The phrase "ability to think for himself" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing someone's capacity for independent thought or decision-making.
Example: "One of the qualities I admire in him is his ability to think for himself, rather than simply following the crowd."
Alternatives: "capacity for independent thought" or "skill in independent reasoning."
Chappie's ability to think for himself elicits joyous awe from his human "family", and there's little sense that the robot presents any danger.
He then proceeded to list his virtues, which ranged from the ability to obey instructions, to his vision, to his timing, to his nerve in the pocket, to his ability to think for himself.
Jurors differed on precisely when Mrs. Astor had lost her ability to think for herself, but all agreed that by 2005, when the raise was given, she had passed that point, Ms. Fernandez said.
The difference is that whereas the best soldiers do not question orders, knowledge workers are valued most for their ability to think for themselves.
Though he was frequently dismissed as mad, he remained determined that the ability to think for yourself was what made you free.
Stephen Krashen, an education researcher, has shown that when kids choose what they get to read and when, their vocabulary and language skills tend to improve, as does their overall knowledge and ability to think for themselves.
Still, Ms. Egawa said she was worried that Aum would continue to use its longtime recruitment and conversion tactics, in which followers are stripped of their ability to think for themselves and blindly follow what they are told.
But father and daughter share some common beliefs: that education is the key to social mobility, and that nothing is more important than the ability to think for oneself.
Xavi, however, is a player right at the core of a team's creativity: His movement, his passing, his ability to think for others and to influence their game, and to do all that consistently at the top level, surely can never have been surpassed anywhere soccer is played by a Spaniard.
Adolescents' growing independence and ability to think for themselves may make it difficult for parents to shield them from the effects of job loss.
Hardin: I think that's right, because we do not want to usurp young people's ability to think for themselves.
