John Dewey Quotes

They are deceptively simple. I admit that. But for me, all my life I try to simplify things. As a child in school, things were very hard for me to understand often, and I developed a knack, I think. I developed a process to simplify things so I would understand them.

The best types of problems are those that seem harder at first than when you think about it.

If you can get rid of the emotion and concentrate on the problem, you can solve the problem.

It is often wonderful how putting down on paper a clear statement of a case helps one to see, not perhaps the way out, but the way in.

To solve a problem, you have to be able to state what the problem is or at least say the name.

I believe the ability to think is blessed. If you can think about a situation, you can deal with it. The big struggle is to keep your head clear enough to think.

A problem clearly stated is a problem half solved.

Abstraction is a mental process we use when trying to discern what is essential or relevant to a problem; it does not require a belief in abstract entities.

Thinking clearly and effectively is the greatest asset of any human being.

Reducing every issue to an argument can become stale but it's often a very good way of clarifying issues.

Most intuitive ideas have to be clarified, so there is a trial and error process.

... writing had become an essential element of the process of thinking. Not until I had put my thoughts down on paper could I examine them with objectivity.

You can't fix a problem if you don't have the words to describe it. You can't even think about it clearly.

Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.

The truth is, that common-sense, or thought as it first emerges above the level of the narrowly practical, is deeply imbued with that bad logical quality to which the epithet metaphysical is commonly applied; and nothing can clear it up but a severe course of logic.

The way to keep yourself from making assumptions is to ask questions.

Without improving our mind there is no way to solve our human problems.

To think is not enough, you must think of something.

Simplicity is about clarity of thought and being willing to stay in a problem long enough to come to a solution, though it could be right in front of you.

Philosophy is "an unusually stubborn attempt to think clearly.

In order to begin an analysis, there must already be a synthesis present in the mind.

If you can properly define the problem, then you've already defined the solution as well.

What is thinking? It is the activity of searching out what must be true, or cannot be true, in the light of the given facts or assumptions.

Chess makes man wiser and clear-sighted.

To 'see both sides' of a problem is the surest way to prevent its complete solution. Because there are always more than two sides.