--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great snare of thought is uncritical…" description: "\"The great snare of thought is uncritical acceptance of irrational assumptions.\" — Will Durant" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/will-durant-948_acceptance_the-great-snare-of-thought-is-uncritical_754996.png" --- # The great snare of thought is uncritical acceptance of… ![“The great snare of thought is uncritical acceptance of irrational assumptions.” quote by Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/will-durant-948_acceptance_the-great-snare-of-thought-is-uncritical_754996.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/will-durant-948_acceptance_the-great-snare-of-thought-is-uncritical_754996.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/will-durant-948_acceptance_the-great-snare-of-thought-is-uncritical_754996.png) > “The great snare of thought is uncritical acceptance of irrational assumptions.” [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Thought can trap us when we accept irrational ideas without critique. **In simple terms:** Uncritical acceptance of irrational assumptions traps thought. Key Takeaway Question assumptions and practice critical thinking. Themes critical thinking philosophy logic mental habits Mood analytical inquisitive serious Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - academic research - daily decision making - debate clubs Key Concepts skepticism cognitive bias rationalism Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you accept without proof? - How can you foster a questioning mindset? A Different Perspective People may resist questioning deeply held beliefs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acceptance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acceptance/) [Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) [Irrational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrational/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) ## Related quotes > [The best of ideas is hurt by uncritical acceptance and thrives on critical examination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-polya/the-best-of-ideas-is-hurt-by-uncritical-acceptance-and-thrives-on/) [George Polya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-polya/) > [Belief is the uncritical acceptance of something you can't prove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-holzer/belief-is-the-uncritical-acceptance-of-something-you-can-t-prove/) [Hans Holzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-holzer/) > [Many of her thoughts were perfect syllogisms; unluckily they always remained thoughts. Only a few were irrational assumptions; but, unfortunately, they were the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/many-of-her-thoughts-were-perfect-syllogisms-unluckily-they-always/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [... uncritical love is the only real treasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/uncritical-love-is-the-only-real-treasure/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [There is no virtue in being uncritical; nor is it a habit to which the young are given. But criticism is only the burying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-livingstone/there-is-no-virtue-in-being-uncritical-nor-is-it-a-habit-to-which-the/) [Richard Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-livingstone/) > [Uncritical American boosterism - automatic endorsement of every government action - is myopic and self-defeating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/uncritical-american-boosterism-automatic-endorsement-of-every/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [“No young person on earth is so excellent in all respects as to need no uncritical love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/no-young-person-on-earth-is-so-excellent-in-all-respects-as-to-need/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Only the most uncritical minds are free from doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/only-the-most-uncritical-minds-are-free-from-doubt/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [If we are uncritical we shall always find what we want: we shall look for, and find, confirmations, and we shall look away from,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/if-we-are-uncritical-we-shall-always-find-what-we-want-we-shall-look/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [“I envied my uncritical, unthinking sisters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-envied-my-uncritical-unthinking-sisters/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Uncritical semantics is the myth of a museum in which the exhibits are meanings and the words are labels. To switch languages is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/uncritical-semantics-is-the-myth-of-a-museum-in-which-the-exhibits/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [When we kissed, it didn't matter that I had been a wolf hours ago, or that I would be a wolf again. It didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/when-we-kissed-it-didn-t-matter-that-i-had-been-a-wolf-hours-ago-or/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [I'm a Gemini, so there's two people in me. Straight up. There's the nerd who is totally zoned out in the studio, EQ-ing this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/i-m-a-gemini-so-there-s-two-people-in-me-straight-up-there-s-the-nerd/) [G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/) > [Devil’s Snare, Devil’s Snare . . . what did Professor Sprout say? — it likes the dark and the damp —” “So light a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/devil-s-snare-devil-s-snare-what-did-professor-sprout-say-it-likes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And as she jogged out of sight, they could hear her muttering, "Tentacula. Devil's Snare. And Snargaluff pods. Yes, I'd like to see Death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-as-she-jogged-out-of-sight-they-could-hear-her-muttering/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Will Durant > [I came to think of myself, not as a dance and chaos of molecules, but as a brief and minute portion of that majestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/i-came-to-think-of-myself-not-as-a-dance-and-chaos-of-molecules-but/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“This