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Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupid?

Can opinions be right or wrong?

  • Yes

    Votes: 9 64.3%

  • No

    Votes: 5 35.7%
  • Total voters
    14
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

All opinions contrary to my own are factually wrong. Does that help?
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

Gaius46 said:
Preferences and opinions are not the same thing. At best you can say all preferences are opinions but not all opinions are preferences "In my opinion it will rain tomorrow" clearly doesn't state a preference.
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Just because you put opinion in front of it doesn't make it an opinion. If I said that in my opinion the world is flat that doesn't make it an opinion. Saying that in your opinion it's going to rain tomorrow what you're actually doing is drawing a logical conclusion. A logical conclusion can be judged as better or worse, rational or irrational. If you said you think it's going to rain because the whether man said their is a 90% chance of rain tomorrow then we'd say it's a pretty good conclusion. If you said you think it's going to rain because it's Saturday and it rained last Saturday then we'd say you're being irrational.

Gaius46 said:
in common everyday English I don't use the word "opinion" to think of my preferences. I use it as a statement - to other people - of a preference.
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Right, but what I'm trying to say is that people use the word opinion all the time to refer to things that are not actually opinions at all. People want to give their statements or ideas the status of opinion because it makes it harder to criticize. It's a defense mechanism so that when someone points out how silly what you said is you can say something like "everyone is entitled to their own opinion."

An opinion is something that cannot be proven true or false, right or wrong, at best you could say some might be better or worse.

Now, I will say that you are correct that while all preferences are opinions all opinions are not necessarily preferences. For example a legal opinion is the lawyer or judges best judgment about what they believe to be the correct interpretation of a law. Maybe not the way they'd prefer it to be interpreted, but the way they think it should be interpreted.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

holbritter said:
I stand by my statement. You have it backwards. Again, you can argue an opinion. It's done everywhere on this board. We are doing it right now.
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You can argue an argument. Just because you call in an opinion doesn't make it one. Arguments can be judged as valid or invalid, better or worse, even right or wrong. Opinions cannot be valid or invalid, right or wrong. They could potentially be better or worse, but usually not objectively better or worse.

holbritter said:
If the color blue makes me feel strong or happy, how can it be an opinion?
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If you said that the color blue makes you feel happy that would be a statement of fact.
If you said you like the color blue because it makes you feel happy that would be an opinion.
If you said you should wear the color blue because it brings out the blue in your eyes that would be an argument.
If you said that the color blue represents happiness that would be an assertion unless you have some valid reason for thinking so. In order to represent something it has to be consistently viewed that way by others. In fact typically the color blue is said to represent trust.

holbritter said:
An opinion is thought, not feeling. Thinking the color blue represents strength is a thought which can be argued. It's an opinion.
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No, you're thinking of an assertion. Opinions are almost exclusively feelings. Now if you gave a reason for why you think this then you'd be making an argument. We can argue an argument, but not an opinion.

holbritter said:
How can I argue against a "feeling" you have? I can't. It's your personal feeling....could be you can't even explain why you feel that way. How is that then an opinion?
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That's precisely what makes it an opinion, and why it's incredibly stupid to argue over pure opinions. Now it's possible to have an opinion on the quality of an argument, but the argument itself is not the opinion.

If I said I think it's going to rain because I see a dark cloud in the sky that's moving towards us.
Then another guy said, I don't think it's going to rain because the radar on my phone isn't showing any red near us.

These are two logical arguments. Both are valid. One conclusion will be proven right, the other wrong. Now in the moment you might have an opinion about which of our conclusions makes the most sense to you, but that's more of feeling you have. One of us might be able to improve our arguments to better sway your opinion, but what we're doing is not offering opinions, but in fact arguing. It is the arguments that can be better or worse, valid or invalid, not the opinion.

Here is a good reference on the difference between an opinion and an argument...

http://skillsforlearning.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/preview/content/critical_thinking/02.shtml

The key is whether you provide reasons to support your opinion. We can argue over whether the reasons you give truly support your opinion, but if all you provide is an opinion then it is foolish to argue over it.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

MrWonka said:
If you decide to do something a certain way, and your decision has absolutely no meaningful effect on anybodies life whatsoever can we reasonably call that decision a stupid decision?

If I decide to eat an apple clockwise vs counterclockwise because it's after 2 pm would it makes sense for someone to call me an idiot for that decision?

