Freethinking
What it means
Willing to form ideas independently and question assumptions.
Reach for it when praising willingness to form ideas independently and question assumptions
The freethinking students tested several unusual designs.
Willing to form ideas independently and question assumptions.
Reach for it when praising willingness to form ideas independently and question assumptions
The freethinking students tested several unusual designs.
| warm | |
|---|---|
| professional |
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| formal |
warm
Fits when judgment is not surrendered to group pressure
Careful Independent-minded can become stubborn or isolated.
warm
Fits when active curiosity drives examination
Careful An inquiring mind may remain within accepted assumptions.
warm
Fits when new evidence and views receive fair consideration
Careful Open-minded people may still accept conventional conclusions.
professional
skeptical
Fits when claims face careful demand for evidence
Careful Skepticism alone can become reflexive disbelief.
formal
nonconformist
Fits when thinking resists social convention
Careful Nonconformity can be performative rather than thoughtful.
formal
unorthodox
Fits when ideas depart from established doctrine
Careful Departure from doctrine carries no guarantee of sound reasoning.
freethinking scholar
The freethinking scholar compared every source.
freethinking tradition
The school preserved a freethinking tradition.
freethinking approach
A freethinking approach welcomed disconfirming evidence.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Updated
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