Opinions

[TJ]

Excuse my rambling for a while.

Is it not true that every single opinion that we hold was influenced by how we were raised, what we were ingrained with, how we were affected by events. Is it not true that if the same exact person were to be raised in a different way, if he didnt hear that one news program or didnt see that one movie or didnt talk to that one person maybe he would have completely different views. Why is it then that we hold our opinions so strongly and defend them with the utmost vehemence? Shouldnt we all realize that we could have had the opinions of our enemy if we had even had only one different experience some way back up the road of life. Dont we realize that there is never a right or a wrong. There cant be! who defines right and who defines wrong. Is anyone getting what i am trying to say? Let me know

[dusken]

Sometimes opinions about a given situation can be right or wrong, better or worse, more educated or less educated, more effective or less effective... People will always seek truth. Some will have a better understanding of the truth than others. But the fact remains that you can only find truth by forming opinions (based on life experience) and defending them. One may or may not fail.

[TJ]

But what makes you think that you are qualified to judge which opinion is right or wrong better or worse more educated or less, when your own opininions are the product of years and years of molding, millions of events that each made you see something in a different light and have brought you to this point and guide you in your opinions.

[dusken]

The fact that one has his or her own opinions makes them qualified to pass judgment. It is impossible to accept all opinions and, as I said before, it is impossible to uncover truths with out forming any.

[SagGal]

Reminded me of this quote.

Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.
-Oscar Wilde

[Darorinag]

My opinions are the exact opposite of my mom's, and she was the one who raised me. Enough said.

And Oscar Wilde rocks. Something my mom disagrees with me about.

[Inna]

Not everybodys opinions are based on how their parents raised them. Although I share the same traditional values and morals as my parents, there is still a lot we disagree with. We always argue about world situations, my dad is always one sided while I like to approach every situation from both perspectives. Religion is another factor...my dad engraves Christianity into our heads, yet I follow christianity not based on what my dad told, but based on the information that I learned about christianity and other religions. If anything, its not our parents that mold us, its the outside sources that is given to us that molds us.

[Anonymouse]

Tigran this is a marvelous thread I must admit, and one that will invoke thought, most definitely. While there can be opinions and experiences, that in itself does not preclude that there is no right or wrong. As Mises would say, there are correct ideas, and there are incorrect ideas. It's only after a struggle of ideas that we either get stuck with the correct ideas or the wrong ideas. Essentially we gravitate towards a plethora of relativism where everything becomes elastic, from "live for thyself" or "morality is a matter of personal preference", or "there is no absolute right or wrong", to the postmodern dictum of "All truth is relative" - that being the new absolute. This sort of thinking in terms of relativity opens the door for any and all forms of crusades of oppression, and one in which personal or group accountability is non-existent. The current drive of Bush and the neoconservative imperialists of America have a morality, in their view, that differs greatly from whom they are conquering. They believe they are the purveyors of democracy which they believe is the endpoint and are bent on spreading it to other people, no matter what the cost. History shows that false ideas about the relativity of truth foster moral and political errors.

[dusken]

Tigran this is a marvelous thread I must admit, and one that will invoke thought, most definitely. While there can be opinions and experiences, that in itself does not preclude that there is no right or wrong. As Mises would say, there are correct ideas, and there are incorrect ideas. It's only after a struggle of ideas that we either get stuck with the correct ideas or the wrong ideas.

Thank you. I cannot see how anyone would see it any differently. I do understand where the question comes from though. One just needs to remember that defending one's opinions is also a life experience that forms opinions. There is no such thing as a perfect opinion.

Essentially we gravitate towards a plethora of relativism where everything becomes elastic, from "live for thyself" or "morality is a matter of personal preference", or "there is no absolute right or wrong", to the postmodern dictum of "All truth is relative" - that being the new absolute. This sort of thinking in terms of relativity opens the door for any and all forms of crusades of oppression, and one in which personal or group accountability is non-existent. The current drive of Bush and the neoconservative imperialists of America have a morality, in their view, that differs greatly from whom they are conquering. They believe they are the purveyors of democracy which they believe is the endpoint and are bent on spreading it to other people, no matter what the cost. History shows that false ideas about the relativity of truth foster moral and political errors.

The problem with imperialism akin to that of our current administration is that it makes the government susceptible to moral relativism. The idea of a government suggests a buffer for moral relativity and the contribution to that collapse is a "political error," as you said, that in a certain light can be viewed as factual and having negative consequence.

[spookyghost]

true most of our opinions are formed from who we were raised with and there opinions reguarding certain things. But not all of our opinions are the same, or have been infulenced by our elder/parents/gaurdians because to each a mind of his own. A lot of my opinions have been influenced from my parents , true. But i find myself a lot of times with my own opinions that are totally different from theres because i am a different individual with a different mind set. I try not to let too many people change or infulence who i am, and how i think, so that it is purely me and no one else. But its not a bad thing to also be influenced by others, to open up our minds and listen to what they have to say, and perhaps adopt there opinions as well.