What's your opinion on having opinions?

Post Reply New Topic

I am talking here about opinions to do with beliefs rather than facts (i.e. religion, morals, politics etc - the sort of things that have no definite answer, just a series of arguments for and against, which might be more or less convincing, but are hotly disagreed upon by people here and elsewhere).

When I was younger I didn't have strong opinions about most things - 'don't know' was my standard answer to almost everything. But more recently I have started to develop strong opinions about some things. This has advantages in some ways (I can define better who I am), but at the same time I regret the reduction in open-mindedness that inevitably seems to occur - once a strong opinion is formed, it becomes very difficult (if not impossible) to truly appreciate the opposing position - and if you do appreciate it equally (and I don't mean simply at an intellectual level, but on a more emotional level), then I would argue you would not hold the opinion that you do, but be undecided.

Indecision about moral or philosophical questions is seen as weakness by many people, but confronted with equally persuasive conflicting evidence, is it not more logical to admit defeat and instead of choosing one side or the other to accept that there may not be an ideal solution?

Are you opinionated, or more open-minded, which (if any) is the better stance to take and are these two things mutually exclusive? I expect disagreement here because I have met people with strong opinions who insist they are open-minded. However, a little probing generally shows that they can be quite intolerant to serious consideration of opinions other than their own (hence the 'self delusional' that I have added to this option). Argue about this if you wish.

p.s. I realise that anyone who is truly open-minded should also be open-minded about this poll and therefore probably tick the 'don't know' option rather than the 'open-minded' option - this might skew any conclusions somewhat.

Opinions are like rectums. Everybody has at least one.

We are all entitled to are own opinions. We are not entitled to our own facts.

ruveyn

I have opinions about just about everything, some are stronger then most, however it doesn't matter to me if the opinion is right or wrong, as long as you are able to back it up and explane why you have that strong opinion, then it will make room for a meaningful debate.

Not sure thats strictly true - can a baby really be said to have an opinion? (at least of the sort I am talking about here).

Anyway, I am not discussing entitlement or not to opinions. I wanted to make a distinction between things that are abstract like religion, and things which are argued about, but strongly supported by facts such as evolution - in this case it could be considered illogical to not have a strong opinion, unless of course if one takes the position of questionning everything that is known (also a valid opinion).

I have strong opinions on some issues, like death penalty, abortion, human rights etc

but when it comes to things I haven't really thought through before being asked about them I can be quite unpredictable. I often disagree for the sake of arguing if I'm confronted with someone who oozes self-confidence and arogance. that just makes me want to challenge them and make them look like idiots. even if deep down I agree with their views.

I have been accused of contradicting myself quite a few times because of this, but I don't care. most times making a good argument in favour of something makes me think about the subject matter later and actually see that I was right and then I take this view as my own- like this one time when I argued in favour of GMOs because I felt like driving my hippy opponent mad would be fun to watch. (it was ) later I thought about it and now I'm actually a big supporter of GMOs.

so I voted the last option- I change some of my opinions depending on the circumstances. good reasoning and evidence can make me change my mind in pretty much any matter.

Opinions are not random output. They are conditioned by facts, conditioning, social relationships, and whether you're constipated. Having a rectum under those conditions may not be helpful if no end is in sight. Opinions can be weighted by probabilities and estimates of that involves many factors.

I think I have an open mind about things unless I have had personal experience that convinces me in some way. I'm pretty skeptical of authority figures and I won't believe something just because it's in the paper or on tv. I learn by experience and so I form my opinions based on it.
I go with gut feelings a lot, so this may be delusional. However, I've found from experience with others that my gut is more reliable than going by what he/she says about themselves.

I voted that I'm open minded and may be delusional at times.

I have strong opinions, but they can change if I learn something new that is valid and reasonable.

No-rectum topic

I know of a woman who had her rectum sewn shut because she had colostomy due to bowel cancer. To be accurate, her rectum(anal opening for the expulsion of feces) was surgically constructed on her left side near the navel and she had to wear a colostomy bag to hold the feces that oozed out of her body continuously because there was no anal sphincter muscle. Her opinion of this was that "it sucked."

I have no opinion on whether or not it is okay to have opinions.

Overly strong opinions can just prevent meaningful conversation.

Unfortunately, the poll does not seem to distinguish between overly strong opinions and any opinions whatsoever.

I have opinions, and they can be changed. Typically not as frequently as my underwear, though.

I generally don't have strong opinions - but I'm still closed minded.

I had to come back to this one because I had trouble voting on the poll. I decided not to vote. I have opinions about most things, but do not think it is weak minded to do otherwise. If someone argues their point well enough, I might be swayed...but it does not happen very often.

I have many strong opinions about many things, but there are many topics that I'm unsure about, and I have a nagging feeling I'm completely wrong about most things. So I'm a bit uncertain.

I have opinions on some things and others I don't give a rat's ass about.