Beware of Confusing Others’ Opinions as Your Own

Few people seem to understand exactly what an opinion is.

While you shouldn’t just take my word for it, you also shouldn’t waste your time trying to factcheck it—It’s just my opinion. To paraphrase Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster, it’s just a personal view or appraisal; it’s my belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty; it’s my view, judgment, or appraisal formed in my mind about this particular matter.

Opinions form when there is uncertainty; when all the relevant facts have not been considered or cannot actually be considered; when absolute truth doesn’t seem apparent.

And generally speaking, the quality of those opinions degrades when the uncertainty is greater; when the relevant facts are fewer; when absolute truth is less apparent.

The quality of opinions degrades further when they are based on other opinions. And it likely degrades even more when they are based on opinions that are not ours. In the latter case, the degradation, I think, is so great that it leaves me with the opinion that opinions based on the opinions of others are, at worst, not even opinions, and, at best, merely others’ opinions disguising themselves as our own.

But what happens when we confuse others’ opinions as our own?

It is possible that we could be inadvertently convincing ourselves that we are thinking through things more thoroughly than we actually are. It is possible that we could be assimilating opinions that might not be thought out as thoroughly as our original ones actually would be. And it also is possible that the more readily we absorb others’ opinions as our own, the harder it can be to perform the critical task of differentiating between opinions and facts. Consider: When an original opinion is “formed in the mind,” it is harder to mistake it for a fact because of our keener awareness of all the observations and considerations of the various facts and/or opinions leading up to the formation of that opinion.

None of this, however, is intended to undermine the value of opinion. I actually love hearing others’ opinions almost as much as I love sharing mine! I only worry about unoriginal opinions running amok in a society that already seems ultra opinionated.

Now think about one of society’s most critical sources of opinions: the news.

The raw, objective news around us can help us form good, high-quality, original opinions about societal, economic and political topics.

But trying to process the raw, objective news around us can be overwhelming; it’s been aptly likened to trying to take a sip of water from a fire hydrant. So consequently, we tend to turn to opinion pieces and talk radio to help us manage the flow of what’s important/relevant and what isn’t.

But at what cost?

To what extent do we allow others’ opinions on the news to affect us?

I’ve caught myself reading an opinion piece or listening to talk radio, and then immediately thinking to myself: This probably is the way I ought to think and feel about this issue. But isn’t that too much outsourcing independent thought and original opinion?

Some opinion writers and talk show hosts seemingly get carried away and present their opinions in a way that makes it seem like their opinions, even on trivia, ought to become ours as well.

Whatever the topic is, beware of others’ opinions disguising themselves as your own. Beware of confusing others’ opinions as your own.

Your best opinions aren’t those based on opinions from the experts. Rather, they are those based on facts from the experts—but formed as opinions in your own mind. The more certainty there is; the more relevant facts there are; the more absolute truth is apparent; the greater the quality of our opinions.

I’d love to hear your opinion on this particular topic.