Quotes About Debate

no difference is less easily overcome than the difference of opinion about semi-abstract questions,

There is a war between the ones who say there is a war and the ones who say there isn't.

There is a war between the rich and poor, a war between the man and the woman. There is a war between the ones who say there is a war and the ones who say there isn't.

Anyone who in discussion relies upon authority uses, not his understanding, but rather his memory.

Whoever in discussion adduces authority uses not intellect but rather memory.

I may not be smart enough to debate you point-for-point on this, but I have the feeling about 60% of what you say is crap.

The candidates at the Republican debate looked like a town council that was outlawing dancing. They looked like a board of directors that was lying about poisoning a river.... I tried to TiVo the debate and my TiVo fell asleep.

And then there are fossils. Whenever anybody tries to tell me that they believe the Earth was created in seven days, I reach for a fossil and go "Fossil!" And if they keep talking, I throw it just over their head.

Republicans have nothing but bad ideas and Democrats have no ideas.

Atheists express their rage against God although in their view He does not exist.

And then there are fossils. Whenever anybody tries to tell me that they believe it took place in seven days, I reach for a fossil and go "fossil!" And if they keep talking I throw it just over their head.

The argument we have about abortion is not about abortion. It's about when life begins. And we argue it, and we argue, and we argue! And I say we take all the people who think they know and yell and scream and they're sure when life begins and they're sure when life ends, and we lock them in a room. And we tell them to figure it out. And they don't come out until they do. And if they can't, then we kill them.

I come to urge my party to be open to debate and discussion; to move away from a lock-step litmus test which advocates abortion on demand in an effort to reach a broader national consensus.

It is time to stop debating whether the Internet is an effective tool for political expression and instead to address the much more urgent question of how digital technology can be structured, governed, and used to maximize the good and minimize the evil.

Evolution has long been the target of illogical arguments that use presumption.

Rational discussion is useful only when there is a significant base of shared assumptions.

For students, the evolution-creation discussion can be a useful exercise, for it can help develop their critical thinking skills.

Debating clubs among boys are very useful, not only as affording pleasant meetings and interesting discussions, but also as serving for training grounds for developing the knowledge and the qualities that are needed in public life.

Without free speech no search for truth is possible... no discovery of truth is useful.

While it is useful to rebut charges and get your arguments out in circulation, you have to understand that arguments and evidence have little impact on people as long as their feelings tilt them against you.

Recognize that dissenting opinions are useful even when they're wrong, and go out of your way to reward them.

Anyone who in discussion relies upon authority uses, not his understanding, but rather his memory.

As someone who is on the more liberal side of things, I personally think this side needs to be a little less open. I know that's part of what it means to be on the more liberal side of things, but that trait can no longer really be a part of our makeup. The simple reason for this is that the opposing side uses our openness to their full advantage.

'Right' and 'wrong' aren't words a linguist uses.