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People who think outside the box are freethinkers. They are people who form their own opinions, and don't readily accept what others say. They often go against the majority. They are the rebels, the inventors, the minorities who stand up in the face of the majorities if they don't agree. Maybe they are atheists who dare to question, or agnostics, or choosers of minority religions such as Unitarians or Scientology or LDS. Maybe they are the libertarians or the independents. They are the non-conformists. I celebrate the freethinkers - who refuse to be manipulated by the majority of responses on a poll, for example, and really think for themselves.

Historically, here are a list of some of the freethinkers:
Buddha
Albert Einstein
Francis Bacon
Marie Curie
John Lennon
Zora Neale Hurston
Gene Roddenberry

Are you a free thinker - or do you prefer to follow a more traditional, well-paved path?

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39 Answers

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Aren't all of our opinions stemmed off of ideas and opinions placed on us since our *********? Of course, they transform as we grow and they can change to completely different things but do they change into our OWN opinions or are they changed according to what you hear and see in other people? In my case, I like to take other opinions and incorporate the things that seem logical into my own (Though, sometimes I'm very stubborn). In other cases, many opinions that we form are in agreement with historic figures that we admire or books that we've read.
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I charge by the hour
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No Pluralized. I can see you are not to bright i'll not waste my time with the likes of you. Just thought asa ggentelman I would help you off your hiigh horse. You hatred of atheists and you thinking Christians are supirior might be your problem. Not sure Who splinter is but if he called you on you BS he gets high praiase from me.
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As I thought a low class ingrate.
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Yeah, I thought so Splinter, you got nothing to say.
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I choose what to believe. For a Minister, I think very "outside the box". And no, I don't easily back down because my beliefs are rooted in truth and logic, not emotion or popularity.
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There is absolutely no logic in religion and very little truth either. That is the major myth in christianity.
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Ok. And that is your opinion/belief. Mine is not the same. We will agree to disagree.
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I listen to others ... see if what they are saying makes any sense.....but then make up my own mind ...even if it goes against the flow of others train of thought
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For "free thinkers" to not readily accept what others say they sure sound alike in online forums.
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Before judging intelligence you might want to check your sentence structure. Atheist should be pluralized. I thought i might want to help you because you can not see when you put yourself on so high a pedestal.
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The path I chose in this life ..
was mine alone indeed ...
the fact that I went very much against traditions ..
stepped out on my own early and worked **** for the successes I've achieved ..
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Yes, I'm still allowed to think freely; but I know, there has to be some progressive brain trust out there, scheming a way to tax peoples thoughts, there has to be.
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I'm not real original.
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My mind is free.
In the old days Free Thinker meant you were an atheist Communist.
I use it to mean I have never cared what other people thought.
Today more people agree with me than when I was young.
When I was young, many more people were willing to believe lies.
Some still do.
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You cannot be free if you are shackled by religion. That is an oxymoron
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BS. I am not shackled.
Mysticism allows me freedom you can never imagine.
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I'm a free thinker and read or read abot most of trhe people on your list when I was a *****. I would add Mark Twain, Anais Nin, and Thomas Jefferson.
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So you really have no other argument for me, so you complain that atheist is not capitalized.
Try again splinter.
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So you think Christians, Catholics, are not capable of free thought?

Btw, atheism is quite mainstream now. There are very few atheist who are actually, intelligent atheist.
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I'll gladly think for free.
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I do consider myself a free thinker. My thoughts are rarely influenced by opinions of others. Many others are like sheep, content to follow the path of least resistance irregardless of where it leads. The only thing worse than a stupid person is a person who supports and follows a stupid person.

It's like trying to make sense of Max Plancks theory or of the Koran,-neither makes sense but a lot of otherwise sensible people swear by them both. (and Plancks actually works) Go figure that one...
Oh, I decided to post a poem of mine that might, in some way, show a quirk or two about my thinking. This poem was written without anything particular in mind,-I cannot recall any reason I wrote it except I felt like writing a poem and started writing...and this happened.

Dinner With the Folks
I met a girl out on the street and asked her if she'd like to eat,.-
A bite or two with me at her folks place.
She said I guess I wouldn't mind, if you would be so kind and tell me
that your name is no worse than your face.

I told her that my name is Joe, that's all of me you need to know.
So now let's go to your place and pig out.
She asked me if I had a buck,- I told her that she is in luck;
Cause gold and silver's what I'm all about.

We walked inside her living room, it smelled so bad I felt a swoon
Begi...






































