--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If facts, logic, and scientific…" description: "\"If facts, logic, and scientific procedures are all just arbitrarily \"socially constructed\" notions, then all that is left is consensus--more specifical..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/thomas-sowell-247_consensus_if-facts-logic-and-scientific-procedures_3095309.jpg" --- # If facts, logic, and scientific procedures are all just… ![“If facts, logic, and scientific procedures are all just arbitrarily "socially constructed" notions, then all that is left is consensus--more specifically peer consensus, the kind of consensus that matters to adolescents or to many among the intelligentsia.” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/thomas-sowell-247_consensus_if-facts-logic-and-scientific-procedures_3095309.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/thomas-sowell-247_consensus_if-facts-logic-and-scientific-procedures_3095309.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/thomas-sowell-247_consensus_if-facts-logic-and-scientific-procedures_3095309.jpg) > “If facts, logic, and scientific procedures are all just arbitrarily "socially constructed" notions, then all that is left is consensus--more specifically peer consensus, the kind of consensus that matters to adolescents or to many among the intelligentsia.” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If all knowledge is seen as socially constructed, then truth reduces to the opinions of peers, especially among youth and intellectual elites. **In simple terms:** Treating knowledge as just social consensus limits objective truth. Key Takeaway Question the basis of consensus. Themes relativism knowledge consensus peer influence education Mood skeptical thoughtful Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - classroom debates - policy making - media analysis - scientific research Key Concepts social constructivism epistemology critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports objective standards? - How can we balance consensus with critical inquiry? A Different Perspective Consensus can be swayed by power dynamics, not just merit. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consensus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consensus/) [Consensus Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consensus-kind-5341122/) [Consensus Matters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consensus-matters-5341121/) [Consensus Specifically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consensus-specifically-5341120/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion/) [Peer Consensus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peer-consensus-2531979/) [Peers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peers/) [Procedures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procedures/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [“The results show how unreliable peer consensus can be, even when it is a peer consensus of highly intellectual people, if those people share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-results-show-how-unreliable-peer-consensus-can-be-even-when-it-is/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Democracy begins in human conversation. 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Greenleaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-greenleaf/) > [There's a growing consensus that the best way to defeat communism in Cuba is to get its citizens hooked on American goods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/there-s-a-growing-consensus-that-the-best-way-to-defeat-communism-in/) [Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/) [Browse all 564 Consensus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consensus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If facts, logic, and scientific procedures are all just arbitrarily \"socially constructed\" notions, then all that is left is consensus--more specifically peer consensus, the kind of consensus that matters to adolescents or to many among the intelligentsia.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Sowell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-facts-logic-and-scientific-procedures-are-all-just-arbitrarily/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Consensus" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-facts-logic-and-scientific-procedures-are-all-just-arbitrarily/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/thomas-sowell-247_consensus_if-facts-logic-and-scientific-procedures_3095309.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/thomas-sowell-247_consensus_if-facts-logic-and-scientific-procedures_3095309.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/thomas-sowell-247_consensus_if-facts-logic-and-scientific-procedures_3095309.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If facts, logic, and scientific procedures are all just arbitrarily \"socially constructed\" notions, then all…” — Thomas Sowell", "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": "Thomas Sowell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If facts, logic, and scientific procedures...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-facts-logic-and-scientific-procedures-are-all-just-arbitrarily/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-facts-logic-and-scientific-procedures-are-all-just-arbitrarily/#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 } } ] } ```