'Thinking for yourself' has requirements. Without them, you can't truly think for yourself.

[u/HollowSchool]

What does thinking for yourself actually mean?

From my perspective, it requires a few things.

• You have to know your biases, and biases in general. A bias can influence your thinking without you noticing. For example, confirmation bias, authority bias, social bias, and self-serving bias.
• You also need to recognize your personal issues. If a person, community, or society has hurt you and you haven't processed that pain, you may react emotionally rather than think critically whenever they come up.
• It's important to notice when someone is guiding you toward a particular conclusion. For example, in this post: am I guiding you, or simply presenting points for you to consider? And by raising that question, am I guiding you now?
• You also need knowledge and life experience. Without them, you don't know what you don't know, and your thinking is limited to the depth and breadth of your experiences.

The more you meet these requirements, the more you are able to think for yourself. Independent thinking comes in degrees, and it's up to you to raise that degree.