I do consider myself a free thinker. My thoughts are rarely influenced by opinions of others. Many others are like sheep, content to follow the path of least resistance irregardless of where it leads. The only thing worse than a stupid person is a person who supports and follows a stupid person.

It's like trying to make sense of Max Plancks theory or of the Koran,-neither makes sense but a lot of otherwise sensible people swear by them both. (and Plancks actually works) Go figure that one...
Oh, I decided to post a poem of mine that might, in some way, show a quirk or two about my thinking. This poem was written without anything particular in mind,-I cannot recall any reason I wrote it except I felt like writing a poem and started writing...and this happened.

Dinner With the Folks
I met a girl out on the street and asked her if she'd like to eat,.-
A bite or two with me at her folks place.
She said I guess I wouldn't mind, if you would be so kind and tell me
that your name is no worse than your face.

I told her that my name is Joe, that's all of me you need to know.
So now let's go to your place and pig out.
She asked me if I had a buck,- I told her that she is in luck;
Cause gold and silver's what I'm all about.

We walked inside her living room, it smelled so bad I felt a swoon
Begin to overtake my consciousness.
Her mom and dad both welcomed me, they didn't expect company;
They're sorry that the house is such a mess.

I asked when dinner would be served, dad said you have a lot of nerve,-
You need to give my wife a chance to cook.
The girl said we could call a store and have a meal brought to the door.
That sure would beat mom's cooking from a book.

So mom called on the telephone and gave the ad-dress to her home
And said we need a meal; we need it now.
We have a ****** here who's flush;-who on our daughter has a crush,
Although she smells and looks just like a cow.

So then, we sat around the table,-she told me that her name is Mable;
If you've a quarter, then you are in luck.
I said I needed all my cash to buy this Oriental bash
And honey mustard to go on the duck.

At last we started on our meal; with my third bite I gave a squeal;
A bead of sweat popped out on my forehead.
My stomach churned and made a threat to empty cause it was upset,
I heard mom whisper,-soon he will be dead.

It seems they've done all this before; they set it all up with the store
To bring a meal that has an almond smell.
The smell is all that I recall. No one will grab me if I fall,
If I crash now I know I'll wake in ****.

My stomach heaved, I gave a squeal and I put all my former meal
Back on the table, mostly in my plate.
I staggered out into the street; I barely could stay on my feet.
But I took time to contemplate my fate.

If I should meet a girl again and she agrees that I come in
And meet her folks and dine like once before,-
I'll run so fast she'll scarcely see the blur that's all there'll be of me!
That's all there is of this; there ain't no more!

finis...
(more)
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Without a doubt.
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Sometimes I toe the line and sometimes not.
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Why not ask why????
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I am a very free thinker. I do what I want, when I want. I walk my own road.
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I might lean more to the freethinker side.
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Being bi-cultural from two so dissimilar cultures, I have to be a bit of a freethinker.
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I don't need to know someone elses opinion to form mine!
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I go my own way.
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Freethinker that's me. I am a progressive thinker as well. I usually do not follow others like sheep. I have platforms that are very important to me and donate to many charities.
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Though I do sometimes find myself led by other's opinions, I usually push away those opinions and try to think things over for myself
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I am a free thinker and I think, I could out think John Lennon...what in the **** thoughts, words, or deeds he had that amounted to more than a pile of ordure.
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You bet I am.
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I try to find new ways of doing things, I think of different ways of doing things. And i certainly do not conform.
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I am a free thinker who respects other´s lifestyles. But when I know I am right, I wont change my opinion just because of group presure.

I remember being around 11 years old when a substitute teacher came with a very old book affirming whales were fish. I told him whales were mammals, he kept saying they were fish because they live in the water. the entire class room suported him and I keept saying they were mammals and that´s when I realized I was a free thinker.
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To fail to learn from the past and traditions is just self-righteous and a waste of energy. “Out of every hundred new ideas ninety-nine or more will probably be inferior to the traditional responses which they propose to replace. No one man, however brilliant or well-informed, can come in one lifetime to such fullness of understanding as to safely judge and dismiss the customs of institutions of his society, for these are the wisdom of generations after centuries of experiment in the laboratory of history.” From The Lessons of History by the Durants WOULD I BE A "FREE THINKER" TO IGNORE THE BUDDHA?
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As I grow older I find I am becoming more of a free thinker, where as when I was young I ******* people would not lie to me. Of course I found out that people do lie and you need to do your own research and decide for yourself instead of letting others make all the decisions.
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I reject the herd mentality of the majorty
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