--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Freethinkers are those who are willing to…" description: "\"Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3e/leo-tolstoy-55_belief_freethinkers-are-those-who-are-willing-t_872721.png" --- # Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds… ![“Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs. This state of mind is not common, but it is essential for right thinking...” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3e/leo-tolstoy-55_belief_freethinkers-are-those-who-are-willing-t_872721.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3e/leo-tolstoy-55_belief_freethinkers-are-those-who-are-willing-t_872721.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3e/leo-tolstoy-55_belief_freethinkers-are-those-who-are-willing-t_872721.png) > “Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs. This state of mind is not common, but it is essential for right thinking...” [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freethinkers challenge norms without fear, essential for true understanding. **In simple terms:** Freethinkers question everything. Key Takeaway Encourage open‑minded inquiry. Themes critical thinking freedom intellectual honesty Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - education reform - scientific research - public debate Key Concepts cognitive bias philosophical skepticism Questions to Reflect On - What beliefs have you examined critically? - How do you handle ideas that clash with your values? A Different Perspective Societal pressure can suppress dissent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Clash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clash/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Freethinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freethinker/) [Freethinkers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freethinkers/) [Honesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honesty/) [Independent thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent-thought/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudice/) [Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [State of mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-of-mind/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/freethinkers-are-those-who-are-willing-to-use-their-minds-without/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [At one time,' Golenishchev continued, either not observing or not willing to observe that both Anna and Vronsky wanted to speak, 'at one time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/at-one-time-golenishchev-continued-either-not-observing-or-not/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“at one time, a freethinker was a man who had been brought up in the conceptions of religion, law and morality, who reached freethought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/at-one-time-a-freethinker-was-a-man-who-had-been-brought-up-in-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [ And so \[my brother\] Gilbert and I, brought up without a formal religion, remained throughout our lifetimes just what Father was, freethinkers. And, likewise,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-seldes/and-so-my-brother-gilbert-and-i-brought-up-without-a-formal-religion/) [George Seldes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-seldes/) > [“It's tough to get out of one's inherited imbecilic culture, and a thus inherited or endowed lunatic belief system. A freethinker must overcome every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fakeer-ishavardas/it-s-tough-to-get-out-of-one-s-inherited-imbecilic-culture-and-a-thus/) [Fakeer Ishavardas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fakeer-ishavardas/) > [“Logically, this kind of atheism did not prove that there was no God… On the contrary, Southwell was typical in placing the onus probandi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-royle/logically-this-kind-of-atheism-did-not-prove-that-there-was-no-god-on/) Edward Royle > [Freethinkers are occasionally thoughtful, though never free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/freethinkers-are-occasionally-thoughtful-though-never-free/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Earnest Freethinkers need not worry themselves so much about the persecutions of the past. Before the Liberal idea is dead or triumphant we shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/earnest-freethinkers-need-not-worry-themselves-so-much-about-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My ancestors were all Freethinkers, formerly Catholics. It was science and Darwin, in particular, that made them decide, as educated people, which they were,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/my-ancestors-were-all-freethinkers-formerly-catholics-it-was-science/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [People stopped calling themselves Freethinkers because it was so specifically German and anything German was terribly unpopular because of the two world wars. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-stopped-calling-themselves-freethinkers-because-it-was-so/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [In Freethinkers Hall, which before the Nazi resurgence was the national headquarters of the German Freethinkers League, the Berlin Protestant church authorities have opened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/in-freethinkers-hall-which-before-the-nazi-resurgence-was-the/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [In view of the tide of religiosity engulfing a once secular republic it is refreshing to be reminded by Freethinkers that free thought and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/in-view-of-the-tide-of-religiosity-engulfing-a-once-secular-republic/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Freethinkers are generally those who never think at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/freethinkers-are-generally-those-who-never-think-at-all/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [If we dismiss from our minds the prejudice we may have against the Indians we shall be able to more clearly understand the impulses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-a-miles/if-we-dismiss-from-our-minds-the-prejudice-we-may-have-against-the/) [Nelson A. Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-a-miles/) > [A free thinker used to be a man who had been educated on ideas of religion, law, morality, and had arrived at free thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/a-free-thinker-used-to-be-a-man-who-had-been-educated-on-ideas-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More by Leo Tolstoy > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-only-significance-of-life-consists-in-helping-to-establish-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Energy rests upon love; and come as it will, there's no forcing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/energy-rests-upon-love-and-come-as-it-will-there-s-no-forcing-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“If you only knew what those society women are, and women in general! My father is right. 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She was standing talking to a lady at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-knew-she-was-there-by-the-rapture-and-the-terror-that-seized-on/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Rest, nature, books, music...such is my idea of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/rest-nature-books-music-such-is-my-idea-of-happiness/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He was not to blame for being born with an irrepressible charachter and a mind some how constrained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-was-not-to-blame-for-being-born-with-an-irrepressible-charachter/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The idea shared by many that life is a vale of tears is just as false as the idea shared by the great majority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-idea-shared-by-many-that-life-is-a-vale-of-tears-is-just-as-false/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-say-that-a-work-of-art-is-good-but-incomprehensible-to-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [True life is lived when tiny changes occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/true-life-is-lived-when-tiny-changes-occur/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Explore all 1,754 Leo Tolstoy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More Belief quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? 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If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [It took me 20 years of hard training to get the physique I have today. what you need is what i had - BELIEF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-warren/it-took-me-20-years-of-hard-training-to-get-the-physique-i-have-today/) [Branch Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-warren/) > [“Here is a fundamental difference between the man of faith and the man of unbelief. The unbeliever is 'of the world', judges everything by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/here-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-the-man-of-faith-and-the-man/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. She did not particularly believe in God. 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/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“Rigid traditions capture souls prisons of spiritual thought man’s religion has captured a god grown too small and very weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle/rigid-traditions-capture-souls-prisons-of-spiritual-thought-man-s/) [David W Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. 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