If we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must be free to follow wherever that search may lead us. The free mind is not a barking dog, to be tethered on a ten-foot chain.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- It defends intellectual freedom, comparing constrained inquiry to a tethered animal.
- In plain terms
- If you want knowledge, you must be free to explore it anywhere.
- What can you take from it?
- Protect freedom of inquiry for true learning.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What limits knowledge?
- How free should inquiry be?
Another view
Absolute freedom can sometimes lead to harmful research outcomes.
More from Adlai Stevenson
Nothing so dates a man as to decry the younger generation.
Permalink to quote #27 I do not believe it is man's destiny to compress this once boundless earth into a small neighborhood, the better to destroy it. Nor do I believe it is in the n…
Permalink to quote #29 My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.
Permalink to quote #26
Related quotes
The principle itself of dogmatic religion, dogmatic morality, dogmatic philosophy, is what requires to be rooted out; not any particular manifestation of that …
John Stuart MillJohn Stuart Mill quote #1 Ignorance is not bliss -- it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.
Philip WyliePhilip Wylie quote #3 La verdadera ciencia ensena, por encima de todo, a dudar y a ser ignorante.
Miguel de UnamunoMiguel de Unamuno quote #16