Commentary on Culture, Philosophy, and Popular Topics of the Day

Truth vs. Opinion

“If you want to assert a truth, first make sure it’s not just an opinion that you desperately want to be true.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson

There is a difference between an opinion and a fact. It is a fact that Individuals with body fat over 31% are considered obese by the FDA and NIH. Individuals are obese because they habitually over eat the wrong foods and do not exercise is an opinion.

While an opinion is not a fact, nothing in another’s “opinion” means anything about you. An opinion is all about the person expressing the opinion. So why do so many people get upset by the opinions of others? I think it is because they believe the opinion means something about them. This tends to trigger emotional energy which in turn triggers a fight or flight response. Either response has the effect of energizing the opinion into something meaningful. It inflates it. However, if one were to ignore the opinion, it will deflate like a leaky hot air balloon.

Example: An electric current can only flow if there are positive and negative poles. When you engage in debate about opinions, you become one of the poles. This allows emotional energy to flow. The more attention you give the opinion, the stronger the emotional energy flows.

The Bottom Line: all opinions are the personal views of the person expressing the opinion. They are not concrete assessments about any person, group, nationality, etc. When you understand this, then other people’s opinions will cease to cause you grief. You will realize the opinions for what they are: a personal view, attitude, or appraisal that means nothing about you, but everything about the individual advancing their opinion.

 “Opinion is the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world.”  These words of wisdom are often incorrectly attributed to Plato but are actually derived from the writings of the poet George Eliot. Caveat: These words are relevant for today, but unfortunately many individuals who claim to agree with this idea of knowledge all too often lack the will or empathy skills necessary to really understand and share the feelings of another. In my “opinion,” this is the root cause of much of the division that exists in our world today.