You’re not Always Entitled to Your Opinion…and Sometimes Your Opinion Is Worthless
Personal Preferences
Recently I wrote about the epistemology class I teach and why many people would mistake lessons that develop critical thinking for indoctrination. Along those same lines, I think many people would be surprised to learn that critical thinking, which does require looking for multiple perspectives, does not involve valuing all opinions equally. Quite the opposite. No small part of my class involves teaching students that a lot of “opinions” aren’t worth the time it would take to read them.
We live at a time in America, however, where “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion” is a frequent argument ender no matter the topic of debate. That said, this saying is entirely correct…when it comes to discussions surrounding a person’s preferences. If literally everyone in the world said they loved a certain song, but you just aren’t feeling it, you would be entitled to that opinion.
How come? Why — in the face of everyone single person in the world disagreeing with you about this song — would your opinion still be completely valid? It’s because of the claim you’re making: “I don’t like this song.” What evidence do you need to help support your opinion and explain how you arrived at it? Well, none. All you’d need is to be telling the truth…
