Laurence J. Peter on debate

If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?

There are two kinds of failures: those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought.

Going to church doesn’t make you any more a Christian than going to the garage makes you a car.

A great many of those who ‘debunk’ traditional…values have in the background values of their own which they believe to be immune from the debunking process.

C. S. Lewis1898–1963The Abolition of Man

I argue very well. Ask any of my remaining friends. I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don’t even invite me.

Dave Barryborn 1947

I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.

Margaret Thatcher1925–2013From an interview for Italian television (RAI) (10 March 1986)