--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: if you put individuals together in the…" description: "\"“if you put individuals together in the right way, such that some individuals can use their reasoning powers to disconfirm the claims of others, and al..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f9/joseph-heath-31599_right-way_if-you-put-individuals-together-in-the-r_1344062.jpg" --- # if you put individuals together in the right way, such… ![“if you put individuals together in the right way, such that some individuals can use their reasoning powers to disconfirm the claims of others, and all individuals feel some common bond or shared fate that allows them to interact civilly, you can create a group that ends up producing good…” quote by Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f9/joseph-heath-31599_right-way_if-you-put-individuals-together-in-the-r_1344062.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f9/joseph-heath-31599_right-way_if-you-put-individuals-together-in-the-r_1344062.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f9/joseph-heath-31599_right-way_if-you-put-individuals-together-in-the-r_1344062.jpg) > ““if you put individuals together in the right way, such that some individuals can use their reasoning powers to disconfirm the claims of others, and all individuals feel some common bond or shared fate that allows them to interact civilly, you can create a group that ends up producing good reasoning as an emergent property of the social system.”18”” [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When people are organized so that some can challenge others and they share a common purpose, the group can collectively reason better than individuals alone. **In simple terms:** Group reasoning improves with critical interaction and shared purpose. Key Takeaway Foster critical dialogue and shared goals. Themes collaboration critical thinking emergent intelligence Mood optimistic analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - team meetings - online forums - policy panels - research collaborations - community projects Key Concepts social epistemology collective reasoning group dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure equal voice in groups? - What shared purpose unites diverse members? A Different Perspective If power imbalances prevent open critique, the benefit may not emerge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Reasoning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasoning/) [Right way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-way/) ## Related quotes > [“We should not expect individuals to produce good, open-minded, truth-seeking reasoning, particularly when self-interest or reputational concerns are in play. But if you put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/we-should-not-expect-individuals-to-produce-good-open-minded-truth/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [The philosophy of reasoning, to be complete, ought to comprise the theory of bad as well as of good reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-philosophy-of-reasoning-to-be-complete-ought-to-comprise-the/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [Bad reasoning as well as good reasoning is possible; and this fact is the foundation of the practical side of logic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/bad-reasoning-as-well-as-good-reasoning-is-possible-and-this-fact-is/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [There is something about inside information which seems to paralyse a man's reasoning powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-baruch/there-is-something-about-inside-information-which-seems-to-paralyse-a/) [Bernard Baruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-baruch/) > [Pretty much, you point to a problem and good reasoning about why people are doing what they are doing and what constraints they face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-bueno-de-mesquita/pretty-much-you-point-to-a-problem-and-good-reasoning-about-why/) [Bruce Bueno de Mesquita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-bueno-de-mesquita/) > [“But if you put individuals together in the right way, such that some individuals can use their reasoning powers to disconfirm the claims of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/but-if-you-put-individuals-together-in-the-right-way-such-that-some/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [There is something about inside information which seems to paralyze a man's reasoning powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-baruch/there-is-something-about-inside-information-which-seems-to-paralyze-a/) [Bernard Baruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-baruch/) > [If plants could be credited with reasoning powers, we would marvel at the imaginative ways they bribe or ensnare other creatures to carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/if-plants-could-be-credited-with-reasoning-powers-we-would-marvel-at/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [She was in that highly-wrought state when the reasoning powers act with great rapidity: the state a man is in before a battle or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/she-was-in-that-highly-wrought-state-when-the-reasoning-powers-act/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I am quite sure now that often, very often, in matters concerning religion and politics a man's reasoning powers are not above the monkey's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-am-quite-sure-now-that-often-very-often-in-matters-concerning/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Now there you have a sample of man’s “reasoning powers,” as he calls them. He observes certain facts. For instance, that in all his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/now-there-you-have-a-sample-of-man-s-reasoning-powers-as-he-calls/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Individuals have a right to freedom of speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-baldwin/individuals-have-a-right-to-freedom-of-speech/) [Doug Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-baldwin/) > [Chickens are interesting individuals who have as much right not to be cooked and eaten as a dog or a cat or even a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-friedrich/chickens-are-interesting-individuals-who-have-as-much-right-not-to-be/) [Bruce Friedrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-friedrich/) > [“The rights we have as free individuals is the right to choose as we please.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/the-rights-we-have-as-free-individuals-is-the-right-to-choose-as-we/) [steven redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [A free society, to be truly worthy of that name, owes healthy, competent individuals the right to end their lives on their own terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-m-appel/a-free-society-to-be-truly-worthy-of-that-name-owes-healthy-competent/) [Jacob M. Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-m-appel/) ## More by Joseph Heath > [“The scientific method is famous for requiring objectivity and emotional detachment on the part of the investigator. Scientific experimentation also involves extensive manipulation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/the-scientific-method-is-famous-for-requiring-objectivity-and/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“The environments that are the most hostile from the standpoint of rationality are those that are the most commercial.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/the-environments-that-are-the-most-hostile-from-the-standpoint-of/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“The idea that people could get along fine with just markets, and no government, turned out to rest upon a version of what economists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/the-idea-that-people-could-get-along-fine-with-just-markets-and-no/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“One of the downsides of working in philosophy is that it attracts a lot of people with mental-health problems.