Re:Never Apologize For Having An Opinion — Especially When Y...
by lutusp on Monday November 19, 2012 @04:07AM
(#4803577)
> Can you give an example?
I prefer blondes to brunettes -- that's my opinion.
I prefer chocolate ice cream to strawberry ice cream -- that's my opinion.
You're saying "opinion" when you should be saying "theory" or "hypothesis," both proposals about the true content of reality. An opinion isn't a proposal about reality, it's an expression of personal preference.
> I think I basically consider an opinion to be legitimate if it's plausible-or-better.
But that's not an opinion, that's an observation that may or may not have a connection with objective reality. Opinions by definition are not "legitimate" except in the sense that everyone is entitled to his own. By design, they have nothing to do with reality-testing -- that's reserved to hypotheses, proposals about the content of reality.
I prefer blondes to brunettes -- that's my opinion.
I prefer chocolate ice cream to strawberry ice cream -- that's my opinion.
You're saying "opinion" when you should be saying "theory" or "hypothesis," both proposals about the true content of reality. An opinion isn't a proposal about reality, it's an expression of personal preference.
> I think I basically consider an opinion to be legitimate if it's plausible-or-better.
But that's not an opinion, that's an observation that may or may not have a connection with objective reality. Opinions by definition are not "legitimate" except in the sense that everyone is entitled to his own. By design, they have nothing to do with reality-testing -- that's reserved to hypotheses, proposals about the content of reality.