Quote by Christopher Hitchens
The progress that's made... in any argument or in any discussion is by confrontation. That's a dialectical fact. People say oh let's have less heat and more light, fatuously. There's only one source of light. It happens to be heat.
Summary
In this concise quote, the speaker asserts that progress can only be achieved through confrontation and argues against the idea of prioritizing "light" (understanding, harmony) over "heat" (intensity, conflict). They emphasize that dialectically, advancements in any argument or discussion arise from confrontations, challenging the notion that conflict should be avoided. Essentially, the quote suggests that heated disagreements are necessary to shed light on important issues and move forward intellectually or socially.