---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reason can be fought with reason. How are…"
description: "\"“Reason can be fought with reason. How are you going to fight the unreasonable?”\" — Ayn Rand"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/ayn-rand-59_reason_reason-can-be-fought-with-reason-how-are_413722.jpg"
---

#  Reason can be fought with reason. How are you going to…

![“Reason can be fought with reason. How are you going to fight the unreasonable?” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/ayn-rand-59_reason_reason-can-be-fought-with-reason-how-are_413722.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/ayn-rand-59_reason_reason-can-be-fought-with-reason-how-are_413722.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/ayn-rand-59_reason_reason-can-be-fought-with-reason-how-are_413722.jpg)

> ““Reason can be fought with reason. How are you going to fight the unreasonable?””

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Reason alone cannot defeat irrationality; one must address the underlying unreason.

**In simple terms:** Reason can’t win against unreason alone.

Key Takeaway

Address the root cause, not just the symptom.

Themes

reason unreason conflict

Mood

frustrated determined

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- political debate
- personal relationships
- legal disputes

Key Concepts

philosophy ethics psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you engage someone who rejects logic?
- What strategies help expose hidden biases?

A Different Perspective

Reason may be dismissed by those entrenched in irrational belief.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fight Unreasonable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight-unreasonable-3683072/) [Fought Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fought-reason-3454840/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Reason Fought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-fought-1019103/) [Reason Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-going-376265/)

## Related quotes

> [Reason can be fought with reason. How are you going to fight the unreasonable? The trouble with you, my dear, and with most people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/reason-can-be-fought-with-reason-how-are-you-going-to-fight-the-2/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [To get home you had to end the war. To end the war was the reason you fought it. The only reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fussell/to-get-home-you-had-to-end-the-war-to-end-the-war-was-the-reason-you/)

[Paul Fussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fussell/)

> [Theatre is a weapon. For that reason it must be fought for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusto-boal/theatre-is-a-weapon-for-that-reason-it-must-be-fought-for/)

[Augusto Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusto-boal/)

> [“why are you ending our engagement then?" "Because of the reason you fought it" (The duel) "I don't understand." "I know”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-castle/why-are-you-ending-our-engagement-then-because-of-the-reason-you/)

[Jayne Castle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-castle/)

> [“Why do people kill themselves? I think they do it when they can no longer find a reason to keep going. When nothing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-miller/why-do-people-kill-themselves-i-think-they-do-it-when-they-can-no/)

[Mary Beth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-miller/)

> [All you people don't know about lost causes. Mr. Paine does. He said once they were the only causes worth fightingfor, and he fought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-buchman/all-you-people-don-t-know-about-lost-causes-mr-paine-does-he-said/)

[Sidney Buchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-buchman/)

> [Today people can see and protest all the different interests that want war to happen, the people it financially benefits. The First World War…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/today-people-can-see-and-protest-all-the-different-interests-that/)

[John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/)

> [To be honest with you, most of the times I have fought, there has been a reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-comrie/to-be-honest-with-you-most-of-the-times-i-have-fought-there-has-been/)

[Mike Comrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-comrie/)

> [Wars are never fought for one reason," he said. "They are fought for dozens of reasons, in a muddle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wars-are-never-fought-for-one-reason-he-said-they-are-fought-for/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“As a Sufi I had sworn to protect life and do no harm. In this world of illusions, so many people were readt ti…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/as-a-sufi-i-had-sworn-to-protect-life-and-do-no-harm-in-this-world-of/)

[Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/)

> [I was built this way for a reason, so I'm going to use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-biles/i-was-built-this-way-for-a-reason-so-i-m-going-to-use-it/)

[Simone Biles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-biles/)

> [I recall an incident involving the late George Stigler at a conference in Spain in the 1980s. Hearing that I had written a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-van-dun/i-recall-an-incident-involving-the-late-george-stigler-at-a/)

[Frank Van Dun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-van-dun/)

