--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We may convince others by our arguments…" description: "\"We may convince others by our arguments; but we can only persuade them by their own\" — Joseph Joubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/278/joseph-joubert-1017_arguments_we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguments_941050.png" --- # We may convince others by our arguments; but we can only… ![“We may convince others by our arguments; but we can only persuade them by their own” quote by Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/278/joseph-joubert-1017_arguments_we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguments_941050.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/278/joseph-joubert-1017_arguments_we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguments_941050.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/278/joseph-joubert-1017_arguments_we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguments_941050.png) > “We may convince others by our arguments; but we can only persuade them by their own” [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Arguments can change minds, but true persuasion requires aligning with the other person's values and experiences. **In simple terms:** Persuasion needs personal relevance. Key Takeaway Speak to their values. Themes communication influence psychology Mood thoughtful analytical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - debates - marketing - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts Rhetoric empathy Questions to Reflect On - How can you discover what truly matters to someone? - What role does empathy play in persuasion? A Different Perspective People may resist if they feel manipulated. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arguments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arguments/) [Arguments Persuade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arguments-persuade-1608553/) [Convince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convince/) [Convince Arguments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convince-arguments-1608554/) [Logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/) [Persuade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuade/) ## Related quotes > [We may convince others by our arguements, but we can only persuade them by their own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguements-but-we-can-only-persuade/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [If you want others to accept your ideas, simply explaining the ideas behind logic and arguments isn't enough - you need to see and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/if-you-want-others-to-accept-your-ideas-simply-explaining-the-ideas/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [“Convince is for thought; persuade is for action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/convince-is-for-thought-persuade-is-for-action/) [Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/) > [A man who is furnished with arguments from the mint, will convince his antagonist much sooner than one who draws them from reason and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/a-man-who-is-furnished-with-arguments-from-the-mint-will-convince-his/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Arguments only confirm people in their own opinions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booth-tarkington/arguments-only-confirm-people-in-their-own-opinions/) [Booth Tarkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booth-tarkington/) > [I didn't like having reasonable arguments thrown at me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/i-didn-t-like-having-reasonable-arguments-thrown-at-me/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“Every arguments start from misunderstanding and ego”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chatchawan-tangtrongpanich/every-arguments-start-from-misunderstanding-and-ego/) [Chatchawan Tangtrongpanich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chatchawan-tangtrongpanich/) > [The purpose of an argument, should not be victorious, but progress...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-purpose-of-an-argument-should-not-be-victorious-but-progress/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Constructive argument brings out the best in both partnership and relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-nwakama/constructive-argument-brings-out-the-best-in-both-partnership-and/) [Anne Nwakama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-nwakama/) > [Wanting to say something but knowing it's gonna start an argument...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wanting-to-say-something-but-knowing-it-s-gonna-start-an-argument/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Reason is universal because no attempted challenge to its results can avoid appealing to reason in the end-by claiming, for example, that what was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/reason-is-universal-because-no-attempted-challenge-to-its-results-can/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“What you owe your critics are your RESULTS not explanations not defence just RESULTS.Evidence terminates Arguments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fela-durotoye/what-you-owe-your-critics-are-your-results-not-explanations-not/) [Fela Durotoye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fela-durotoye/) > [You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince one man by logic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/you-can-sway-a-thousand-men-by-appealing-to-their-prejudices-quicker/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [I always believed as a speechwriter that if you could persuade the president to commit himself to certain words, he would feel himself committed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/i-always-believed-as-a-speechwriter-that-if-you-could-persuade-the/) [David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/) > [“Don't think you can persuade me with appeals to my intellectual vanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/don-t-think-you-can-persuade-me-with-appeals-to-my-intellectual-vanity/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) ## More by Joseph Joubert > [Living requires but little life; doing requires much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/living-requires-but-little-life-doing-requires-much/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [A false mind is false in everything, just as a cross eye always looks askant. But one may err once, nay, a hundred times,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/a-false-mind-is-false-in-everything-just-as-a-cross-eye-always-looks/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Criticism even should not be without its charms. When quite devoid of all amenities, it is no longer literary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/criticism-even-should-not-be-without-its-charms-when-quite-devoid-of/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [What a man knows only through feeling can be explained only through enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/what-a-man-knows-only-through-feeling-can-be-explained-only-through/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Imagination is the eye of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/imagination-is-the-eye-of-the-soul/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [One man finds in religion his literature and his science, another finds in it his joy and his duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/one-man-finds-in-religion-his-literature-and-his-science-another/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Which is more misshapen,--religion without virtue, or virtue without religion?