is the tragedy of almost every civilization—that its soul is in its faith, and seldom survives philosophy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/this-is-the-tragedy-of-almost-every-civilization-that-its-soul-is-in/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of-our-own-ignorance/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [In philosophy, as in politics, the longest distance between two points is a straight line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/in-philosophy-as-in-politics-the-longest-distance-between-two-points/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [As long as there is poverty there will be gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/as-long-as-there-is-poverty-there-will-be-gods/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“Hence the uselessness of logic: no one ever convinced anybody by logic; and even logicians use logic only as a source of income. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/hence-the-uselessness-of-logic-no-one-ever-convinced-anybody-by-logic/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“It is a mistake to think that the past is dead. Nothing that has ever happened is quite without influence at this moment. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/it-is-a-mistake-to-think-that-the-past-is-dead-nothing-that-has-ever/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“There is hardly an absurdity of the past that cannot be found flourishing somewhere in the present. Underneath all civilization, ancient or modern, moved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/there-is-hardly-an-absurdity-of-the-past-that-cannot-be-found/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [The Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/the-islamic-conquest-of-india-is-probably-the-bloodiest-story-in/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“Intellectualism—the conception of man as above all a thinking animal, consciously adapting means to rationally chosen ends—fell sick with Rousseau, took to its bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/intellectualism-the-conception-of-man-as-above-all-a-thinking-animal/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“All those fascinating varieties of terrain—mountains and valleys, fiords and straits, gulfs and streams—that make Europe a panorama of diverse delight, have broken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/all-those-fascinating-varieties-of-terrain-mountains-and-valleys/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“To be great is not to be placed above humanity, ruling others; but to stand above the partialities and futilities of uninformed desire, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/to-be-great-is-not-to-be-placed-above-humanity-ruling-others-but-to/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“privately he composed—in French—a poem expressing his pleasure at having given the French a kick in the cul, which Carlyle delicately translated as “the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/privately-he-composed-in-french-a-poem-expressing-his-pleasure-at/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [ “\[N\]o language has ever had a word for a virgin man.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/n-o-language-has-ever-had-a-word-for-a-virgin-man/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“And in the individual too, justice is effective coördination, the harmonious functioning of the elements in a man, each in its fit place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/and-in-the-individual-too-justice-is-effective-co-rdination-the/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) [Explore all 320 Will Durant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) ## More Acceptance quotes > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When one fib becomes due as it were, you must forge another to take up the old acceptance; and so the stock of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/when-one-fib-becomes-due-as-it-were-you-must-forge-another-to-take-up/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Acceptance of death when it arrives is one thing, but to allow it to upstage the joys of living is ingratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-blythe/acceptance-of-death-when-it-arrives-is-one-thing-but-to-allow-it-to/) [Ronald Blythe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-blythe/) > [“Loving someone who does not love you back hurts, alot, i know. It is liking seeing these pair of shoes at the retail store…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomthandazo-tsembeni/loving-someone-who-does-not-love-you-back-hurts-alot-i-know-it-is/) [Nomthandazo Tsembeni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomthandazo-tsembeni/) > [Take responsibily for your past, the bad memories of poor decisions you took were your choices once, and you liked them for the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aruho-marvin/take-responsibily-for-your-past-the-bad-memories-of-poor-decisions/) [Aruho Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aruho-marvin/) > [Let us learn to accept and appreciate things now, and we'll find more happiness in every moment we live. Happiness comes when we stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/let-us-learn-to-accept-and-appreciate-things-now-and-we-ll-find-more/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [“Love first; ask questions later.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-courtney/love-first-ask-questions-later/) [Jeremy Courtney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-courtney/) > [“There was beauty in chaos, she'd just never known it before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-linsmeier/there-was-beauty-in-chaos-she-d-just-never-known-it-before/) [Amanda Linsmeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-linsmeier/) > [Accepting the challenges in life makes it interesting and overcoming them makes it eloquent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/accepting-the-challenges-in-life-makes-it-interesting-and-overcoming/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Acceptance is the only thing you should teach. 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