Opinions, our particular judgments of reality

When do we start forming opinions? We do it from a very early age and we also build them on our environment and ourselves. An opinion is defined as an idea, judgment or concept that a person has or forms about something or someone. Opinions are respectable and their heterogeneity is an undoubted source of richness and inspiration for creativity.

By listening to what others think, what they think, we have the opportunity to reflect on other possible points of view. And we said reflect, because… That does not mean that every opinion is a truth! They are simply personal judgments, with no guarantee of validity. But… both those of others and ours; in this sense, opinions always have a point of subjectivity.

An opinion is not a truth, nor is it news or a fact.

That is why it is so important to differentiate them from statements based on proven facts, those truths that can be verified (not argued). An opinion is not a truth, it is not possible to state an opinion. The opinion may be more or less founded or more or less argued. On the other hand, forming opinions about people or situations lightly promotes different degrees of injustice that have no firm basis or valid foundation.

It is very important to know that our mind works with the information it has at all times, so that opinions made and launched with little information do not usually survive a debate in which weighty arguments are used. In any case, let us not forget, contrary to what we have all thought at some point, that changing our mind when there are solid arguments that invite us to do so is an intelligent attitude.

Another consequence of seeing opinions for what they are, a leap into the void that always entails a risk, is caution when issuing them.. People who see them this way usually gather a good amount of information before sharing their opinions, just as they tend to listen carefully to the arguments of others… and not so much to reaffirm their arguments, but rather to try to falsify their own opinions.

What happens when we bring them into conversations?

It is essential to separate opinions from statements; If we don’t do it, the consequences are not pleasant and On many occasions these opinions or the way they are expressed as statements can and are usually hurtful.. Hence the importance of this concept: opinions are too often used as truths, forgetting that they are personal judgments.

L. Austin, in “The theory of speech acts”, differentiates two territories: the territory of affirmations and the territory of declarations. Opinions (personal judgments) are part of the territory of statements. A territory that is related to validity and coherence and not to truthfulness. The certainty of possessing the truth and being right in this territory is a trap! An illusion or mirage like the one we could perceive in the desert. Furthermore, it does not usually leave room for other different ways of thinking (mental models) or for developing mental openness, preventing us from being aware that personal experience is a conditioned reality.

And what happens to the people who fall into that trap?

They assume that reality has to fit how they perceive it, so others should perceive the same. In any case, if they do not do so, they would be biases of their perception, never of their own. They become “sincericides”, they communicate their opinion without being asked, using as an excuse the abused sincerity that is championed as a virtue to commit “sincericides”. How sincere imposing his truth!

This way, They are trapped in that stagnation that prevents their adaptation to other forms of thinking. (mental models). They need to be right to feel safe and protected… How much importance do they give to being right! This need sometimes becomes imperative and causes rational disagreements to turn into very, very heated and meaningless discussions.

Why is changing your mind so frowned upon?

Deep down… Why this need to continually reaffirm our opinions? When many times the only thing that happens is that we change our mind about something or someone, giving a good example of our flexibility and open-mindedness, and being consistent with the new information we have received. At no time will a simple change of mind make us stop being who we are!

On the other hand, opinions, reflections and thoughts can be shared, but that does not mean we are going to be right, we only share the same vision on a topic. It may be more or less coherent, it may be more or less valid opinions… But, let’s not fall into the trap of thinking that any opinion, hypothesis or prediction is more real than another! Thus, Steve Jobs, in his famous speech at Stanford University in 2005, said:

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