“Free Thinker”

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Mandi	“Free Thinker” Hi! Reading Kanye’s Twitter rant, I’ve been thinking about his (and many others’) use of the term “free thinker”: “Free thinkers don't fear retaliation for your thoughts. The traditional thinkers are only using thoughts and words but they are in a mental prison. You are free. You've already won.” I think this claim of being a “free thinker” is often deployed as a defensive shield against people with whom you might disagree, conveniently absolving you of having to accept or respond to legitimate criticism. There is a certain implication that a free thinker is impervious to inaccuracy. There’s also the implication that those who accept mainstream thinking are unable to think for themselves, and are therefore wrong. What are your thoughts?
	asked on Saturday, Apr 28, 2018 05:41:24 AM by Mandi
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Eat Meat... Or Don't.

Roughly 95% of Americans don’t appear to have an ethical problem with animals being killed for food, yet all of us would have a serious problem with humans being killed for food. What does an animal lack that a human has that justifies killing the animal for food but not the human?

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Bo Bennett, PhD 0	It is an overall rhetorical strategy employed that fits this general formula: "I am a _________. As a _______, I have all theses pros and none of these cons." It doesn't matter what the ______ is. The speaker is making a claim that needs support, but often doesn't have it. It is an unsubstantiated claim . Ironically, the term "free thinker" is most associated with being non-religious, or at the very least, rejecting mainstream religious dogma.
	answered on Saturday, Apr 28, 2018 07:06:52 AM by Bo Bennett, PhD
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