---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In order to refute a conclusion, you have…"
description: "\"In order to refute a conclusion, you have to put forth the best possible argument for it.\" — Rebecca Goldstein"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b4/rebecca-goldstein-4026_argument_in-order-to-refute-a-conclusion-you-have_271276.jpg"
---

#  In order to refute a conclusion, you have to put forth the…

![“In order to refute a conclusion, you have to put forth the best possible argument for it.” quote by Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b4/rebecca-goldstein-4026_argument_in-order-to-refute-a-conclusion-you-have_271276.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b4/rebecca-goldstein-4026_argument_in-order-to-refute-a-conclusion-you-have_271276.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b4/rebecca-goldstein-4026_argument_in-order-to-refute-a-conclusion-you-have_271276.jpg)

> “In order to refute a conclusion, you have to put forth the best possible argument for it.”

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

## About This Quote

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

To refute a conclusion effectively, first present its strongest possible argument.

**In simple terms:** Understand the best opposing view.

Key Takeaway

Present strong counter‑argument first.

Themes

critical thinking debate logic philosophy

Mood

thoughtful critical

Type

philosophical educational

When to use this quote

- academic essays
- policy analysis
- legal reasoning

Key Concepts

argumentation intellectual honesty

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance fairness and persuasion?
- When is it ethical to present strong opposing arguments?

A Different Perspective

It may give the opponent a platform to persuade.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Conclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/) [Conclusion Forth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion-forth-2650664/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Possible Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible-argument-2552371/) [Refute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refute/) [Refute Conclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refute-conclusion-2650663/)

## Related quotes

> [“(I)n order to refute a conclusion, you have to put forth the best possible argument for it. (p. 158)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/i-n-order-to-refute-a-conclusion-you-have-to-put-forth-the-best/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [To write and speak correctly is certainly necessary; but it is not sufficient. A derivation correctly presented in the book or on the blackboard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-polya/to-write-and-speak-correctly-is-certainly-necessary-but-it-is-not/)

[George Polya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-polya/)

> [Anarchism, in my view, is an expression of the idea that the burden of proof is always on those who argue that authority and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/anarchism-in-my-view-is-an-expression-of-the-idea-that-the-burden-of/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [For I am well aware that scarcely a single point is discussed in this volume on which facts cannot be adduced, often apparently leading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/for-i-am-well-aware-that-scarcely-a-single-point-is-discussed-in-this/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [Some read for style, and some for argument: one has little care about the sentiment, he observes only how it is expressed; another regards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/some-read-for-style-and-some-for-argument-one-has-little-care-about/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [When you ask why did some particular question occur to a scientist or philosopher for the first time, or why did this particular approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/when-you-ask-why-did-some-particular-question-occur-to-a-scientist-or/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [Philosophical progress changes what we take to be "intuitively" obvious, and this change covers up the tracks of the laborious arguments that preceded the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/philosophical-progress-changes-what-we-take-to-be-intuitively-obvious/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [Facts per se can neither prove nor refute anything. Everything is decided by the interpretation and explanation of the facts, by the ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/facts-per-se-can-neither-prove-nor-refute-anything-everything-is/)

[Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/)

> [“There’s a technique we use in our local rationalist cluster called “Is That Your True Rejection?”, and it works like this: Before you stake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/there-s-a-technique-we-use-in-our-local-rationalist-cluster-called-is/)

[Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/)

> [I'm quite comfortable now with being misunderstood. I don't really feel the need either to pander to it or to refute it. Just go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-m-quite-comfortable-now-with-being-misunderstood-i-don-t-really/)

[Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/)

> [It takes one minute to tell a lie, and an hour to refute it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-takes-one-minute-to-tell-a-lie-and-an-hour-to-refute-it/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [“To refute him is to become contaminated with unreality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/to-refute-him-is-to-become-contaminated-with-unreality/)

[Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/)

> [“One cannot refute Christianity; one cannot refute a disease of the eye.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/one-cannot-refute-christianity-one-cannot-refute-a-disease-of-the-eye/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [ “refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the \[true\] knowledge of God; and I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/refute-arguments-and-theories-and-reasonings-and-every-proud-and/)

[Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/)

> [ \[Art\] can speak its own language only as long as the images are alive which refuse and refute the established order. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/art-can-speak-its-own-language-only-as-long-as-the-images-are-alive/)

[Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/)

