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About this quote

What does it mean?
Poincare insists thought must never submit to dogma or passion but only to facts to maintain its essence.
In plain terms
Thought must only submit to facts, not to dogmas or passions.
What can you take from it?
Independent thought requires submitting only to evidence rather than external biases.

Where it applies

  • critical thinking
  • academic integrity
  • political discourse

Putting it to work

  • teaching critical thinking
  • promoting objectivity
  • resisting bias

Questions to consider

  • How do we stay open to evidence?
  • What happens when thought submits to dogma?

Another view

Strict adherence to facts alone may ignore the role of intuition and values in decision making.

More from Henri Poincare

  1. La tache de l'educateur est de faire repasser l'esprit de l'enfant par ou a passe celui de ses peres, en passant rapidement par certaines etapes mais en n'en s…

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  2. Douter de tout ou tout croire, ce sont deux solutions egalement commodes, qui l'une et l'autre nous dispensent de reflechir.

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  3. C'est meme des hypotheses simples qu'il faut le plus se defier, parce que ce sont celles qui ont le plus de chances de passer inapercues.

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