Discourse says, 'You are.' Rhetoric preserves the freedom…

Women must write through their bodies, they must invent the impregnable language that will wreck partitions, classes, and rhetorics, regulations and codes, they must…

— Helene Cixous

The force of what was called Panther rhetoric or word mongering resided not in elegant discourse but in strength of affirmation (or denial), in…

— Jean Genet

Rhetoric is useful because the true and the just are naturally superior to their opposites, so that, if decisions are improperly made, they must…

— Aristotle

Rhetoric in serious discourses is like the flowers in corn; pleasing to those who come only for amusement, but prejudicial to him who would…

— Jonathan Swift

I've watched politics for years. Republicans rarely get credit for the good things that happen in the economy during their watch. Democrats always get…

— George W. Bush

What makes power hold good, what makes it accepted, is simply the fact that it doesn't only weigh on us as a force that…

— Michel Foucault

Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after…

— Henry David Thoreau

I am interested in levels of brain discourse. How articulate are the voices in your head? You know, there's a different voice for the…

— Anne Enright

That is another theme in the book [Dreams from My Father]. How do we exercise more empathy in our public discourse? How do we…

— Barack Obama

When the only people in mainstream discourse who care about the working class are Wall Street investors, it really is time to ask where…

— Timothy Noah

There is no question but that nominally religious scientists like Francis Collins and Kenneth R. Miller are doing lasting harm to our discourse by…

— Sam Harris

It's fine to talk about politics with people you agree with. But it is rude to argue about politics with people you disagree with.…

— Lawrence Lessig

The book is not simply the object that one holds in one's hands, and it cannot remain within the little parallelpiped that contains it:…

— Michel Foucault

The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…

— S. I. Hayakawa

Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…

— Dan Savage