Quotes About Consensus

The Italian philosopher Gianni Vattimo makes a similar point to Rorty: "We don't reach agreement when we have discovered the truth," he observes; "we say we have discovered the truth when we reach agreement.

There are no shortcuts to moral insight. Nature is not intrinsically anything that can offer comfort or solace in human terms -- if only because our species is such an insignificant latecomer in a world not constructed for us. So much the better. The answers to moral dilemmas are not lying out there, waiting to be discovered. They reside, like the kingdom of God, within us -- the most difficult and inaccessible spot for any discovery or consensus.

Scientific questions cannot be decided by majority vote in any case.

This new consensus seemed so compelling that Ernst Mayr, the dean of modern Darwinians, opened the ashcan of history for a deposit of Geoffrey's ideas about anatomical unity.

It is intrinsically impossible for the pope, as pope, to speak with authority on the details of climate science. Nor is he better suited than you or I to evaluate the so-called "consensus" of actual scientists. He might as well be picking stocks or rewriting the scores of Broadway musicals, for which he has equal divine authority: none. He

In many ways, the role of design in a corporation has shifted dramatically from one of craftsmanship—making artifacts—to one of facilitation—or driving an agenda. Designers find themselves operating in a space between project manager and consensus driver—and that's not a particularly creative or invigorating place to be. For those who end up in this role, the following may offer guidance to rekindle the creative embers that are beginning to burn out.

Consensual reality is both fragile and elastic, and it heals like the skin of a bubble.

History is a set of lies agreed upon.

Relativismo, escepticismo y finalmente nihilismo tienen un tono devorador, porque de ellos emerge un hombre pesimista, desilusionado, indiferente a la verdad por comodidad, por no profundizar en cuestiones sustanciales. Así surge la idea del consenso como juez último: lo que diga la mayoría es la verdad.

Weimar Germany conjures up fears of what can happen when there is simply no societal consensus on how to move forward and every minor difference becomes a cause of existential political battles,

It is naively assumed that the fact that the majority of people share certain ideas and feelings proves the validity of these ideas and feelings. Nothing could be further from the truth. Consensual validation as such has no bearing on reason or mental health.

Private opinion is weak, but public opinion is almost omnipotent.

What happy and successful single people are threatening is not the institution of marriage but the cultural consensus on its special value. Same-sex marriage does not threaten the institution of marriage, either. The sticking point (or at least one of them) is that large numbers of Americans remain unconvinced that gay men and lesbians are the moral equivalent of straight people. To them, keeping marriage pure and sacred means keeping same-sex partners out.

Unanimity makes me itchy. It almost always hides a grave. I started digging.

I emphasized that policy decisions should be based on open-minded discussion, not the views of only one individual.

I saw little evidence of an emerging consensus in favor of them and widespread confusion about how they would work.

As the meeting approached, I worked to keep everyone on board.

Lewis persuaded his board to go through with the merger,

I wanted to involve as many of my colleagues as possible, to get both useful advice and greater buy-in.

The Committee approved the package unanimously.

I urge you, in your public communication, to consider highlighting areas of common ground in addition to differences.

You can try to hide from the attacks of the left; you can run away from them, attempt to ignore them, pretend that the left has reached some sort of quasi-consensus in which they live and let live. That will last until the protesters are outside your business, the government regulators are outside your house, or the administrators are inside your child's classroom. Then you'll realize that while you were willing to let live, the left simply wasn't.

Politics is a herd mentality. Politicians don't really lead. Politicians reflect what they think is consensus opinion.

I hope you'll find that my campaign was a reflection of how I plan to govern - bringing people together, building coalitions, and finding common ground.