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Freethought
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{{Distinguish|Freedom of thought|Free will}} {{other uses|Free thought (disambiguation)}} {{Short description|Position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism}} {{Over-quotation|date=November 2020}} [[File:Pansy - Tombstone detail of a freethinker, late 19th century. (Cemetery of Cullera, Spain)..jpg|thumb|Tombstone detail of a freethinker, late 19th century (Cemetery of Cullera, Spain)]] {{Irreligion sidebar|expanded=irreligion}} '''Freethought''' (sometimes spelled '''free thought''') is an unorthodox attitude or belief.<ref name="merriam-webster2">{{cite web |title=Free thought β Definition of free thought by Merriam-Webster |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free%20thought |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422145549/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free%20thought |archive-date=22 April 2020 |access-date=5 August 2020}}</ref> A '''freethinker''' holds that [[belief]]s should not be formed on the basis of [[authority]], [[tradition]], [[revelation]], or [[dogma]],<ref name="merriam-webster.com" /> and should instead be reached by other methods such as [[logic]], [[reason]], and [[empiricism|empirical observation]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} According to the ''[[Collins English Dictionary]]'', a freethinker is "One who is mentally free from the conventional bonds of tradition or dogma, and thinks independently." In some contemporary thought in particular, free thought is strongly tied with rejection of traditional social or religious belief systems.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/freethinker|title=FREETHINKER definition in American English | Collins English Dictionary}}</ref><ref name="merriam-webster.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freethinker|title=Freethinker β Definition of freethinker by Merriam-Webster|access-date=12 June 2015|archive-date=24 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424021647/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freethinker|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iheu.org/glossary/12#letterf |title=Glossary | International Humanist and Ethical Union |access-date=2012-02-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117115830/http://www.iheu.org/glossary/12#letterf |archive-date=2013-01-17}}</ref> The [[cognitive]] application of free thought is known as "freethinking", and practitioners of free thought are known as "freethinkers".<ref name="merriam-webster.com"/> Modern freethinkers consider free thought to be a natural freedom from all negative and illusive thoughts acquired from society.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ffrf.org/nontracts/freethinker.php |title=Nontracts |access-date=12 June 2015 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804135530/http://www.ffrf.org/nontracts/freethinker.php |archive-date=4 August 2012}}</ref> The term first came into use in the 17th century in order to refer to people who inquired into the basis of traditional beliefs which were often accepted unquestioningly. Today, freethinking is most closely linked with [[agnosticism]], [[deism]], [[secularism]], [[humanism]], [[anti-clericalism]], and [[religious critique]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Saga of Freethought and Its Pioneers: Religious Critique and Social Reform |url=https://americanhumanist.org/what-is-humanism/saga-freethought-pioneers-religious-critique-social-reform/ |website=American Humanist Association |access-date=22 December 2023 |date=22 December 2023}}</ref> The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines freethinking as, "The free exercise of reason in matters of religious belief, unrestrained by deference to authority; the adoption of the principles of a free-thinker." Freethinkers hold that knowledge should be grounded in facts, [[scientific method|scientific inquiry]], and logic. The skeptical application of science implies freedom from the intellectually limiting effects of [[confirmation bias]], [[cognitive bias]], [[conventional wisdom]], [[popular culture]], [[prejudice]], or [[sectarianism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://freethinkers.com/who-are-the-freethinkers/|title=who are the Freethinkers?|work=Freethinkers.com|access-date=14 February 2018|date=2018-02-13|archive-date=2020-08-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801014048/https://freethinkers.com/who-are-the-freethinkers/|url-status=live}}</ref>
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