Defensible Quotes

#1. The modern mind tends to be more and more critical and analytical in spirit, hence it must devise for itself an engine of expression which is logically defensible at every point and which tends to correspond to the rigorous spirit of modern science.

Edward Sapir

#2. My Botswana books are positive, and I've never really sought to deny that. They are positive. They present a very positive picture of the country. And I think that that is perfectly defensible given that there is so much written about Africa which is entirely negative.

Alexander McCall Smith

#3. Either criticism is no good at all (a very defensible position) or else criticism means saying about an author the very things that would have made him jump out of his boots.

Gilbert K. Chesterton

#4. We don't have enough solid organs for transplantation; not enough kidneys, livers, hearts, lungs. When you get a liver and you have three people who need it, who should get it? We tried to come up with an ethically defensible answer. Because we have to choose.

Ezekiel Emanuel

#5. When we look at investing, we always think about 'how defensible is this, how likely is it that somebody is going to copy this.' E-commerce tends to be something easy to copy because it's execution.

Niklas Zennstrom

#6. Torture when inflicted on children
becomes indefensible. Even among those who believe that torture is a defensible
practice to extract information, the case for inflicting pain and abuse upon children
proves impossible to support.

Henry A. Giroux

#7. All of us fractured, awkward collages of experience wrapped tight to present a defensible face to the world.

Mark Lawrence

#8. The only defensible war is a war of defense.

G.K. Chesterton

#9. The high ground is defensible.

Ken Marlin

#10. Bezos believed that high margins justified rivals' investments in research and development and attracted more competition, while low margins attracted customers and were more defensible.

Brad Stone

#11. Whenever I write something, I always want to make sure that what I write is defensible.

Salman Rushdie

#12. I think that it's an arguable position, whether with Hamas and ISIS around, whether there should be a Palestinian state, but it's a defensible position, given the current circumstances.

David Brooks

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

Francis Collins

#14. My main thesis is narrower and, I think, more defensible: understanding reality, in the sense of being able to use what we know to predict what we don't, is best achieved using the tools of science, and is never achieved using the methods of faith.

Jerry A. Coyne

#15. If there are to be rules, they must be articulable and defensible, like etiquette. I do not do anything simply because my family did it. I do things because they make sense, and because they are elegant.

Kathleen Rooney

#16. I've always found paranoia to be a perfectly defensible position.

Pat Conroy

#17. Look, I get it. Loose stools are grosser than solid ones. But the censor is using the context of her own life history with all her hang-ups to answer the question, Is there a defensible ratio of fiber to water in this stool?

Sarah Silverman

#18. The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is legitimate only to the degree that it serves defensible poltical goals. Thus implies a constant exercise of due diligence ...

Michael Ignatieff

#19. Every adult should be able to make as many effective decisions without fear or favor about as many aspects of her or his life as is compatible with the like freedom of every other adult. That belief is the original and only defensible meaning of liberalism.

Judith N. Shklar

#20. The major wars that the U.S. became involved in are all ethically defensible.

Liu Xiaobo

#21. I respect those who openly advocate for unlimited immigration to the United States. Open borders is an intellectually coherent, defensible position.

Jan C. Ting

#22. It was good to be where you belong... And best to do the things you can live with. Even if it killed you in the short run.

J.R. Ward

#23. Draw consciousness away from mind activity and create a gap of no-mind in which you are highly alert and aware but not thinking. This is the essence of meditation.

Eckhart Tolle

#24. The heart lies and the head plays tricks on us, but the eyes see true. Look with your eyes. Hear with your ears. Taste with your mouth. Smell with your nose. Feel with your skin. Then comes the thinking, afterward, and in a way knowing the truth.

George R R Martin

#25. The accumulation of wealth is a process which is of itself morally neutral. True, as Christianity teaches, riches bring temptations. But then so does poverty.

Margaret Thatcher

#26. The innovation point is the pivotal moment when talented and motivated people seek the opportunity to act on their ideas and dreams.

W. Arthur Porter

#27. I've always liked working on stories that combine people who are relatable with something insane.

J.J. Abrams

#28. I'm involved in some action scenes, so they'll train me for that. I'll be working with my acting coach to prepare for my character.

Aaliyah

#29. Yet he could scarcely tell Lord Mormont that it was another man's sword he dreamt of ... "I want no courtesies either," Mormont said,

George R R Martin

#30. Q: Are you guys shooting a movie?
A: No. We're opening a mid-priced Italian restaurant.
Q: Huh?
A: Yes of course we're shooting a movie.
Q: What's the movie about?
A: It's a documentary about human stupidity.
Q: Can I be in your movie?
A: We'd be stupid not to put you in it.

Jesse Andrews

#31. It wasn't his fault he'd been reared in a nice, safe, civilized society that protected him from the harsh reality of an older and grimmer set of imperatives.

David Weber

#32. I want to look my best, but I'm not a model. I'm not an actress. I'm representing normal girls. It's OK to have a little bit of curve. I'm happy with my body. So many girls come up to me and say, "Thank you for being normal," and I'm proud of that.

Miranda Lambert

#33. Philosophers are good at parties but not for cleaning up after.

Lorrie Moore

#34. Roll of thunder hear my cry Over the water bye and bye Ole man comin' down the line Whip in hand to beat me down But I ain't gonna let him Turn me 'round

Mildred D. Taylor

#35. Admitting that racism has played a part in our success means admitting that the American dream isn't quite so accessible to all.

Jodi Picoult