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ghostsofgiants
ghostsofgiants's Journal
ghostsofgiants's Journal
October 9, 2012
I've been away from DU for a really long time, is this even the kind of shit that gets discussed here?
No, you’re not entitled to your opinion
http://theconversation.edu.au/no-youre-not-entitled-to-your-opinion-9978The problem with Im entitled to my opinion is that, all too often, its used to shelter beliefs that should have been abandoned. It becomes shorthand for I can say or think whatever I like and by extension, continuing to argue is somehow disrespectful. And this attitude feeds, I suggest, into the false equivalence between experts and non-experts that is an increasingly pernicious feature of our public discourse.
Firstly, whats an opinion?
Plato distinguished between opinion or common belief (doxa) and certain knowledge, and thats still a workable distinction today: unlike 1+1=2 or there are no square circles, an opinion has a degree of subjectivity and uncertainty to it. But opinion ranges from tastes or preferences, through views about questions that concern most people such as prudence or politics, to views grounded in technical expertise, such as legal or scientific opinions.
You cant really argue about the first kind of opinion. Id be silly to insist that youre wrong to think strawberry ice cream is better than chocolate. The problem is that sometimes we implicitly seem to take opinions of the second and even the third sort to be unarguable in the way questions of taste are. Perhaps thats one reason (no doubt there are others) why enthusiastic amateurs think theyre entitled to disagree with climate scientists and immunologists and have their views respected.
Firstly, whats an opinion?
Plato distinguished between opinion or common belief (doxa) and certain knowledge, and thats still a workable distinction today: unlike 1+1=2 or there are no square circles, an opinion has a degree of subjectivity and uncertainty to it. But opinion ranges from tastes or preferences, through views about questions that concern most people such as prudence or politics, to views grounded in technical expertise, such as legal or scientific opinions.
You cant really argue about the first kind of opinion. Id be silly to insist that youre wrong to think strawberry ice cream is better than chocolate. The problem is that sometimes we implicitly seem to take opinions of the second and even the third sort to be unarguable in the way questions of taste are. Perhaps thats one reason (no doubt there are others) why enthusiastic amateurs think theyre entitled to disagree with climate scientists and immunologists and have their views respected.
I've been away from DU for a really long time, is this even the kind of shit that gets discussed here?
Profile Information
Name: Jonathan KennedyGender: Male
Home country: Canada
Current location: Hamilton, Ont.
Member since: Mon Jan 5, 2004, 03:41 AM
Number of posts: 33,924