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Can an opinion be right or wrong?

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Reply 20
It was cruel (It certanly falls under the definition of cruel) but objectively was it wrong?
Reply 21
Original post by BlueBlueBells
An opinion can be popular, or unpopular


Yes but can can it be right or wrong einstein?
Original post by samina_ay
if your opinion has no evidence to support it, it's invalid haha. Meaning your opinion doesn't mean anything.


So does your opinion that an opinion needs evidence supporting it to be valid have evidence supporting its validity?
Reply 23
Original post by samina_ay
that's an opinion which can be supported by fact, so it becomes objective.


Can you explain how it can be supported by fact?
Original post by Eggs20
Yes but can can it be right or wrong einstein?


What I mean is that popular opinions are often seen to be right, while unpopular ones not. Doesn't mean that an opinion can be 100% right or wrong though - I'm pretty sure this defeats the point of there being an opinion.
Original post by Gwilym101
So does your opinion that an opinion needs evidence supporting it to be valid have evidence supporting its validity?


LOL i'm just saying, i'm looking at it from an educational perspective. in my university assignments we're not allowed to put our opinions in, unless they are supported by legit theories. It can't be subjective, it has to be completely objective. Now stop confusing me.
Original post by Eggs20
So what you saying is an opinion can't be right or wrong in objective terms.


Not really, there's three essential points to note:
(i) an opinion cannot be 'true' or 'false', as such terms are reserved for facts
(ii) an opinion cannot be objectively valuable/not valuable, because there are no objective measures of value
(iii) that does not mean, however, that an opinion cannot be called 'valuable' or 'invaluable' relative to its speakers. If both the speakers agree on the assessment of value, then one can observe that the other has misapplied it. e.g. say that two speakers pick economic efficiency as their sole measure of value, more economical methods being more valuable. A says "Although resources X and Y are of the same quality, I think we should buy X, because it is more expensive". B replies, "you are wrong (i.e. your opinion has misapplied our concept of value in this context), because Y would be cheaper, and hence is preferable".
No, opinions are subjective therefore they can never be right or wrong. However, an opinion can be ill informed.
Original post by Eggs20
Can you explain how it can be supported by fact?


The law states that everyone has to be treated equally, regardless of your ethnicity etc.
Reply 29
Yes!
Reply 30
Original post by BlueBlueBells
What I mean is that popular opinions are often seen to be right, while unpopular ones not. Doesn't mean that an opinion can be 100% right or wrong though - I'm pretty sure this defeats the point of there being an opinion.


So what you say is something may be seen as right or wrong by objectively they are not?
Reply 31
Original post by Nolofinwë
Not really, there's three essential points to note:
(i) an opinion cannot be 'true' or 'false', as such terms are reserved for facts
(ii) an opinion cannot be objectively valuable/not valuable, because there are no objective measures of value
(iii) that does not mean, however, that an opinion cannot be called 'valuable' or 'invaluable' relative to its speakers. If both the speakers agree on the assessment of value, then one can observe that the other has misapplied it. e.g. say that two speakers pick economic efficiency as their sole measure of value, more economical methods being more valuable. A says "Although resources X and Y are of the same quality, I think we should buy X, because it is more expensive". B replies, "you are wrong (i.e. your opinion has misapplied our concept of value in this context), because Y would be cheaper, and hence is preferable".


So what you saying whether t s seen as right or wrong depends on context?
Reply 32
Original post by synthglitch
No, opinions are subjective therefore they can never be right or wrong. However, an opinion can be ill informed.


Would you care to give an example?
Reply 33
Original post by samina_ay
The law states that everyone has to be treated equally, regardless of your ethnicity etc.


But the law is not a fact sir.
Reply 34
Original post by eoe
Yes!


Would you care to explain?
Original post by Eggs20
But the law is not a fact sir.


lol if you break the law there will be consequences. how is it not?
Reply 36
Original post by Eggs20
Would you care to explain?


I dont care to explain
If all human beings ceased to exist, would any of the absolute logical and physical truths of the universe cease to be true? I am not a democentricist (someone who thinks the universe revolves around human existence), so I don't believe so. I don't think that 1 + 1 would no longer = 2, or that the nature of atoms and compounds would change, or that the fundamental forces of the universe would be any different.
It is incredibly arrogant of us as a species to say that truth is subjective to our individual opinions. On issues of morality and ethics, opinions are subjective. But on things such as the existence of deity - there cannot be more than one comprehensive answer at once. If there is a single creator god, then if we ceased to exist, that doesn't mean it would cease to exist, or that before we came into being it didn't exist.
Similarly, if there is no god, that woudn't change if we never existed or didn't exist tomorrow.
I suppose it could be said that when there are speculative opinions about a fact, there is a chance of an opinion being 100% true, but not the same for opinions for which there is no definite fact (like morality). However, do we actually know anything? With all our speculative opinions, not matter how much evidence there is, it is only likelihood that causes us to conclude their correctness. We could be wrong about everything. Even 'I think, therefore I am' could be wrong. For all we know, this is just a simulation.
Reply 39
Original post by samina_ay
lol if you break the law there will be consequences. how is it not?


Correction: If you break the law AND GET CAUGHT there will be consequences that personally affect you. However, if the law enforcements can't find any evidence then you will not face any consequences.

Also good sir the law doesn't fall under the definition of a fact. It is against the law to be gay or for women to drive in Saudia Arabia. So does that make it wrong to be gay or to drive for a women in Saudia Arabia. If you met a gay Saudian Arabian would you tell them they are wrong for being gay?

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