--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People with good intentions tended not to…" description: "\"“People with good intentions tended not to question themselves. And people who didn’t question themselves, in the scientific world and beyond, were the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a5/shanthi-sekaran-76318_good-intentions_people-with-good-intentions-tended-not-t_1284838.jpg" --- # People with good intentions tended not to question… ![“People with good intentions tended not to question themselves. And people who didn’t question themselves, in the scientific world and beyond, were the ones to watch out for. That” quote by Shanthi Sekaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a5/shanthi-sekaran-76318_good-intentions_people-with-good-intentions-tended-not-t_1284838.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a5/shanthi-sekaran-76318_good-intentions_people-with-good-intentions-tended-not-t_1284838.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a5/shanthi-sekaran-76318_good-intentions_people-with-good-intentions-tended-not-t_1284838.jpg) > ““People with good intentions tended not to question themselves. And people who didn’t question themselves, in the scientific world and beyond, were the ones to watch out for. That”” [Shanthi Sekaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shanthi-sekaran/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unquestioned intentions can lead to dangerous outcomes, especially in science. **In simple terms:** Blind faith can be harmful. Key Takeaway Question assumptions before acting. Themes science ethics critical thinking Mood cautious thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - research labs - policy making - everyday decisions - education Key Concepts cognitive bias responsibility risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance doubt and action? - When is skepticism harmful? A Different Perspective Over‑questioning can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good intentions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-intentions/) [Intentions Tended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intentions-tended-2784336/) [People Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-didn/) [People Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-good/) [Question People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-people/) ## Related quotes > [“Lord, save him from those with good intentions, for they tended to leave the worst damage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-fally/lord-save-him-from-those-with-good-intentions-for-they-tended-to/) [J. Fally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-fally/) > [Sometimes you have to distance yourself from the people who have no good intentions towards you !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/sometimes-you-have-to-distance-yourself-from-the-people-who-have-no/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [People that do good in the world or that want to do good, that have good intentions and want to help other people, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniella-alonso/people-that-do-good-in-the-world-or-that-want-to-do-good-that-have/) [Daniella Alonso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniella-alonso/) > [I'm never one to question people's courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howie-long/i-m-never-one-to-question-people-s-courage/) [Howie Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howie-long/) > [“The touchstone of everything that can be concluded as a law for a people lies in the question whether the people could have imposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/the-touchstone-of-everything-that-can-be-concluded-as-a-law-for-a/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [“Where are they, the American fiction writers whose works are interested in the question “What do these people have to do with us?” and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/where-are-they-the-american-fiction-writers-whose-works-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One emphasis of my research has been on the question of how people spend their time. Time is the ultimate finite resource, or course,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/one-emphasis-of-my-research-has-been-on-the-question-of-how-people/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [The worst question people can ask me is, 'How would I describe my brand of comedy?' I just go, 'Funny.' I like to let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-buteau/the-worst-question-people-can-ask-me-is-how-would-i-describe-my-brand/) [Michelle Buteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-buteau/) > [“Speaking to people does not have the same personal intensity as listening to them. The question I put to myself is not 'How many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-peterson/speaking-to-people-does-not-have-the-same-personal-intensity-as/) [Eugene Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-peterson/) > [It's the most annoying question and they just can't help asking you. You'll be asked it at family gatherings, weddings, and on first dates.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-tuccillo/it-s-the-most-annoying-question-and-they-just-can-t-help-asking-you/) [Liz Tuccillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-tuccillo/) > [“Stop blaming people for not making you to achieve your dreams. The question is "are they the people having those dreams?