of-an-educated-mind-to-be-a_1882554.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7f/aristotle-78_common-sense_tis-the-mark-of-an-educated-mind-to-be-a_1882554.png)

> ““Tis the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.””

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The educated mind can consider ideas without necessarily believing them.

**In simple terms:** Think critically without immediate acceptance.

Key Takeaway

Practice open‑minded reasoning.

Themes

philosophy critical thinking education

Mood

thoughtful inquisitive

Type

philosophical educational

When to use this quote

- debate
- academic study
- personal growth

Key Concepts

skepticism intellectual humility

Questions to Reflect On

- When should you accept an idea?
- How to balance doubt and conviction?

A Different Perspective

Over‑analysis may lead to indecision.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Educated mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educated-mind/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/)

## Related quotes

> [It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/it-is-the-mark-of-an-educated-mind-to-be-able-to-entertain-a-thought/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [“Aristotle wrote, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” Being able to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/aristotle-wrote-it-is-the-mark-of-an-educated-mind-to-be-able-to/)

[Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/)

> [It is the mark of an educated mind to expect that amount of exactness which the nature of the particular subject admits. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/it-is-the-mark-of-an-educated-mind-to-expect-that-amount-of-exactness/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Read at every wait; read at all hours; read within leisure; read in times of labor; read as one goes in; read as one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/read-at-every-wait-read-at-all-hours-read-within-leisure-read-in/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [And an educated mind is nothing but the God-given mind of a child after his parents' and his grandparents' generation have got through molding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-steffens/and-an-educated-mind-is-nothing-but-the-god-given-mind-of-a-child/)

[Lincoln Steffens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-steffens/)

> [Skepticism: the mark and even the pose of the educated mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/skepticism-the-mark-and-even-the-pose-of-the-educated-mind/)

[John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/)

> [Style, in its finest sense, is the last acquirement of the educated mind; it is also the most useful. It pervades the whole being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/style-in-its-finest-sense-is-the-last-acquirement-of-the-educated/)

[Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/)

> [An educated mind is practiced in the uses of reason, which inevitably leads to a skeptical outlook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/an-educated-mind-is-practiced-in-the-uses-of-reason-which-inevitably/)

[Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/)

> [Absolute certainty is a privilege of uneducated minds and fanatics. - It is, for scientific folk, an unattainable ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassius-jackson-keyser/absolute-certainty-is-a-privilege-of-uneducated-minds-and-fanatics-it/)

[Cassius Jackson Keyser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassius-jackson-keyser/)

> [A person educated in mind and not in morals is a menace to society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juanita-kidd-stout/a-person-educated-in-mind-and-not-in-morals-is-a-menace-to-society/)

Juanita Kidd Stout

> [“Our society is afflicted by a spirit of thoughtless arrogance unbecoming those who have been so magnificently blessed. How grateful we should be for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/our-society-is-afflicted-by-a-spirit-of-thoughtless-arrogance/)

[Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/)

> [Most of all we need an education which will create an educated mind. This is a mind not simply a repository of information and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/most-of-all-we-need-an-education-which-will-create-an-educated-mind/)

[Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/)

> [“Crazy by definition is Knowing that true sanity is A figment of the educated mind”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-warta-ritter/crazy-by-definition-is-knowing-that-true-sanity-is-a-figment-of-the/)

Caleb Warta/Ritter

> [Absence of gratitude is the mark of the narrow, uneducated mind. It bespeaks a lack of knowledge and the ignorance of self-sufficiency. It expresses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/absence-of-gratitude-is-the-mark-of-the-narrow-uneducated-mind-it/)

[Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/)

> [“Uneducated mind is subject to superstitious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/uneducated-mind-is-subject-to-superstitious/)

[Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/)

