Posted by bad_luck on 7/13/2018 1:43:00 PM (view original):
Posted by bad_luck on 7/13/2018 12:41:00 PM (view original):
Parsing the meaning of opinion and distinguishing opinions from judgments from facts from truths from matters of taste is a deep philosophical well that I doubt any of us are equipped to properly dive into.
For example, if the one and only acceptable definition of opinion is a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty, and I say, "raw onions are disgusting," that isn't an opinion. I've eaten raw onions and I have grounds sufficient to be completely certain that they are disgusting. You may think the exact opposite and neither of us are wrong and neither of us are expressing an opinion.
Another example: Mike Trout is a better offensive player than Alcides Escobar. That isn't an opinion either. I have sufficient grounds to say that with certainty.
But, I'm not a car mechanic. If my car is acting up and I say, "I think it needs new spark plugs," that is an opinion. I do not have sufficient grounds to produce complete certainty that the plugs are the problem. And it's an opinion that could be wrong.
I'll just post this again along with the definition wylie copied from the dictionary: a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.
The fact that person A lacks grounds to produce complete certainty doesn't mean those grounds don't exist, making the opinion wrong.
Going back to a car as an example. If I hear a noise coming from the engine, I might form the opinion that there's a knock in one of the cylinders. That's an opinion. I don't have grounds to produce certainty. If the noise is actually an exhaust leak, my opinion is wrong. It was wrong the moment I formed it. The fact that I didn't know I was wrong doesn't change the fact that my opinion was always wrong.
I don't think I care to argue about this any more after this. Yes, you can say that Trout is a better offensive player than Escobar. That is not an opinion, it is a fact. Anyone who were to tell you different is an idiot or does not know anything about baseball. If you were to say that Trout is the best offensive player in the game, that is an opinion. It all depends on your definition of best and your definition of offensive player.
As far as the raw onions being disgusting thing, if you say raw onions are disgusting to me, that is not an opinion. You are just talking about specifically how you feel about raw onions. It is a fact that raw onions are disgusting to you. Unless, you specifically say that raw onions are disgusting to you, its just an opinion, because obviously you can not prove or disprove that everybody feels that way about raw onions.
But anyway, I say opinions can not be wrong. You can say whatever you want. I am not gonna argue it anymore. I'm sure that will make all3 happy.