Poll: Can opinions be wrong?

[Woodsey]

oppinions can not be wrong, because oppinions are how you feel or what you think about something, hence to have a wrong oppinion you ould have to not think what you think i.e impossible, even if you say your oppinion is something else to what you think, that is just a lie and hence not your oppinion, so oppinions themselves cannot be wrong.

Would you still say that's true in a case based on incorrect facts?

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

If the opinion is stated as fact then it is wrong eg. is the best/worst thing ever. There is one exception to that and it is the ET game. Also if an opinion is based on a false fact eg. I don't like Metal music because all they do is scream into the microphone and play loudly. While some heavy metal bands and death metal bands may seem to do this it does not include all of metal eg Iron Maiden, Metallica, Judas Priest, Papa Roach, Slipknot, etc.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

something i often say is "Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if they are wrong". Freedom of speach FTW.

Ok, lets say a cult leader feels that you and your family and friends should be slowly tortured to death and eaten. Would you still feel he's entitled to his opinion?

Of course, thats his opinion, as it is mine he is a crazy person who should be locked up for the forseeable future.

The best way I can think to explain it is that Holocaust deniers are wrong, as there is a vast ammount of evidence, but I believe it should not be a crime to say that's what you believe so "everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if they are wrong"

Ahh, but he's a cult leader (why do you think I included that?). Cult leaders have alot of sway over their followers, who will do what they say. So, if you let him have that opinion his followers will do that to you, your family and your friends.

oh wow you have single handedly destroyed my argument. On the other hand, would he really come and tell me? anyhoo.........

He hasnt, im here to save you. His opinion isnt wrong. However his ACTION is wrong. Actions are not opinions and as such can be "wrong" morally and socialy. Nice example. I think an opinion is something you keep to yourself. The second you force your opinions onto others, via action in your case or by forcing it down their throats it is no longer freedom of speech. Its an action. They can be wrong by law and just morally.

Consider this. An opinion my be based on an incorect assumption. However as far as this person is concerned this assumption is fact. For some its a fact god exists. Now facts are questionable. What makes an opinion right now? Can you truly KNOW something that isnt true.

You could teach a child to KNOW 2+2=5. They would KNOW it was that when it clearly isnt. The perception of "facts" means nothing is true, everything is permitted.

 

[Prof. Monkeypox]

I'm tempted to say yes, because so many people have opinions that make no sense. Unfortunately, it is in the nature of opinions that they are unique to their creator. So: Opinions cannot be wrong. They can be misguided, or based on wrong information, but they are not wrong by themselves.

Of course,
This is just my opinion.

 

[Buizel91]

Personally i don't think it can, it is what someone believes, like someone saying JLS are the best boy band ever, they are obviously going to know they are not, but why should they be wrong if it is what they believe?

if so...is religion wrong? because people simply believe it?

 

[ShadowsofHope]

..There is a reason they are called opinions.

The word itself does not infer right or wrong persay, but the basis of how a person comes to said opinion can certainly be fundamentally right or wrong in the eyes of known factual basis.

"It is my opinion", I do tend to see as rather a "get out of jail free" card in debates. A better one-liner would be in that case "I don't know".

 

[Nazulu]

I gotta better understanding of the word now, I think. So if I say "my opinion is that all other opinions are wrong" then that is neither wrong or right, right? Just annoying crap like when someone says "it's their opinion" in an argument.

 

[albear]

oppinions can not be wrong, because oppinions are how you feel or what you think about something, hence to have a wrong oppinion you ould have to not think what you think i.e impossible, even if you say your oppinion is something else to what you think, that is just a lie and hence not your oppinion, so oppinions themselves cannot be wrong.

Would you still say that's true in a case based on incorrect facts?

yeah, as its what you think, you cannot think wrong (if you understand what i mean), you think what you think, you cant 'not' think it

what you think may change according to different information,

like many people before have said, only when an oppinion is stated as fact could it be wrong

 

[nondescript]

If a scientific fact can be wrong, as it has and continues to be proven, why not an opinion. The only reason people are more forgiving on opinions is that they have less to do with facts than with what we feel.

