can opinions be true or false? what is an opinion exactly?

[Arch0wl]

people say "that's just your opinion" like this means a person's statement is less true. but, how much less true does this really make a statement? many true things seem to be opinions; put differently, many medical opinions, judicial opinions, social opinions and so on seem to be beliefs that can be looked at on a scale of true/false. in other words, saying something is "just an opinion" doesn't seem to be saying much about it.

my take on this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv-EVeX70pA

[xXOpkillerXx]

Re: can opinions be true or false? what is an opinion exactly?

Stopped at 5:50.

I don't like this thread as much as the others you've made (fact).

You do not properly define quite a few words you use (fact).
For example, you use "opinion" a bunch, but with different meanings when you talk about how people misuse the term or when used in different contexts. Makes it hard to follow and seems like you're derailling a lot from your initial question (opinion).

I agree with the part on truth threshold when debating if one's sensorial experience is really what they perceived (optical illusions for example lead to such debates).

I also believe you should start from actual accepted definitions of words instead of just asking for them, and then debating those.

[Travis_Flesher]

Re: can opinions be true or false? what is an opinion exactly?

All opinions are false to the transcendentalist. All opinions are true to the guru. They are true and false to the alchemist. The villager takes opinions with a grain of salt.

[icontrolyourworld]

Re: can opinions be true or false? what is an opinion exactly?

An opinion is a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. So an opinion can be true in part or full and same for false. It's all about how you perceive something and decide what you think about it.
Example: I like stepmania, it's a good game.

Some would agree or disagree with such a statement, people who disagree might have a perception about the game that makes it a bad game. Me stating that it's a good game is a statement that holds value as something that can be quantified true or false, but I've not provided sufficient information on why it is good.

This kind of opinion can be quantified a true and false statement, but they're not wrong because it will mostly be opinion based.

[mewtikz]

Re: can opinions be true or false? what is an opinion exactly?

people say "that's just your opinion" like this means a person's statement is less true. but, how much less true does this really make a statement? many true things seem to be opinions; put differently, many medical opinions, judicial opinions, social opinions and so on seem to be beliefs that can be looked at on a scale of true/false. in other words, saying something is "just an opinion" doesn't seem to be saying much about it.

my take on this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv-EVeX70pA

"That's just your opinion" means nothing. People say this when they are met with someone asserting something like it's fact. They have no particular argument against it, but it goes against their presupposed notions so they don't feel like it could be true. If you're faced with someone that says "that's just your opinion," then either they're not worth your time, or you need to explain the train of reason that led you to that assertion.

It's not necessarily that they're distinguishing between fact vs opinion, but rather that what you perceive is a fact does not line up with their world view.

I don't think you really need to dive into epistemology over someone saying this I guess?

[Guitarman93]

Re: can opinions be true or false? what is an opinion exactly?

There are only two descriptors. Subjective and Objective. Something objective is factually based; it is black and white, either it is true or it is false, correct or incorrect. Something subjective can take on an emotion or is something that can't be explicitly defined as correct or incorrect, true or false.

Subjective: "I hate hot weather."

Objective: "Summertime is the warmest season of the year, and has the longest length of daylight."

[Hateandhatred]

Re: can opinions be true or false? what is an opinion exactly?

Pretty sure an opinion can only be subjective. It just means it's your perspective on something. That's what "subjective" means.

sub·jec·tive
/səbˈjektiv/
Learn to pronounce
adjective
1.
based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.
"his views are highly subjective"
synonyms: personal, personalized, individual, internal, emotional, instinctive, intuitive, impressionistic;

Wether your opinion is actually correct however, it's really a matter of case by case. If your opinion on the previous American presidency campaign was "I think Donald Trump is gonna win the elections", then you were correct. But you could argue that even if that didn't happen, it would still be correct, as it was true that that person thought as much.

And I agree with the second case as far as your question goes. So long as you aren't lying when you voice your opinions, then yes they are truly your opinions.

I think I know what you're actually asking, and I'm not in the mood to watch the video though, however I think that question needs rephrasing.

[DaBackpack]

Re: can opinions be true or false? what is an opinion exactly?

Why did this thread get bumped lmfao, it's a stupid and meaningless question that only exists to give Arch an excuse to "dunk" on people he disagrees with

There are only two descriptors. Subjective and Objective. Something objective is factually based; it is black and white, either it is true or it is false, correct or incorrect. Something subjective can take on an emotion or is something that can't be explicitly defined as correct or incorrect, true or false.

Subjective: "I hate hot weather."

Objective: "Summertime is the warmest season of the year, and has the longest length of daylight."

This dichotomy isn't super useful for making precise classifications. Your "objective" statement is actually an inference (i.e.: an interpretation) based on observations and measurements. In science there is a notion of "fact" that is rooted in evidence, but even "facts" are human constructs: they exist within the mind, and are necessarily inferential. Ergo, they are subject to subjectivity. As an example, check out the history of geocentrist thought.

I would argue that "perfect" true and false exist only within axiomatic, formal logical systems. Predicate logic and prepositional logic have clearly defined true and false because their axioms are infallible in the context of these systems: that is, "true is true because it is true."

The physical world and really, any system subject to human observation, will not have these axioms. Thus in a purely mathematical sense, you cannot have "perfect" true and false. This is why we have confidence intervals in science. And I don't need to mention that confidence intervals are a subjective criterion.

[Kouen]

Re: can opinions be true or false? what is an opinion exactly?

Opinion is a judgment of a person how to see somethings. it could have reason or not.