--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The open mind never acts: when we have…" description: "\"The open mind never acts: when we have done our utmost to arrive at a reasonable conclusion, we still must close our minds for the moment with a snap, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9d/george-bernard-shaw-68_conclusion_the-open-mind-never-acts-when-we-have-do_2895014.png" --- # The open mind never acts: when we have done our utmost to… ![“The open mind never acts: when we have done our utmost to arrive at a reasonable conclusion, we still must close our minds for the moment with a snap, and act dogmatically on our conclusions.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9d/george-bernard-shaw-68_conclusion_the-open-mind-never-acts-when-we-have-do_2895014.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9d/george-bernard-shaw-68_conclusion_the-open-mind-never-acts-when-we-have-do_2895014.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9d/george-bernard-shaw-68_conclusion_the-open-mind-never-acts-when-we-have-do_2895014.png) > “The open mind never acts: when we have done our utmost to arrive at a reasonable conclusion, we still must close our minds for the moment with a snap, and act dogmatically on our conclusions.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. After thorough reasoning, one must temporarily set aside open‑mindedness to act decisively on conclusions. **In simple terms:** Close mind briefly to act on conclusions. Key Takeaway Know when to act decisively. Themes decision making philosophy action Mood reflective determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - business - personal goals - politics Key Concepts dogmatism critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - When is it appropriate to suspend open‑mindedness? - How can one avoid becoming dogmatic? 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Or, rather, she didn't believe in a particular God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/she-herself-vacillated-when-it-came-to-belief-she-did-not/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. 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Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. 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