If I decide to brush my teeth before I put my contacts in because it's Thursday does it make sense to call me Insane?

If I put my right shoe on before my left shoe because the Cubs won last night am I being unreasonable?
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Wow. That is an absolutely perfect description of the rabid left coming up with numerous stupid stuff against Trump that yields zero results.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

Bodhisattva said:
"what an opinion is" is not on the 3rd Grade Curriculum of any School District in the United States... :roll:
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Meh, he's just trying to bully his way into something that not a lot of people really care about. So he resorted to personal attacks, which really do the argument no good. But whatever, you'll find those who cannot engage much above that often in their debate tactics.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

MrWonka said:
If you decide to do something a certain way, and your decision has absolutely no meaningful effect on anybodies life whatsoever can we reasonably call that decision a stupid decision?

If I decide to eat an apple clockwise vs counterclockwise because it's after 2 pm would it makes sense for someone to call me an idiot for that decision?

If I decide to brush my teeth before I put my contacts in because it's Thursday does it make sense to call me Insane?

If I put my right shoe on before my left shoe because the Cubs won last night am I being unreasonable?
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Mr. Wonka:

No. These are just inconsequential choices which we all make in one form or another every day. Now, had you decided to brush your teeth with your right shoe after eating your left shoe counter-clockwise and strapped toothbrushes to you as footwear then there is a case for some stupid decision making at work.

If I decide Saturn is a beautiful planet and Mercury is an ugly one, then that is just an inconsequential decision and it is not stupid. If I decide to devote my life to making all people aware of the beauty of Saturn and the base nature of Mercury and do so to the exclusion of meeting the needs of those who depend upon me and myself, then that's pretty daft.

Opinions are ideas held at a moment in time and are subject to change over time as one grows older and hopefully wiser. Opinions and even their more entrenched cousins - convictions, change over time. Changing one's mind is often a sign of wisdom modifying one's understanding to a higher level and so requiring an upgrading of opinions in light of new learning and accumulated wisdom. This is normal and routine. But this process does not mean that earlier-held opinions were wrong or stupid, just that one's understanding and personal priorities have changed necessitating opinion revision.

Now obsessing over this question could be construed as stupid so I will stop now before I change the possibility of my stupidity into a certainty. :)

Cheers.
Evilroddy.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

MrWonka said:
Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupid?
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A consideration is an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

MrWonka said:
You can argue an argument. Just because you call in an opinion doesn't make it one. Arguments can be judged as valid or invalid, better or worse, even right or wrong. Opinions cannot be valid or invalid, right or wrong. They could potentially be better or worse, but usually not objectively better or worse.


If you said that the color blue makes you feel happy that would be a statement of fact.
If you said you like the color blue because it makes you feel happy that would be an opinion.
If you said you should wear the color blue because it brings out the blue in your eyes that would be an argument.
If you said that the color blue represents happiness that would be an assertion unless you have some valid reason for thinking so. In order to represent something it has to be consistently viewed that way by others. In fact typically the color blue is said to represent trust.


No, you're thinking of an assertion. Opinions are almost exclusively feelings. Now if you gave a reason for why you think this then you'd be making an argument. We can argue an argument, but not an opinion.


That's precisely what makes it an opinion, and why it's incredibly stupid to argue over pure opinions. Now it's possible to have an opinion on the quality of an argument, but the argument itself is not the opinion.

If I said I think it's going to rain because I see a dark cloud in the sky that's moving towards us.
Then another guy said, I don't think it's going to rain because the radar on my phone isn't showing any red near us.

These are two logical arguments. Both are valid. One conclusion will be proven right, the other wrong. Now in the moment you might have an opinion about which of our conclusions makes the most sense to you, but that's more of feeling you have. One of us might be able to improve our arguments to better sway your opinion, but what we're doing is not offering opinions, but in fact arguing. It is the arguments that can be better or worse, valid or invalid, not the opinion.

Here is a good reference on the difference between an opinion and an argument...

http://skillsforlearning.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/preview/content/critical_thinking/02.shtml

The key is whether you provide reasons to support your opinion. We can argue over whether the reasons you give truly support your opinion, but if all you provide is an opinion then it is foolish to argue over it.
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Mr. Wonka gives a wonderful argument, albeit realizing it, that man does not possess the symbols, logic, and language to disprove the existence of deity. All statements of opinion, while often woeful or inaccurate or whatever, are based on a subjective sociological construct of some kind.
 
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