> [...in place of seeking a reason for going abroad, I would prefer to say that I have failed to discover any reason why I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gilmour/in-place-of-seeking-a-reason-for-going-abroad-i-would-prefer-to-say/)

[James Gilmour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gilmour/)

> [“The most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what's in between.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/the-most-important-reason-for-going-from-one-place-to-another-is-to/)

[Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/)

> [“The reason you’re going through what you’re going through is to receive the things you’ve been praying for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-coron/the-reason-you-re-going-through-what-you-re-going-through-is-to/)

[Jeanette Coron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-coron/)

## More by Ayn Rand

> [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [“She moved her hand and let it rest against his. He did not withdraw his fingers and he did not pretend indifference. She bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-moved-her-hand-and-let-it-rest-against-his-he-did-not-withdraw/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-miracle-of-me-is-mine-to-own-and-keep-and-mine-to-guard-and-mine/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [“There was still one response, the greatest, that she had missed. She thought: To find a feeling that would hold, as their sum, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-was-still-one-response-the-greatest-that-she-had-missed-she/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/have-you-felt-it-too-have-you-seen-how-your-best-friends-love/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/every-coercive-monopoly-was-created-by-government-intervention-into/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

[Explore all 1,777 Ayn Rand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

## More Reason quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I don't like being away from home. That's one reason why I don't work as much as I used to \[when I started my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-powell/i-don-t-like-being-away-from-home-that-s-one-reason-why-i-don-t-work/)

[Jane Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-powell/)

> [Why do Christians sing when they are together? The reason is, quite simply, because in singing together it is possible for them to speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/why-do-christians-sing-when-they-are-together-the-reason-is-quite/)

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [One of the reasons that I do a lot of different kinds of pictures is because I learn a lot when I'm doing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-jason-leigh/one-of-the-reasons-that-i-do-a-lot-of-different-kinds-of-pictures-is/)

[Jennifer Jason Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-jason-leigh/)

> [There's no reason someone who has fought for their country should be homeless of jobless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kyle/there-s-no-reason-someone-who-has-fought-for-their-country-should-be/)

[Chris Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kyle/)

> [I don't want to go into space because of war. I think we would if it was triggered. If China said they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-go-into-space-because-of-war-i-think-we-would-if-it/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [If you can do anything for love there's no reason you can't do everything to someone you love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayjay-guillermo/if-you-can-do-anything-for-love-there-s-no-reason-you-can-t-do/)

[Jayjay Guillermo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayjay-guillermo/)

> [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/)

[Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/)

> [The reason I was drawn to the Band Perry was because they have a knack for doing rollicking country music that can sound a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-robinson/the-reason-i-was-drawn-to-the-band-perry-was-because-they-have-a/)

[Phoebe Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-robinson/)

> [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/)

[Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/)

> [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/)

[Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/)

> [“There's no need for a reason for people to fall in love. Even if people say there is a reason, that's just something they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuna-takagi/there-s-no-need-for-a-reason-for-people-to-fall-in-love-even-if/)

[Yuna Takagi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuna-takagi/)

> [The one means that wins the easiest victory over reason is terror and force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-one-means-that-wins-the-easiest-victory-over-reason-is-terror-and/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

[Browse all 23,417 Reason quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Reason can be fought with reason. How are you going to fight the unreasonable?”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ayn Rand"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/reason-can-be-fought-with-reason-how-are-you-going-to-fight-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Reason"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/reason-can-be-fought-with-reason-how-are-you-going-to-fight-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/ayn-rand-59_reason_reason-can-be-fought-with-reason-how-are_413722.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/ayn-rand-59_reason_reason-can-be-fought-with-reason-how-are_413722.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/ayn-rand-59_reason_reason-can-be-fought-with-reason-how-are_413722.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Reason can be fought with reason. How are you going to fight the unreasonable?” — Ayn Rand",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Ayn Rand",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Reason can be fought with reason....",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/reason-can-be-fought-with-reason-how-are-you-going-to-fight-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/reason-can-be-fought-with-reason-how-are-you-going-to-fight-the/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
