Thoughtful Discussion Quotes

Thoughtful people of different political philosophies can disagree, but in a very agreeable manner.

People like to think about MPs in very crass terms: you're either an uber-loyalist babe, or you're a rebel. There isn't any grown-up room to be thoughtful. There isn't space in public debate for that.

My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.

When two friends are in the mood to chat, we have to go about it in a gentler and more dialectical way. By 'more dialectical,' I mean not only that we give real responses, but that we base our responses solely on what the interlocutor admits that he himself knows.

Anna spoke not only naturally and intelligently, but intelligently and casually, without attaching any value to her own thoughts, yet giving great value to the thoughts of the one she was talking to.

Issues are never simple. One thing I'm proud of is that very rarely will you hear me simplify the issues.

I like smart movies about smart people, and enjoy it when most of the facts are on the table and we can contemplate them together.

I enjoy people who talk intelligently.

There ought to be a thoughtful welfare-reform debate that doesn't turn into something that could be called scapegoating.

On 'Morning Joe' I can say what I think, be my sometimes unorthodox self, have fun, yet be serious as well.

I adore people who ask questions and who cause others to share in their search.

Anybody who has something sensible or worthwhile to say should be able to say it calmly and soberly, relying on the words themselves to convey his meaning, without resorting to yelling.

The fun thing about journalism is if you go do a story about something, you can now ask three intelligent questions about it. Or say three intelligent things. And that gets people talking.

Colleges and classrooms should be havens of tranquility, places where thoughtful discussions occur, where students work together with their teachers to acquire knowledge of the arts and sciences.

I try to always bring topics to the table that matter, topics that I think need to be discussed and reflected on.

Television is apparently the enemy of nuance. But nuance is essential for a thoughtful discussion.

We don't often have the luxury of time [in Steve Jobs movie ]to have these conversations where you just literally get to sit around for day and days and analyze every line of dialogue.

Eddie Izzard is wonderful, I think, but I've only seen that one HBO special he did. He's one of the few people who talk about stuff other than girlfriends and relationships and flatulence and genitalia. There are very few of them who actually talk about real stuff.

People who listen to NPR are forever thanking the hosts for 'sharing,' or 'initiating a dialogue,' or 'taking the time to explain this very important issue.'

I'm not about sound bites. I'm about substance.

I don't like to listen to the unthoughtful criticism. When we have thoughtful criticism, I love it.

We must protect the very things that make America so special - most certainly including our civil liberties. But we cannot do so without strong national security and a thoughtful and informed discourse.

Any story that gets us thinking, and particularly young people, thinking why? Whether it's as a result of reading the book, or coming out of the theatre or the cinema, I think we should just simply be asking the question 'why'? Why did it happen to those people? Was it necessary? And anything that gets us thinking like that is really important.

If we aren't going to be afraid of conflict, we have to see it as thinking.

I am attracted to arguments that have a certain plausible originality to them.