## More by Rebecca Goldstein

> [Youth is not an essential, but rather an accidental property. Nobody is in essence young. One either ceases to be or ceases to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/youth-is-not-an-essential-but-rather-an-accidental-property-nobody-is/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [Plato dramatically puts the detachment of the philosopher from his time this way: to philosophize is to prepare to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/plato-dramatically-puts-the-detachment-of-the-philosopher-from-his/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [When you ask why did some particular question occur to a scientist or philosopher for the first time, or why did this particular approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/when-you-ask-why-did-some-particular-question-occur-to-a-scientist-or/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [“Freedom for me is a pain in the Buridan's ass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/freedom-for-me-is-a-pain-in-the-buridan-s-ass/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [Those who share my heroes are, in the deepest sense, of my own kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/those-who-share-my-heroes-are-in-the-deepest-sense-of-my-own-kind/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [“one evangelical scientist who had felt his doubts falling away from him when he was hiking in the mountains and came upon a frozen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/one-evangelical-scientist-who-had-felt-his-doubts-falling-away-from/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [Because of the failure of religion to offer satisfying answers to an increasing number of people, it's time for philosophy to address forcefully these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/because-of-the-failure-of-religion-to-offer-satisfying-answers-to-an/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [If we look at our attitudes consistently and work out the logical implications we're on the road to moral progress, moral understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/if-we-look-at-our-attitudes-consistently-and-work-out-the-logical/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [We may not need God to tell us where the world came from, but we need God to be able to live moral lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/we-may-not-need-god-to-tell-us-where-the-world-came-from-but-we-need/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [Philosophical progress changes what we take to be "intuitively" obvious, and this change covers up the tracks of the laborious arguments that preceded the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/philosophical-progress-changes-what-we-take-to-be-intuitively-obvious/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [What one tries to force into a child against its own nature will never come to good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/what-one-tries-to-force-into-a-child-against-its-own-nature-will/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [Thinking is the soul speaking to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/thinking-is-the-soul-speaking-to-itself/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [What is remarkable about the Greeks - even pre-philosophically - is that despite the salience of religious rituals in their lives, when it came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/what-is-remarkable-about-the-greeks-even-pre-philosophically-is-that/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [In fact, it’s the very impersonality of impersonal knowledge that renders such knowledge the most ethically potent of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/in-fact-it-s-the-very-impersonality-of-impersonal-knowledge-that/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [We need science. We need empirical evidence. We can't just use mathematical reasoning to deduce the nature of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/we-need-science-we-need-empirical-evidence-we-can-t-just-use/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

[Explore all 116 Rebecca Goldstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

## More Argument quotes

> [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/)

[Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/)

> [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/)

> [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/)

[Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/)

> [Any comprehensive doctrine, religious or secular, can be introduced into any political argument at any time, but I argue that people who do this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/any-comprehensive-doctrine-religious-or-secular-can-be-introduced/)

[John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/)

> [As opposed to getting into arguments about, well, these folks have been treated fairly so now we're going to be doing things that, very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/as-opposed-to-getting-into-arguments-about-well-these-folks-have-been/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/)

[Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/)

> [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [On the stage, the characters express themselves more through words than images. So the arguments of the characters and the tension between characters -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/on-the-stage-the-characters-express-themselves-more-through-words/)

[Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/)

> [One argument goes that recessions are good for female artists because when money flies out the window, women are allowed in the house. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/one-argument-goes-that-recessions-are-good-for-female-artists-because/)

[Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/)

> [All of the barriers to innovation in the energy sector are arguments for a big commitment to public investment. Only the public sector can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nordhaus/all-of-the-barriers-to-innovation-in-the-energy-sector-are-arguments/)

[Ted Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nordhaus/)

> [“Arguments led by subjectivity are a waste of time. 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/)

> [If in the middle of an argument I suddenly fall silent it does not mean you have won... No it means you should probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/if-in-the-middle-of-an-argument-i-suddenly-fall-silent-it-does-not/)

[Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/)

> [Don't get divorced after your first argument! I have a lot of friends that have one fight and that's it, they get divorced. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ripa/don-t-get-divorced-after-your-first-argument-i-have-a-lot-of-friends/)

[Kelly Ripa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ripa/)

> [“The motive behind my arguments have always been to come at truth. I am not interested in conquering anyone with my ideologies or seeking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-evans/the-motive-behind-my-arguments-have-always-been-to-come-at-truth-i-am/)

[Crystal Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-evans/)

> [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/)

[Browse all 3,479 Argument quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "In order to refute a conclusion, you have to put forth the best possible argument for it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Rebecca Goldstein"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/in-order-to-refute-a-conclusion-you-have-to-put-forth-the-best/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Argument"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/in-order-to-refute-a-conclusion-you-have-to-put-forth-the-best/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b4/rebecca-goldstein-4026_argument_in-order-to-refute-a-conclusion-you-have_271276.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b4/rebecca-goldstein-4026_argument_in-order-to-refute-a-conclusion-you-have_271276.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b4/rebecca-goldstein-4026_argument_in-order-to-refute-a-conclusion-you-have_271276.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In order to refute a conclusion, you have to put forth the best possible argument for it.” — Rebecca Goldstein",
                "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": "Rebecca Goldstein",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "In order to refute a conclusion,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/in-order-to-refute-a-conclusion-you-have-to-put-forth-the-best/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/in-order-to-refute-a-conclusion-you-have-to-put-forth-the-best/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```