Hi there TTBN & FOXY...

G'day TTBN...

How have you been, my friend? In my 'opinion' there's good value in what both of you've said. TTBN, you naturally take it as a given that we all have opinions and are entitled to do so. And I agree with you. It's quite natural for people to voice their opinions on a wide variety of topics.

Though as you'd know TTBN, you keep your mouth shut, your eyes and ears open, when you're in the military, especially when a superior is giving orders. And should those orders sound absurd, short of being in a life-threatening situation, you carry those orders out. Occasionally you may be asked for your opinion by a superior in a difficult situation (that shows good leadership, in my view). We're all entitled to share our opinions in 'most' circumstances, I would aver. Save for official briefings, lectures unless specifically asked. Many thanks, TTBN.

Hi there FOXY...

Thank you for your welcome back, that's very nice of you. Some of what you say I would agree with. Though you'd never dare give your opinion in a military briefing unless it's sought. But in a more relaxed setting, you can share your opinions and views without upsetting or eclipsing superior officers.

I don't think it's wrong or in bad form to express an opinion even if you have no knowledge of a topic. However, else will we learn otherwise? It's not unlike a silly question. Provided it's asked to clear up some fact in issue, it's never a silly question. It becomes a silly question when it's calculated to embarrass or belittle some individual, usually in a formal setting where opinions may not be welcome, like lectures or briefings.

Getting old FOXY and TTBN means I turn in very early these days. So I'll bid you both a good night.

Dear Foxy and Ttbn,

«Not everyone has the expertise necessary to form
an opinion that is a serious candidate for the truth.»

No one at all can form an opinion that is a serious candidate for the truth,
for the simple fact that Truth is not an opinion!

.

Dear Foxy,

.

An opinion is “a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge” (OED).

It is different from a belief which means “the acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists”. The expression “belief in” means “trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something” (OED).

I see personal opinion as something healthy and constructive – provided it is the result of truly personal, well-informed, critical thought.

Unfortunately, I have the impression that that is less and less the case today. What I observe seems more like is a distinctive increase in herd behaviour. The so-called emergence of the individual appears to have switched to reverse gear and become a regression of the individual – as attested by the rise of populism, multiple conspiracy theories and massive herd behaviour fuelled by modern technological facilities of instant communication : smartphones, personal computers, internet, social media, etc.

As the following article in the Britannica Encyclopedia points out :

« Freud retained this emphasis in viewing crowd behaviour and many other forms of collective behaviour as regressions to an earlier stage of childhood development; he explained, for example, the slavish identification that followers have for leaders on the basis of such regression.

More sophisticated recent efforts to treat collective behaviour as a pathological manifestation employ social disorganization as an explanatory approach. From this point of view collective behaviour erupts as an unpleasant symptom of frustration and malaise stemming from cultural conflict, organizational failure, and other social malfunctions. The distinctive feature of this approach is a reluctance to take seriously the manifest content of collective behaviour. Neither the search for enjoyment in a recreational fad, the search for spiritual meaning in a religious sect, nor the demand for equal opportunity in an interest-group movement is accepted at face value »

http://www.britannica.com/science/collective-behaviour/Major-forms-of-collective-behaviour

The « slavish identification » that “Donald the Dictator’s” followers have for him seems to bear out Freud’s analysis.

And I regret the current development of what I consider to be herd behaviour that is replacing good, healthy, well-informed, critical thought.

.

Opinions don't change facts. But facts should effect opinions and do, if we're rational.
Foxy,
I have always lived by that & it made me a target for the irrational i.e. Leftists !

No matter what our opinions are
we'll never be able to make everyone
agree with us - although it's never stopped
people from trying - whether it comes from
religion, atheism, science, philosophy,
politics, economics, certain trades, academic
subjects, the media, and so on.

Our opinions are important to us because they're ours.
And we seem to need to understand the reasons and
evidence of others before revising our own options
which are usually based on our own life experience.

Opinions are subjective. (personal) and they are
relevant to our own lives and therefore we shouldn't
try to impose our opinions upon others. Objective facts
can be debated, reasoned, tested and revised but
opinions are not facts and they shouldn't be mistaken
as such.

Dear Banjo,

Unfortunately we all to often see opinions
impressed upon huge groups of people through the
media these days. This perversion of opinion
adoption does not take away from the importance
of legitimate opinions. Scientific opinions don't
depend on whose science we accept as fact - it
should depend on whose science has been verified.

Opinions matter to us and perhaps to those who
agree with us but in the final analysis, they're
not conclusive and everybody's got one.