Quotes about Debate

Once said that his political adversary "dived down deeper into the sea of knowledge and came up drier than any other man he knew.

Lincoln characterized Stephen Douglas's argument as a specious and fantastic arrangement of words, by which a man can prove a horse chestnut to be a chestnut horse.

My father always used to say, "Don't raise your voice. Improve your argument." Good sense does not always lie with the loudest shouters, nor can we say that a large, unruly crowd is always the best arbiter of what is right.

We shall never again try to convince a fool by reason, for it is both useless and dangerous.

The debate between politicians over the size of our nuclear arsenal and the number of aircraft carriers and submarines our navy should have is, in a sense, a futile debate. Both sides are ultimately trusting in military muscle; they only differ in how much is necessary. The Christian, however, must trust in God, not military might of any size.

One must dig deeply into opposing points of view in order to know whether your own position remains defensible. Iron sharpens iron.

A university is supposed to be a place where all ideas are discussed.

Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it.

I don't understand why it's controversial for law-abiding citizens protecting themselves under the Second Amendment.

I'm merely trying to give you the sort of argument that would appeal to your intelligence.

If you're explaining, you're losing.

Outrage has no time for dialogue, and it won't be distracted by nuance or even truth.