Are opinions wrong?

Question

To deny an opinion is hard, but to deny a fact is easy. I believe then when it comes to someone's opinion, they are not wrong. But when it comes to facts, one can in fact prove them wrong. For instance, if a person says grapes are the best fruit, are they wrong? I would say no, even though i dont like grapes. You can find a great group of people that would say no to grapes, but will that still make the person wrong. On the other hand if a person says a specific brand of jeans costs 25$, is he wrong? I would have to say yes if you find that that specific pair of pants costs 30$ not 25$. But if indeed it costs 25$ then he is right. I think that opinions cannot be proven wrong, but facts can.

Agree or Disagree?

Answer 1

Agree in some aspects and disagree in others.....people love to debate opinions for the sake of trying to prove themselves to be right...they don't even think for a second that everyone is entitled to there own opinion and although some people may disagree with someones opinion it does not make them wrong.....when fact comes into the picture, you can prove something to be fact but at the same time people are going to have there own opinions on the facts and how they feel.....so you can prove something to the bitter end and if someone disagrees because of there own feelings, beliefs, opinions, they will still try to prove that fact to be incorrect.....not all people are going to agree 100% on any topic....whether it be fact or opinion.....that's why this sight is so funny....because someone can ask a question and you will get so many opinions on it....from funny to sarcastic to rude...to down right angry.....which can really anger the person asking the question....this whole sight is really one big debate....you will never be able to fully make people understand exactly what you are trying to say or feel....because people will always have there opinion....fact or not.

Answer 2

Stating an incorrect price is not stating an opinion - it's stating a fact. Saying the pants are only worth $25 would be an opinion.

Opinions can be wrong if the information used to arrive at the opinion is faulty. Here's an example:

I think Roosevelt was a bad president because he was blind. If you can't see, then I don't think you take in the full effect of being president.

Neither Roosevelt was blind (that I know of), so this person's opinion is not valid based on the 'facts' that he gave to support it.

Personal preferences are a little trickier as they can be limited by experience:

Me: I don't like Cabernet. I think it tastes like Asphalt and dirt.
You: What kind of Cab have you had?
Me: Arbor Mist and Two Buck Check
You: Ah, you haven't had a *good* cabernet. Here, try this instead.

Because 'I' had no well-rounded experience with a certain type of food, my opinion isn't well-rounded. By introducing 'me' to another brand and style of Cabernet, my opinion might be altered. For me to say that all Cabernet sucks, I am jumping to conclusions because I have only had bad cabernet.

You: I don't like grapes
Me: Have you tried seedless black grapes?
You: Yes, I've tried every grape on the market - even champagne grapes
Me: Huh. Ok, I'll make sure not to make anything grape for you tonight! : )

It's not always a matter of 'right & wrong', but opinions have to be supported to be valid. Otherwise they become undersupported generalizations and can make the person look foolish.

Answer 3

Opinions are neither right nor wrong. They're individual conclusions based on information given, regardless of it's validity. Opinions are also involentary. It's impossible to consider even another opinion without coming to some conclusion. If someone says they have no opinion on some matter, the truth is, their of the opinion the matter is not worth considering.

Facts cannot be porven wrong. Your example of the jeans is a fact only relevent to the store where the person checked their price. However, the fact that George Bush is president of the USA is universal and cannot be refuted. The same with historical events. That the allied armies landed on the beaches of France on June 6, 1944 is a matter of record.

So, my conclusion is that opions are neither right nor wrong, but are involentary responses to information recieved or events experienced, and that true facts cannot be proven wrong.

Anyway, that's my opinion!!

Answer 4

an opinion is one person's point of view... and as such it is neither right or wrong, as opinions differ between individuals. FACTS on the other hand can be proven. the problem is allowing people to disagree in their opinions....
source for definition. Dictionary.com
opinion n.

1. A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof: “The world is not run by thought, nor by imagination, but by opinion” (Elizabeth Drew).
2. A judgment based on special knowledge and given by an expert: a medical opinion.
3. A judgment or estimation of the merit of a person or thing: has a low opinion of braggarts.
4. The prevailing view: public opinion.
5. Law. A formal statement by a court or other adjudicative body of the legal reasons and principles for the conclusions of the court.

Answer 5

Only some of them annoy me. The thumb system is for how helpful an answer is. So, say if someone just goes around and answers with "I like cereal" then it's a poor answer and deserves thumbs down. Opinions are only wrong in debates about fighting between two fictional characters.

Answer 6

Well opinions are subjective, and vary from person to person.. a fact is something that all people agree upon. If a fact is misstated, the person was wrong to begin with. An opinion can't be proven wrong.

Smile once in awhile... your avatar looks mean!

Answer 7

From what I (vaguely) recall from my undergrad logic class, one can't determine the validity of an argument that has any premise based in an opinion. Oh it's been years since I had that class....but I thought the point there was that you can't determine validity in such a case because opinion is neither true nor false.

Is there a philosophy major in the house?

Answer 8

Depending on the subject you gave opinion about, dealing with food, beauty, places, persons, dresses, thing, ...etc.there are a wide variety in opinions, that is life. But regarding scientific facts the opinions either true or false

Answer 9

There is a group of folks called the "Flat Earth Society" who believe that the world is flat. Believing it doesn't make it so. They're just wrong.

On another note, would you grant the same latitude to someone who stated that blacks are inferior? Of course not. It's clear that that opinion is just plain wrong.

Answer 10

The entire reason that opinions are so beautiful is that they CAN'T be wrong and they CAN'T be right. People are killed, tortured, argued with, and hurt in the name of opinions, even though nobody can prove whether they are right or wrong.