Opinions Obstruct Thinking

In spite of my title, opinions are not completely bad. We all have them and they are needed. But as with many things in life, opinions are a double-edged sword. In this blog I will address the less desirable side of opinions.

Most of us believe that we think objectively, but this is honored more in the breach than the practice, and the reason is often opinions. Consider two contentious issues about which most people have strongly held opinions without a single actual fact: human-caused climate change and the minimum wage. Very few of us have the slightest understanding of the scientific models used on either side of both of these issues. We certainly do not understand why one model is more valid than another. We accept one side or the other because of a pre-existing disposition. I believe (or do not believe) that the minimum wage is beneficial for workers and society because I prefer that view, not because I have definitive, supportive facts. It is my opinion.

We all have authorities we rely on to guide us in complex situations which we cannot understand. True enough. But we still make a choice of which authorities to rely on, and that choice is itself a function of the way we want the world to work, or for it to be. It is a subjective choice, and that opinion has nothing necessarily to do with objective reality. The authorities we have chosen to put our faith in (and it really is faith) could be dead wrong and we would never know it. Nor would that matter in many cases. Studies show that people with strong beliefs that are objectively incorrect and who are presented with the correct information, will not only reject the latter out of hand, but actually harden into their original incorrect view.

Making this matter of authorities more complicated yet is that those experts themselves are prone to select data for their models that appeal to their already existing biases. Two archaeologists can look at the same set of humanoid bones and come to different conclusions as to what they represent. Part of these interpretations is due to their academic and experiential focus, and part will be due to their preferences, or opinions. These account for the sometimes very unpleasant, often viciously ad hominem, fights among academics, none of which help solve anything.

And this leads to perhaps the most troubling aspect of opinions. We take them very seriously, as though the mere fact that we hold them is itself prima facie evidence of their correctness. Having “decided” our opinions are correct, and having infused the latter with strong emotion, any contrary information must be destroyed. The merging of our opinion as established fact, and its unverified correctness, with very strong emotion means the death of inquiry and objective thought. This explains the often substantial level of hostility that people experience when their opinions cross, a regrettable every-day happening. Recall any interaction between two people on opposite sides of the minimum wage issue---usually very unpleasant and not at all uplifting.

But what if one person’s opinion is factually correct? Surely that matters? In the absence of an emergency, it matters little on the positive side and very likely a lot on the negative side. The problem is not the actual correctness, but the manner in which the person presents his opinion. If both are playing fair and respectful, and not allowing emotional needs to win, etc., to overcome the conversation, things can go rather well. If one or both people needs to be right or to prevail, then the interaction will be characterized by unpleasant and disrespectful emotional conflict. Thinking in such situations is retarded, and a deeper understanding of the issue is sacrificed.

It is clear that holding an opinion simply because it makes us feel good or because we need it (and ourselves) to be right is anathema to thinking. People holding their opinions in a death grip and attempting to overwhelm others with those opinions are acting from pure emotion. Thinking is not part of this scenario, even though the opinions’ articulation is often accompanied by supposedly supportive data, mostly in the form of facts or pseudo-facts. The goal in using such facts is not to have an open and expansive conversation, but to overwhelm the other person. In order to save internal “face,” people imagine that such supportive elements are evidence of their thinking prowess, but their emotive foundation is completely ignored. And, once aroused, the emotions must win.

If we are going to have opinions, and this is a normal thing, we had best hold them very lightly, as we would a butterfly that landed on our hand. We are not really holding the butterfly, only giving it a place to rest. We do not wish to control the butterfly and we do not desire that it remain. It is natural that it comes, stays a while, and then leaves. That is how we should treat our opinions, as mere concepts that may be dispensed with easily.

Nice as this idea sounds, achieving this state demands much of us---emotional and intellectual fearlessness, an openness to the new, and the desire for a deeper understanding of the world. Many people think they have these characteristics. Sadly for them and for those around them….

Taoist literature offers wisdom on the issue:

            When nothing is left to argue with

            and there is nothing to oppose,

            you will find yourself at peace

            and in harmony with all things.