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/which-is-more-misshapen-religion-without-virtue-or-virtue-without/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [How many people become abstract as a way of appearing profound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/how-many-people-become-abstract-as-a-way-of-appearing-profound/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [How many books there are whose reputation is made that would not obtain it were it now to make?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/how-many-books-there-are-whose-reputation-is-made-that-would-not/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [God has commanded Time to console the unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/god-has-commanded-time-to-console-the-unhappy/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [We shall always keep a spare corner in our heads to give passing hospitality to our friends' opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-shall-always-keep-a-spare-corner-in-our-heads-to-give-passing/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Agriculture engenders good sense, and good sense of an excellent kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/agriculture-engenders-good-sense-and-good-sense-of-an-excellent-kind/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [We may convince others by our arguements, but we can only persuade them by their own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguements-but-we-can-only-persuade/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [To teach is to learn twice. 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And, if they take place online, add to that, a waste of one’s keyboard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/arguments-led-by-subjectivity-are-a-waste-of-time-and-if-they-take/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Reason is universal because no attempted challenge to its results can avoid appealing to reason in the end-by claiming, for example, that what was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/reason-is-universal-because-no-attempted-challenge-to-its-results-can/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [All couples have ups and downs but how you handle it is what defines true love. arguments are simply a test to see if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keesling-moraiji-tatenda/all-couples-have-ups-and-downs-but-how-you-handle-it-is-what-defines/) [Keesling Moraiji Tatenda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keesling-moraiji-tatenda/) > [Love your mom no matter what you go through and no matter how much you argue because in the end,she'll always be there for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/my-favorite-qoutes/love-your-mom-no-matter-what-you-go-through-and-no-matter-how-much/) [My Favorite Qoutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/my-favorite-qoutes/) > [Wanting to say something but knowing it's gonna start an argument...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wanting-to-say-something-but-knowing-it-s-gonna-start-an-argument/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Constructive argument brings out the best in both partnership and relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-nwakama/constructive-argument-brings-out-the-best-in-both-partnership-and/) [Anne Nwakama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-nwakama/) > [Arguing with someone that hates you is a waste of time. It will just go on and on because they won't ever admit that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/arguing-with-someone-that-hates-you-is-a-waste-of-time-it-will-just/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [The purpose of an argument, should not be victorious, but progress...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-purpose-of-an-argument-should-not-be-victorious-but-progress/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know more than you think, I just don't say anything to save arguments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-more-than-you-think-i-just-don-t-say-anything-to-save-arguments/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Every arguments start from misunderstanding and ego”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chatchawan-tangtrongpanich/every-arguments-start-from-misunderstanding-and-ego/) [Chatchawan Tangtrongpanich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chatchawan-tangtrongpanich/) > [I don't believe that arguments make the relationship stronger...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-believe-that-arguments-make-the-relationship-stronger/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All arguments are meaningless until we gain personal experience. One must win one's own place in the spiritual world painfully and alone. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/all-arguments-are-meaningless-until-we-gain-personal-experience-one/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [“The real purpose of the opposition is to minimize the amount of money the ruling party will have stolen from the people at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/the-real-purpose-of-the-opposition-is-to-minimize-the-amount-of-money/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) [Browse all 460 Arguments quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arguments/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We may convince others by our arguments; but we can only persuade them by their own", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Joubert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguments-but-we-can-only-persuade-them/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arguments" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguments-but-we-can-only-persuade-them/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/278/joseph-joubert-1017_arguments_we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguments_941050.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/278/joseph-joubert-1017_arguments_we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguments_941050.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/278/joseph-joubert-1017_arguments_we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguments_941050.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We may convince others by our arguments; but we can only persuade them by their own” — Joseph Joubert", "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": "Joseph Joubert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We may convince others by our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguments-but-we-can-only-persuade-them/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguments-but-we-can-only-persuade-them/#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 } } ] } ```