Critical thinking Quote by Robert Carroll
““We must work hard at overcoming the natural tendency to see causal connections and other patterns where there are none by examining all the evidence, not just the data that support our gut feeling. Critical thinking, skepticism, and science did not evolve on the savannah millions of years ago. They are unnatural and go against the grain of those instincts that helped our species survive for hundreds of thousands of years.””
About This Quote
Source Article: “The Unnatural Roots of Critical Thinking”, 2021 Scientific American
Argues that critical thinking counters innate pattern‑seeking instincts, requiring conscious effort to evaluate evidence fully.
In simple terms: Critical thinking fights our natural bias.
Key Takeaway
Question assumptions and seek full evidence.
Themes
critical thinking
science
bias
human nature
Mood
analytical
skeptical
Type
philosophical
educational
When to use this quote
- research analysis
- decision making
- education
- media consumption
Key Concepts
cognitive psychology
epistemology
Questions to Reflect On
- What evidence do you ignore due to intuition?
- How can we train better skepticism?
A Different Perspective
Human instincts can still dominate under pressure.
![“[T]he downside of skepticism: it can easily turn into an arrogant position of a priori rejection of any new phenomenon or idea, a position that is as lacking in critical thinking as the one of the true believer, and that simply does not help either science or the public at large.” quote by Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/4e8/massimo-pigliucci-18479_arrogant_t-he-downside-of-skepticism-it-can-easil_1628960.jpg)
![“Simply disabling specific critical thinking skills is all that is necessary for the god virus [to take control of a person].” quote by Darrel Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b75/darrel-ray-22623_critical_simply-disabling-specific-critical-think_30410.jpg)
