--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: let your aim be to come at truth, not to…" description: "\"“let your aim be to come at truth, not to conquer your opponent. So you never shall be at a loss in losing the argument, and gaining a new discovery.”\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/james-burgh-37288_logic_let-your-aim-be-to-come-at-truth-not-to_783591.jpg" --- # let your aim be to come at truth, not to conquer your… ![“let your aim be to come at truth, not to conquer your opponent. So you never shall be at a loss in losing the argument, and gaining a new discovery.” quote by James Burgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/james-burgh-37288_logic_let-your-aim-be-to-come-at-truth-not-to_783591.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/james-burgh-37288_logic_let-your-aim-be-to-come-at-truth-not-to_783591.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/james-burgh-37288_logic_let-your-aim-be-to-come-at-truth-not-to_783591.jpg) > ““let your aim be to come at truth, not to conquer your opponent. So you never shall be at a loss in losing the argument, and gaining a new discovery.”” [James Burgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-burgh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seek truth rather than victory; losing an argument can still yield discovery. **In simple terms:** Aim for truth, not defeat. Key Takeaway Prioritize learning over winning. Themes philosophy dialogue truth humility Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - debates - academic discussions - personal disagreements - team meetings Key Concepts Socratic method epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle losing an argument? - What truths have you gained from defeat? A Different Perspective Winning can blind you to new insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Argument Gaining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument-gaining-5085378/) [Logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/) [Losing Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/losing-argument-257737/) [Opponent Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opponent-shall-6032568/) [Rationalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rationalism/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Conquer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-conquer-2707616/) ## Related quotes > [In disputes upon moral or scientific points, ever let your aim be to come at truth, not to conquer your opponent. So you never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-burgh/in-disputes-upon-moral-or-scientific-points-ever-let-your-aim-be-to/) [James Burgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-burgh/) > [I believe that in the end truth will conquer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wycliffe/i-believe-that-in-the-end-truth-will-conquer/) [John Wycliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wycliffe/) > [I believe that in the end the truth will conquer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wycliffe/i-believe-that-in-the-end-the-truth-will-conquer/) [John Wycliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wycliffe/) > [“Truth can conquer but only beauty can rule.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/truth-can-conquer-but-only-beauty-can-rule/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [Sometimes I Just have to let her win, because losing the argument is easier than losing Her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhatt/sometimes-i-just-have-to-let-her-win-because-losing-the-argument-is/) [Zhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhatt/) > [RElAtIoN aN maTuRitY… iMmAtUrE pErSoNs aLwAyS wAnT tO wIn aRgUmEnTs aT tHe cOSt oF a rElAtIoN... mAtUrE pErSoNS pReFeRs tO loSiNG aRgUmEnT jUsT tO…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunny/relation-an-maturity-immature-persons-always-want-to-win-arguments-at/) [Sunny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunny/) > [Winning or losing an argument, receiving an acceptance or rejection, is no proof of the validity or value of personal identity. One may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/winning-or-losing-an-argument-receiving-an-acceptance-or-rejection-is/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“To cultivate a pleasure in being wrong sounds perverse, yet losing an argument means escaping from an old idea and the acquisition of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-de-bono/to-cultivate-a-pleasure-in-being-wrong-sounds-perverse-yet-losing-an/) [Edward De Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-de-bono/) > [“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/when-your-best-friend-is-the-son-of-god-you-get-tired-of-losing-every/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [“I don't care' is the last bit of baggage to be tossed overboard in a losing argument.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/i-don-t-care-is-the-last-bit-of-baggage-to-be-tossed-overboard-in-a/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [O take heart, my brothers. Even now... with every leader & every resource & every strategy of every nation on Earth arrayed against Her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/o-take-heart-my-brothers-even-now-with-every-leader-every-resource/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) > [In Don Mills in the Sixties, nothing comes close to the humiliation of losing an argument. In our weird little creative circle, no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hill/in-don-mills-in-the-sixties-nothing-comes-close-to-the-humiliation-of/) [Dan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hill/) > [Losing a argument is better than losing a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-a-argument-is-better-than-losing-a-friend/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Immature people always want to win arguments even at the cost of a relationship. Mature people prefer losing an argument just to uphold a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/immature-people-always-want-to-win-arguments-even-at-the-cost-of-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“steam-tactics saga illustrates that (4) Rationalism, unlike empiricism, tends to assume an accretion of vested interests.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/steam-tactics-saga-illustrates-that-4-rationalism-unlike-empiricism/) [Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/) ## More by James Burgh > [If a favour is asked of you, grant it if you can. If not, refuse it in such a manner as that one denial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-burgh/if-a-favour-is-asked-of-you-grant-it-if-you-can-if-not-refuse-it-in/) [James Burgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-burgh/) > […there is no end to observations on the difference between the measures likely to be pursued by a minister backed by a standing army,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-burgh/there-is-no-end-to-observations-on-the-difference-between-the/) [James Burgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-burgh/) > [If you would not have affliction visit you twice, listen at once to what it teaches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-burgh/if-you-would-not-have-affliction-visit-you-twice-listen-at-once-to/) [James Burgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-burgh/) > [“The possession of arms is the distinction between a freeman and a slave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-burgh/the-possession-of-arms-is-the-distinction-between-a-freeman-and-a/) [James Burgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-burgh/) > [No Kingdom can be secured otherwise than by arming the people. 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I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [Both fact and logic seem to me to support the view that savings invested in privately owned economic tools of production amount to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-a-harper/both-fact-and-logic-seem-to-me-to-support-the-view-that-savings/) [F. A. Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-a-harper/) > [Companies are not charitable enterprises: They hire workers to make profits. In the United States, this logic still works. In Europe, it hardly does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/companies-are-not-charitable-enterprises-they-hire-workers-to-make/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [“Religion, like science, is only noteworthy when it emphasizes a matter of what is true rather than whose belief is greater or lesser or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/religion-like-science-is-only-noteworthy-when-it-emphasizes-a-matter/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Trying to understand the way nature works involves a most terrible test of human reasoning ability. It involves subtle trickery, beautiful tightropes of logic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/trying-to-understand-the-way-nature-works-involves-a-most-terrible/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [The dialectic is neither fiction nor mysticism, but a science of the forms of our thinking insofar as it is not limited to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/the-dialectic-is-neither-fiction-nor-mysticism-but-a-science-of-the/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. 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Build more unaffordable and not always architecturally sympathetic apartments, watch the rents rise, the tarts leave, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/there-s-a-simple-arithmetical-logic-at-work-build-more-unaffordable/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) [Browse all 3,202 Logic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“let your aim be to come at truth, not to conquer your opponent. 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