# Thought Terminating Cliche
A acronym or saying that is used within a [high control group](high-control-group.md) to quell dissent or discourage rational inquiry. Thought terminating cliches are often tied to appeals to *epistemic vices*, which are ideologies or character traits that interfere with sharing, gaining, or retaining knowledge. These include:

* Close-mindedness
* Intellectual arrogance
* Prejudice
* Anti-intellectualism
* Tribalism

See also [bandwagon bias](bandwagon-bias.md), [high-control-group](high-control-group.md), [madness of crowds](madness-crowds.md), [whataboutism](whataboutism.md) and [Tinkerbell effect](tinkerbell-effect.md).

## References
1. Bernstein, William J. 2021. The Delusions of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups. Grove Press.
1. Lowe, Scott. "Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism, by Amanda Montell." (2022): 151-152.
1. Hoffer, Eric. "The True Believer (New York." Harper's (1952): 28.
1. Battaly, Heather. "Varieties of epistemic vice." The ethics of belief (2014): 51-76.
1. Festinger, Leon, Henry Riecken, and Stanley Schachter. When prophecy fails: A social and psychological study of a modern group that predicted the destruction of the world. Lulu Press, Inc, 2017.