In which Wolf opens day 19's door... Watch this episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/rwUdiISk-Sg
Welcome to the Beware of Wolf Advent Calendar of Bad Thinking. To celebrate the holidays, I'm counting down the days until Christmas with a common type of bad thinking each day, described in 60 seconds. This holiday season, give the gift of good thinking by sharing these videos with your friends!
Today is Day 19: "I'm Entitled to My Opinion"
I'm sure you've heard people say that. And in once sense it's true: everyone is entitled to think whatever they want to think. But if that's all that people meant by, "I'm entitled to my opinion," then it wouldn't be worth talking about.
It's true that opinions of personal taste-- liking peppermint candy for example-- don't require justification: it's OK to like it or not, just don't eat too much!
A lot of people say that respecting others' opinions is a way of showing respect for them as human beings. But what do we mean by "respect"? It can't mean that every opinion is just as good as any other, like trading a dollar for a dollar. If this were true, we'd be willing to simply adopt their opinion as our own.
The fact is, as "great power comes with great responsibility," some opinions come with responsibilities. We hold many opinions because we think they are the right ones to have, and we don't think that all opinions are of equal worth. These are the sorts of opinions you are not entitled to: you have to earn them by being willing to hear them criticized, and by being willing to defend them.
If someone tries to tell you that their belief is right, then you are justified in asking them to defend it, and they are obligated to do so using reason and evidence. And by the way, you are also obligated to change your beliefs if they succeed.
Happy Holidays!