This comes from a disagreement Missy and I had over something. The question up for debate:

Can one opinion have more worth than another?

I say yes, and Missy, unless I'm misrepresenting her position, says no.

See, I know almost nothing about classical music. So if I and a professor of music go to a classical concert, my opinion on how well the orchestra was playing (it's almost impossible to tell the difference between "mediocre" and "excellent" without a lot of technical knowledge) will have much less worth than his.

Another example. A friend of mine is a biologist. He's performing an experiment. I think it will turn out X way, he thinks it will turn out Y. Guess whose opinion has more worth?

Absolutely. If one person's opinion is based on facts, experience or some combination thereof, their opinion has more worth than that of someone who has no idea what they're talking about. So basically what you said.

This is totally unfair posting this at 4am my time, when I'm too sleep-deprived (been up nearly 22 hours straight now) to defend myself properly, but I'll try.

I think that all opinions are of equal value. The fact that I think that green is the prettiest color and perhaps you think purple is prettier. The opinions are equal.

Say then that you had some way of quantifying prettiness, and you had proof that purple is prettier than green. Now your opinion is "educated", but does that necessarily make my opinion less valid?

I say that it does not. Opinions are seperate from actual knowledge in a subject area. One's opinion is "educated" using all the knowledge that one currently obtains, and using that knowledge, one makes a judgement on that subject. As long as the logic behind one's opinion is sound, based on that person's knowledge, then the opinions are equal.

This makes so much more sense in my head.

It makes your opinion entirely invalid. Since I've quantified prettiness, prettiness is no longer a matter of opinion, it is a matter of fact. If I've proved that purple is prettier than green, then I'm right and you're wrong.



In this example, yes, the opinion are equal. However, if I think that orchestra played well, and Professor Chambers thinks they were mediocre, his opinion has more worth than mine, because he has made an extensive study both of classical music in general and of the piece in question, and he has far more experience in the field. This is not to say that my opinion is invalid - but it has less worth than his.

Take reviews in a magazine. If all opinions are equal, then anyone can do them. But all opinions are not equal - you want someone whose opinions have value doing the reviews and giving you their opinions and value judgments.

Perhaps you are both correct - but have mistakenly assumed that you are both talking about the same thing... opinion. I feel that there can be a distinction drawn.

The english language is facinating insofar as there are a myriad of nuances within even the same word when it used in different contexts:

The difference here is on what you term to be opinion...

Comm - you seem to be talking about objective opinions - where there is a right or wrong, even where there are shades of grey that can be compared against each other...

Missy - you appear to be talking about subjective opinions - the reasoning behind such an opinion is down to more emotions and or feelings.

Objective Opinion = Comm's view that the orchestra played very well VS Professor Chambers' opinion that the lead violin couldn't play his part to save his life and the brass section were too loud and the woodwinds were all over the place...

Subjective Opinion = Missy likes the colour green whereas I prefer royal purple.

Yes you can have an Objective Opinion that holds more credability than another - factual / evidential support usually helps here...

However Subjective Opinions are only as valid / important as the person making them wants.

And thus the argument ends. I doubt anyone could disagree with OFKs analysis of the situation there. He's summed it up perfectly.

OVK took the words right out of my mouth. Then made them a bit better and well phrased to be fair. Opinion for me seems to be based on belief, whereas the examples Commie is using are based more on knowledge.

Anyway, it's all moot, because there's one opinion that's worth more than all the others.

MINE

I disagree, OFK. I think some subjective opinions have more worth than others depending on their provenance. However, since this is in itself a subjective opinion, I'll leave it alone.

Every opinion is valid. Just because it is based in fact does not necessarily make it worth more however it really does depend on the situation. Say for example I want to write a history essay and I ask two historians for help. They both give me their take on the event but one has dates and facts to back it up. I'm more likely to use their evidence to write my essay. However if I am asking for a subjective view on an event and 'why' something happened BOTH answers would be worth something.

Depends on the question as to whether either answer is more valid than the other

Does that make sense?

Edit: Having just read OFK response I was trying to get at subjective and objective too. Damn OFK for being quicker than me

bump because this is an interesting thread and I want to see it duked out.

I believe it is over. I agree with pretty much everything said here.