Quotes About Deliberation

Philosophy is nothing but discretion.

Being a philosopher requires a lot of thinking and no action. Being a model requires a lot of action and no thinking.

A wise man does not give quick answers to complex questions – he observes, analyzes and contemplates.

So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact.

Say a word, say a thousand to me on the telephone and I shall choose the wrong one to cling to as though you had said it after long deliberation when only I provoked it from you, I will cling to it from among a thousand, to be provoked and hurl it back with something I mean no more than you meant that, something for you to cling to and retreat clinging to.

A committee can make a decision that is dumber than any of its members.

T]he Constitution was built for deliberation, not for speed. The Founding Fathers sought to create a system of checks and balances that prevents any branch of government from becoming tyrannical. The rise of czars threatens that goal. Hopefully, the political problems the czars caused President Obama mean that the American czar system will share the fate of the Russian one.

The purpose of debates is to explore issues, not end them.

Modern states are democratic, or at least it's generally felt they really should be. yet democracy, in modern states, is conceived very differently to, say, the workings of an assembly in an ancient city, which collectively deliberated on common problems. Rather, democracy as we have come to know it is effectively a game of winners and losers played out among larger-than-life individuals, with the rest of us reduced largely to onlookers.

When men are most sure and arrogant, they are commonly the most mistaken, and have then giver views to passion, without that proper deliberation and suspense which can alone secure them from the grossest absurdities.

I never knew anyone, that examined and deliberated about nonsense, who did not believe it before the end of his enquiries.

When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken, giving views to passion without that proper deliberation which alone can secure them from the grossest absurdities.

Because God's justice is inexorable, it is hard to obtain forgiveness for sins committed with complete deliberation.

Good judges develop certain habits of mind. One of those habits of mind is the habit of delaying reaching conclusions until everything has been considered.

The purely agitational attitude is not good enough for a detailed consideration of a subject.

The Senate is indeed a deliberative body, and that quality serves the nation well. A slow-moving government helps us maintain a stable government. But slow moving is not the same as immobile.

I am accustomed to think very long of going anywhere,--am slow to move. I hope to hear a response of the oracle first.

A wise man first thinks and then speaks and a fool speaks first and then thinks.

I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week sometimes to make it up.

Whoever wants to accomplish great things must devote to a lot of profound thought to details.

nothing should make it haste without thinking first.

It is characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.

The true significance of having an open mind lies in being deliberate, not obedient.

We don't want reactions. We don't want first impressions. We don't want knee-jerks. We want considered feedback. Read it over. Read it twice, three times even. Sleep on it. Take your time to gather and present your thoughts—just like the person who pitched the original idea took their time to gather and present theirs.