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/one-of-the-downsides-of-working-in-philosophy-is-that-it-attracts-a/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“There may be important things right in front of you that you aren’t noticing due to the illusion of attention. Now that you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/there-may-be-important-things-right-in-front-of-you-that-you-aren-t/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“Our environment has changed so that the correlations we relied upon in the environment of evolutionary adaptation no longer obtain. This makes it so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/our-environment-has-changed-so-that-the-correlations-we-relied-upon/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“More and more frequently, we will find ourselves in the position of the lower animals—with a mental apparatus that is unequipped to deal thoroughly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/more-and-more-frequently-we-will-find-ourselves-in-the-position-of/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“It’s all well and good to have a mountain of psychological research detailing the different ways in which we routinely fail to think and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/it-s-all-well-and-good-to-have-a-mountain-of-psychological-research/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“our ability to enter into cooperative relations with one another is based upon the rational insight that we can all be better off if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/our-ability-to-enter-into-cooperative-relations-with-one-another-is/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“Everyone always has a reason to reject a compromise, because everyone thinks that their own view is correct, their own cause is just, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/everyone-always-has-a-reason-to-reject-a-compromise-because-everyone/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“If you had to give a child just one piece of advice upon entering a shopping mall, a good suggestion might be “Remember that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/if-you-had-to-give-a-child-just-one-piece-of-advice-upon-entering-a/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“As individuals, we have enormous difficulty thinking the negative. We see patterns all around us, and each new day brings new evidence that confirms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/as-individuals-we-have-enormous-difficulty-thinking-the-negative-we/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“if we adopted a different orientation toward the world, one that focused on liberation and freedom rather than manipulation and control, it would literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/if-we-adopted-a-different-orientation-toward-the-world-one-that/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“that, when it comes to humanity, “the perfection of our nature and capability of happiness, must be estimated by the degree of reason, virtue,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/that-when-it-comes-to-humanity-the-perfection-of-our-nature-and/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) > [“The search for a new type of rationality became just another form of antirationalism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/the-search-for-a-new-type-of-rationality-became-just-another-form-of/) [Joseph Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) [Explore all 16 Joseph Heath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/) ## More Reasoning quotes > [Logic is essentially a tool for getting at truth; it is the tool, for without it no reasoning is possible in any field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oderberg/logic-is-essentially-a-tool-for-getting-at-truth-it-is-the-tool-for/) David Oderberg > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [Trying to understand the way nature works involves a most terrible test of human reasoning ability. It involves subtle trickery, beautiful tightropes of logic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/trying-to-understand-the-way-nature-works-involves-a-most-terrible/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [Each Act of Parliament intended to address harassment and discrimination has faced objections on the basis of 'you'll never be able to prove...' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-field/each-act-of-parliament-intended-to-address-harassment-and/) [Tim Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-field/) > [“Death makes its own choices. Has reasoning an order has a taste…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelo-tsanatelis/death-makes-its-own-choices-has-reasoning-an-order-has-a-taste/) [Angelo Tsanatelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelo-tsanatelis/) > [“When a lady does consent to listen to an argument against her own opinions, she is always predetermined to withstand it - to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/when-a-lady-does-consent-to-listen-to-an-argument-against-her-own/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It is easy to confuse a fantasy for a reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duop-chak-wuol/it-is-easy-to-confuse-a-fantasy-for-a-reality/) Duop Chak Wuol > [The only way to Heaven is prayer; a prayer of the heart, which every one is capable of, and not of reasonings which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/the-only-way-to-heaven-is-prayer-a-prayer-of-the-heart-which-every/) [Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/) > [Mathematics is a language plus reasoning; it is like a language plus logic. Mathematics is a tool for reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/mathematics-is-a-language-plus-reasoning-it-is-like-a-language-plus/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [In every enterprise ... the mind is always reasoning, and, even when we seem to act without a motive, an instinctive logic still directs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/in-every-enterprise-the-mind-is-always-reasoning-and-even-when-we/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [“Man is the Reasoning Animal. Such is the claim. I think it is open to dispute. Indeed, my experiments have proven to me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/man-is-the-reasoning-animal-such-is-the-claim-i-think-it-is-open-to/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Science is not a system of certain, or -established, statements; nor is it a system which steadily advances towards a state of finality... And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/science-is-not-a-system-of-certain-or-established-statements-nor-is/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [If logic itself is created rather than being inborn, it follows that the first task of education is to form reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/if-logic-itself-is-created-rather-than-being-inborn-it-follows-that/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [In the long run my observations have convinced me that some men, reasoning preposterously, first establish some conclusion in their minds which, either because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/in-the-long-run-my-observations-have-convinced-me-that-some-men/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) [Browse all 951 Reasoning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasoning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“if you put individuals together in the right way, such that some individuals can use their reasoning powers to disconfirm the claims of others, and all individuals feel some common bond or shared fate that allows them to interact civilly, you can create a group that ends up producing good reasoning as an emergent property of the social system.”18”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Heath" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/if-you-put-individuals-together-in-the-right-way-such-that-some/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Reasoning" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/if-you-put-individuals-together-in-the-right-way-such-that-some/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f9/joseph-heath-31599_right-way_if-you-put-individuals-together-in-the-r_1344062.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f9/joseph-heath-31599_right-way_if-you-put-individuals-together-in-the-r_1344062.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f9/joseph-heath-31599_right-way_if-you-put-individuals-together-in-the-r_1344062.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“if you put individuals together in the right way, such that some individuals can use their reasoning powers…” — Joseph Heath", "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": "Joseph Heath", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heath/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“if you put individuals together in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/if-you-put-individuals-together-in-the-right-way-such-that-some/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heath/if-you-put-individuals-together-in-the-right-way-such-that-some/#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 } } ] } ```