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/stop-blaming-people-for-not-making-you-to-achieve-your-dreams-the/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I cannot remember a time when the question of why people behave as they do was not intensely interesting to me. The desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-the-question-of-why-people-behave-as/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [I usually start with a big question, such as whether people today are happier than in the past, or why men have dominated women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/i-usually-start-with-a-big-question-such-as-whether-people-today-are/) [Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/) > [“Normal people don’t want me to honestly answer the question “What’s up?” Not many people are equipped to handle answers like “A fanatical juice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-quinn/normal-people-don-t-want-me-to-honestly-answer-the-question-what-s-up/) [Zoe Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-quinn/) > [You don’t get it, do you?" I said. “It’s not a question of ‘what then’. Some people get a kick out of reading railroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-don-t-get-it-do-you-i-said-it-s-not-a-question-of-what-then-some/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More by Shanthi Sekaran > [“Like most children, she came into the world assuming everyone was good, and spent the rest of her life discovering otherwise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shanthi-sekaran/like-most-children-she-came-into-the-world-assuming-everyone-was-good/) [Shanthi Sekaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shanthi-sekaran/) > [“If this is a story, it’s one with no right ending. If this is a dream, it is a dream made solid, a dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shanthi-sekaran/if-this-is-a-story-it-s-one-with-no-right-ending-if-this-is-a-dream/) [Shanthi Sekaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shanthi-sekaran/) [Explore all 3 Shanthi Sekaran quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shanthi-sekaran/) ## More Good intentions quotes > [“When it comes to smarts, adolescents like Jesse have plenty. What they lack, however, are some of the brain-based skills that we all need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-guare/when-it-comes-to-smarts-adolescents-like-jesse-have-plenty-what-they/) [Richard Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-guare/) > [After she got hurt by someone that she cared about, she's so scared to get attached again. Do you know what kind of effect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/callhershorty/after-she-got-hurt-by-someone-that-she-cared-about-she-s-so-scared-to/) [CallHerShorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/callhershorty/) > [It has been more wittily than charitably said that hell is paved with good intentions; they have their place in heaven also.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/it-has-been-more-wittily-than-charitably-said-that-hell-is-paved-with/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [No one is born with good character; it's not a hereditary trait. And it isn't determined by a single noble act. Character is established…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-josephson/no-one-is-born-with-good-character-it-s-not-a-hereditary-trait-and-it/) [Michael Josephson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-josephson/) > [“The idea is that your clients are looking for good suggestions, and they don’t mind sifting through some not-so-good ones as long as they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-lencioni/the-idea-is-that-your-clients-are-looking-for-good-suggestions-and/) [Patrick Lencioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-lencioni/) > [I have no control over my writing. I have lots of good intentions, but no control. There's a story that wants to be told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-have-no-control-over-my-writing-i-have-lots-of-good-intentions-but/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Justice for some people is an evil for others. Good intentions, kindness, and hope will not necessarily make people happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gen-urobuchi/justice-for-some-people-is-an-evil-for-others-good-intentions/) [Gen Urobuchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gen-urobuchi/) > [“There is an important difference between openness and naïveté. Not everyone has good intentions nor means me well. I remind myself I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-is-an-important-difference-between-openness-and-na-vet-not/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I reach out in love, my hands are guns, my good intentions are completely lethal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-reach-out-in-love-my-hands-are-guns-my-good-intentions-are/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Start your day with good intentions and set yourself up for a good attitude. It's not what happens to you that matters but how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-blanchard/start-your-day-with-good-intentions-and-set-yourself-up-for-a-good/) [Ken Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-blanchard/) > [“It wasn't good, he wasn't good, he did not have good intentions. I stood there, and he stood there. He breathed out the bitter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/it-wasn-t-good-he-wasn-t-good-he-did-not-have-good-intentions-i-stood/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [“Map-making had never been a precise art on the Discworld. People tended to start off with good intentions and then get so carried away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/map-making-had-never-been-a-precise-art-on-the-discworld-people/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Nowhere is wisdom more necessary than in the guidance of charitable impulses. Meaning well is only half our duty; Thinking right is the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gridley-howe/nowhere-is-wisdom-more-necessary-than-in-the-guidance-of-charitable/) [Samuel Gridley Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gridley-howe/) > [“Envy shrugged. 'Can no value be found in good intentions?' 'What, precisely, are you trying to justify? And to me, or yourself?' She glared,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/envy-shrugged-can-no-value-be-found-in-good-intentions-what-precisely/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [Neither smiles nor frowns, neither good intentions nor harsh words, are a substitute for strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/neither-smiles-nor-frowns-neither-good-intentions-nor-harsh-words-are/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) [Browse all 568 Good intentions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-intentions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“People with good intentions tended not to question themselves. And people who didn’t question themselves, in the scientific world and beyond, were the ones to watch out for. 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