“A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely
rearranging their prejudices.”

—  David Bohm

Last update June 3, 2021. History

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David Bohm photo
David Bohm 42
American theoretical physicist 1917–1992

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“A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.”

William James (1842–1910) American philosopher, psychologist, and pragmatist

Not found in James's writings. Earliest similar cite is to Episcopal Methodist Bishop W. F. Oldham in 1906. Quote Investigator https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/05/10/merely/. A related quote is in James's 1907 book, Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking: "Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered as much of our old knowledge, as many of our old prejudices and beliefs, as we can. We patch and tinker more than we renew. The novelty soaks in; it stains the ancient mass; but it is also tinged by what absorbs it."
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“A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices.”

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“The concept of lateral thinking is insight restructuring and this is brought about through the rearrangement of information.”

Edward de Bono (1933) Maltese physician

Source: Lateral Thinking : Creativity Step by Step (1970), p. 159.
Context: The concept of lateral thinking is insight restructuring and this is brought about through the rearrangement of information. Rearrangement is the basis of lateral thinking and rearrangement means escape from the rigid patterns established by experience. The rearrangement process is incorporated in the concept of the (re) laxative. The laxative is a rearranging device. It is the means whereby one can escape from established patterns and create new ones. The laxative allows the arrangement of information in new ways from which new patterns can arise. The concept of the laxative is crystallized into a definite language tool. This language tool is PO. Once one learns the function and use of PO one has learned how to use lateral thinking. The whole concept of lateral thinking is concentrated in the use of this language tool. Lateral thinking could be said to be the management of PO just as logical thinking is the management of NO.

“The power of fantasy is so strong that people think they are having a good time when they are merely wasting money.”

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“If I'm engrossed in a book, I have to rearrange my thoughts before I can mingle with other people, because otherwise they might think I was strange.”

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Variant: If I read a book that impresses me, I have to take myself firmly by the hand, before I mix with other people; otherwise they would think my mind rather queer.
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“Prejudices are so to speak the mechanical instincts of men: through their prejudices they do without any effort many things they would find too difficult to think through to the point of resolving to do them.”

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“I had a great many prejudices that have since dissolved.”

Norman Mailer (1923–2007) American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, film maker, actor and political candidate

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Context: I had a great many prejudices that have since dissolved. But what I still hate about the women's movement is their insistence upon male piety in relation to it. I don't like bending my knee and saying I'm sorry, mea culpa. I find now that women have achieved some power and recognition they are quite the equal of men in every stupidity and vice and misjudgment that we've exercised through history.
They're narrow-minded, power seeking, incapable of recognizing the joys of a good discussion. The women's movement is filled with tyrants, just as men's political movements are equally filled.
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