We cannot have an opinion

Subject: RE: We cannot have an opinion
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 05 Jul 15 - 05:27 AM

You could look at record sales, ticket sales for concerts or reviews

Working on that basis One Direction must be a better band than Blackbeard but I don't like them as much. Surely popular opinion can never be the same as informed opinion can it?

Subject: RE: We cannot have an opinion
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 05 Jul 15 - 05:24 AM

I cannot back up my opinion about Blackbeard's Tea Party with anything other than personal experience.

You could look at record sales, ticket sales for concerts or reviews in press and make reference to discussions you have had with others interested in folk music. All of these could back up your opinion.

DC

Subject: RE: We cannot have an opinion
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 05 Jul 15 - 05:08 AM

Ah - This is the sort of good stuff I was hoping for :-) Couple of things. How can I back up an opinion that involves, as in the first example I gave, personal taste? I cannot back up my opinion about Blackbeard's Tea Party with anything other than personal experience. Does that mean that anyone is entitled to tell me that my opinion is nonsense? Secondly, can an opinion be formed on the basis of the research of other people? How much should we trust our sources or must we back up our opinions with first hand facts and evidence?

Subject: RE: We cannot have an opinion
From: GUEST,Kampervan
Date: 05 Jul 15 - 04:55 AM

Of course anyone is entitled to an opinion. It may on the basis of experience, belief, or even prejudice.

But one is entitled to hold it.

Trying to persuade other people of the correctness of that opinion is, however, a different matter. IMHO.

Subject: RE: We cannot have an opinion
From: GUEST,Shimrod
Date: 05 Jul 15 - 04:48 AM

Yes, Dave, you can have an opinion but there is no reason why I should take it seriously, or agree/disagree with it, unless it's backed up by facts and evidence. Religious faith is fervent and unquestioning belief in something invisible for the existence of which there's no evidence. In my opinion (!) that's just ... very silly!

Subject: RE: We cannot have an opinion
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 05 Jul 15 - 04:40 AM

Sorry - Should be BS

Subject: We cannot have an opinion
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 05 Jul 15 - 04:40 AM

I will try again on the strict premise that this thread should not be used to have a go at anyone. Please respect that wish.

I have been told that I am not entitled to an opinion unless I can back that opinion up with facts. I do not believe this to be true. I am of the opinion that Blackbeard's Tea Party are currently the best band on the folk scene. I have no facts to back this up and it is purely my opinion. On a more serious note there are millions of people who are of the opinion that if they adhere to the strict tenets of their faith, they will be rewarded with eternal paradise. There are no facts to back that up either. Both opinions are subjective so cannot be substantiated in an objective manner. Surely that is the way of many opinions isn't it?

Discuss (Nicely :-) )