You're Not Not Entitled to Your Own Opinion (New)

I both agree and disagree with Stokes' statement of "we aren't entitled to our own opinions". I really think it depends on what you're talking about. If one says that every one of us is entitled to all of his/her own opinions, then we must respect each others' opinions and treat everyone's opinions as equally right and valid. Granted, most people use this as an excuse to justify their incorrect or off the wall beliefs/personal convictions, so if one is going to stand by the belief that "we're entitled to our opinions", then he should have valid evidence to back up his claims (whatever they may be). Obviously, even if everyone is entitled to their opinions, someone has to be wrong (most of the time). I can believe that dogs can talk, but just because this is my opinion, obviously dogs cannot talk (stupid example I know but I'm just trying to prove a point). If we are going to stand by the belief that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, we must completely set aside all prejudice against others' beliefs and treat them as equally acceptable opinions as our own.


Patrick Stokes, Lecturer in Philosophy at Deakin University, in his essay "No, You're Not Entitled to Your Opinion", claims that no one is entitled to their own opinion, they're only entitled to statements that they can back up with fact. He says that often people use this excuse to defend their ignorant claims/beliefs, so that they don't have to base their opinions off of fact. There is a great distinction between "opinion" and the "cold, hard truth", someone's opinion will not change the irreversible truth. I agree with Stokes for the most part, I have certain personal beliefs/convictions that I see as pure fact, however others might not agree with my "opinion". For the most part (99.9 percent of the time) I agree that opinions should be backed up with fact, but sometimes opinions cannot always be backed up with physical facts, instead personal experiences can sometimes influence our beliefs/opinions. This is very hard to explain but I have my "opinions" because of cold, hard truth that I've observed throughout life.