 

[DSK-]

This is something I often think about - especially when I'm on these forums - as it often results in debates becoming arguments. And I'm guessing that most people's gut reaction to the question will be, "no, of course they can't."

"Well that's just my opinion," seems to have become a get-out-of-jail-free-card for anyone from racists to the mythical beings that say they don't like Mafia (it's OK my friends, they're not real). In some cases that's a perfectly valid response when talking about an opinion on something subjective (a film/game/book, etc.) but in other instances that doesn't work.

If I said I hate Australia because they invaded China, then my opinion is wrong; that never happened (at least, I don't think it did...) and so my opinion is based on a false fact which in turn makes my opinion wrong.

So to me, an opinion can easily be wrong - of course, that's just my opinion.

Does anyone agree or disagree?

The thing is, all opinion is based on information an individual knows, and their viewpoint/perspective - whether it is flawed or factual. If someone believes that gravity does not exist, then for them it does not exist. To me, gravity does exist. I can see it's effects and the effects on the world around me.

If someone has a different opinion to me regarding something subjective I will give them the benefit of the doubt, even if I believe my opinion to be right.

In my view, the problem with opinions is that they are moulded on people's life experiences and we need to make allowances for that, because not everyone experiences the same things in life.

So the short answer is "Yes", but opinions will always be taken with a pinch of salt if you disagree with them.

 

[clankwise]

Opinions can be wrong. Ex: WW2 was a wimpy war.
Ex: This active gernade is perfectly safe. Boom!!

 

[Zacharine]

Yes.

For while we can have opinions of any and every subject, not all subjects are a matter of opinion.

Any opinion of something that is objectively measurable, or that is based on something objectively measurable, can be wrong. ('In my opinion these rock halos were caused by alpha radiation' ' And in my opinion by high-energy beta-radiation')

Purely subjective matters (strawberry tastes better than blueberry) are another deal.

 

[snow]

A misinformed opinion is always wrong. Like this one person I know who believes fully that video games are a mindless source of entertainment, that you don't need to think at all. (This guy is a Nascar fan of all things...)

There is also this other person that's trying to tell me that the Zerg on starcraft is the easiest race to play. Easier for him maybe, but the truth is, all the races are pretty even on the battlefield.

 

[bad rider]

If I said I hate Australia because they invaded China, then my opinion is wrong; that never happened (at least, I don't think it did...) and so my opinion is based on a false fact which in turn makes my opinion wrong.

I think in this example the opinion is that you hate australia, which lets face it if you did it wouldn't be wrong. Thats your opinion, however your reasoning behind it is wrong. An opinion can't be wrong, the reasoning behind it can be though.

 

[the1ultimate]

Well the first definition I found

Opinion: a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty;

Therefore I am of the opinion that everyone holds legitimate opinions (when judged purely on the merits of them being opinions), however they sometimes don't check out when measured objectively against absolute truth (which is a bit of a fallacy, I know), moral standards or when compared to facts.

 

[Florion]

Opinions based on incorrect facts are "wrong" because the person would change their opinion once they learned the truth (unless they're crazy or their salary depends on not understanding the truth. *coughGlobalWarmingObjectionerscough*

There are also opinions that, while not based on incorrect facts, do not achieve the "best" outcome. And since everyone disagrees on what the "best" outcome is, everyone starts thinking other people are wrong. Is it the one that saves the most lives? Is it the "morally correct" one (and whose morals?)? Is it the one that makes the most economic sense?

 

[captainwolfos]

Of course opinions can be wrong. That's why they're called 'opinions', which are usually completely different to facts.

If I said that HIM is the best band in the world, I'd be fooling noone but myself and the other HIM worshippers in the world.

[small]Okay, bad example.[/small]