## More by Aristotle

> [The knowledge of the soul admittedly contributes greatly to the advance of truth in general, and, above all, to our understanding of Nature, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-knowledge-of-the-soul-admittedly-contributes-greatly-to-the/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [The body is at its best between the ages of thirty and thirty-five; the mind is at its best about the age of forty-nine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-body-is-at-its-best-between-the-ages-of-thirty-and-thirty-five/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [The ensouled is distinguished from the unsouled by its being alive. Now since being alive is spoken of in many ways, even if only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-ensouled-is-distinguished-from-the-unsouled-by-its-being-alive/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Although it may be difficult in theory to know what is just and equal, the practical difficulty of inducing those to forbear who can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/although-it-may-be-difficult-in-theory-to-know-what-is-just-and-equal/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, or the few, or the many, govern with a view to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-true-forms-of-government-therefore-are-those-in-which-the-one-or/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [All men by nature desire to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-men-by-nature-desire-to-know/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-persons-ought-to-endeavor-to-follow-what-is-right-and-not-what-is/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Give a man a poisoned fish, you feed him for the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/give-a-man-a-fish-you-feed-him-for-a-day-give-a-man-a-poisoned-fish/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [The man who confers a favour would rather not be repaid in the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-man-who-confers-a-favour-would-rather-not-be-repaid-in-the-same/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [The mother of revolution and crime is poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-mother-of-revolution-and-crime-is-poverty/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Obstinate people can be divided into the opinionated, the ignorant, and the boorish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/obstinate-people-can-be-divided-into-the-opinionated-the-ignorant-and/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/happiness-does-not-consist-in-pastimes-and-amusements-but-in-virtuous/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers, but common to all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/to-learn-is-a-natural-pleasure-not-confined-to-philosophers-but/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/every-virtue-is-a-mean-between-two-extremes-each-of-which-is-a-vice/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

[Explore all 1,545 Aristotle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

## More Common sense quotes

> [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/)

[Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/)

> [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/)

[Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/)

> [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/)

[Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/)

> [Below the 40th latitude there is no law; below the 50th no god; below the 60th no common sense and below the 70th no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley/below-the-40th-latitude-there-is-no-law-below-the-50th-no-god-below/)

[Kim Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley/)

> [I have never seen either a drop of piety or a grain of truth or ingenuousness - nay, I have never found common sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/i-have-never-seen-either-a-drop-of-piety-or-a-grain-of-truth-or/)

[John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/)

> [How is it that labels like 'centrist' and 'moderate,' which common sense tells us should reflect the views of a majority of Americans, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehdi-hasan/how-is-it-that-labels-like-centrist-and-moderate-which-common-sense/)

[Mehdi Hasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehdi-hasan/)

> [“It was true that common sense wasn’t her forte. It wasn’t that she was silly or stupid, but she heard so many more voices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-goddard/it-was-true-that-common-sense-wasn-t-her-forte-it-wasn-t-that-she-was/)

[Donna Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-goddard/)

> [“The accident in your rearview mirror already happened. The one in front of you is still preventable. Pay attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nakia-r-laushaul/the-accident-in-your-rearview-mirror-already-happened-the-one-in/)

[Nakia R. Laushaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nakia-r-laushaul/)

> [In Raleigh, partisan battles, power struggles and lawsuits might grab the headlines, but we have to work together where we can. To look beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-cooper/in-raleigh-partisan-battles-power-struggles-and-lawsuits-might-grab/)

[Roy Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-cooper/)

> [“Listen: Common sense doesn't mean what it used to mean." -Matthias Chalmers, STAIRWAY2 HEAVEN”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-thompson/listen-common-sense-doesn-t-mean-what-it-used-to-mean-matthias/)

Chaz Thompson

> [“when people’s brains are in defensive mode, it becomes harder to see common sense. Small disagreements can end up holding back progress beyond reason.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-webb/when-people-s-brains-are-in-defensive-mode-it-becomes-harder-to-see/)

[Caroline Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-webb/)

> [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [ As we have seen after every other \[Donald\] Trump controversy, this one only increased their enthusiasm for him. His supporters thought the idea of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-inskeep/as-we-have-seen-after-every-other-donald-trump-controversy-this-one/)

[Steve Inskeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-inskeep/)

> [Using, as an excuse, others' failure of common sense is in itself a failure of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/using-as-an-excuse-others-failure-of-common-sense-is-in-itself-a/)

[Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/)

[Browse all 1,942 Common sense quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Tis the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Aristotle"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/tis-the-mark-of-an-educated-mind-to-be-able-to-entertain-a-thought/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Common sense"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/tis-the-mark-of-an-educated-mind-to-be-able-to-entertain-a-thought/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7f/aristotle-78_common-sense_tis-the-mark-of-an-educated-mind-to-be-a_1882554.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7f/aristotle-78_common-sense_tis-the-mark-of-an-educated-mind-to-be-a_1882554.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7f/aristotle-78_common-sense_tis-the-mark-of-an-educated-mind-to-be-a_1882554.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Tis the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” — Aristotle",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Aristotle",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Tis the mark of an educated...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/tis-the-mark-of-an-educated-mind-to-be-able-to-entertain-a-thought/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/tis-the-mark-of-an-educated-mind-to-be-able-to-entertain-a-thought/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
