Debate Quotes

“All bad arguments are one of three types: The Straw Man, The Weak Man, and The Hollow Man.”

“Disagreement is not disloyalty. In a healthy culture, people can argue about ideas.”

“I would like to be judged on the validity of my arguments, not as a victim.”

“The worst thing that can happen to a good cause is, not to be skillfully attacked, but to be ineptly defended.”

“If we don’t have a debate, something is wrong.”

“They don’t want a debate; they want to shut you down.”

“We can't be afraid to have a debate.”

“Too much agreement kills a chat.”

“You can't have a rational discussion with a lunatic.”

“You can't have a discussion with a fundamentalist.”

“In the frank expression of conflicting opinions lies the greatest promise of wisdom.”

“Censorship, and the stifling of debate, is a feature of totalitarian societies, not of free ones.”

“Argument is meant to reveal the truth, not to create it.”

“The essence of a good interview is that it is an argument.”

“The competition between paradigms is not the sort of battle that can be resolved by proofs.”

“If we don't have a vigorous debate, we're not going to get good policy.”

“The layman, unfortunately, is not equipped to decide on the merits of a controversy. He can only listen to the two sides and then try to make up his mind.”

“The free exchange of ideas, the contentious, argumentative, noisy exchange of ideas, is the bedrock of a free society.”

“I think it is very important that we should be able to have a civilised debate about nuclear power.”

“Behind every argument is someone's ignorance.”