According to Webster’s (2005), an opinion is “a belief not based on absolute certainty or positive knowledge but on what seems true, valid, or probable in one’s own mind.” On the other hand, according to Webster’s, a fact is “the state of things that are; reality; actuality; truth.”
So how can someone differentiate between opinion and fact? Although it seems this would be simple, it isn’t, mainly because politicians, church leaders, writers, newscasters, talk-radio personalities, and even parents and friends often appear to be stating a fact when they are instead stating an opinion, which is a personal belief that is emotional, biased, and often totally unfounded. (Chaffee, 2000)
To complicate matters, when people express their opinions, they rarely, if ever, identify these as personal beliefs because they want other people to accept these personal beliefs as facts, not opinions.
Each Truth Is Relevant in Its Time
Some people argue that one can know something is true and, therefore, not an opinion, if it is supported by credible reasons and evidence. The problem with this argument, according to Joseph Campbell, noted philosopher and author of such esteemed works as The Power of Myth, is that each truth is relevant in its own time. (Guerin, 1992)
What Campbell means is that what is accepted as fact and, therefore, truth can change because the reasons and evidence offered in support of that fact have changed, and when reasons and evidence cease to be valid, they lose their credibility. As a result, what was once true becomes untrue.
How and Why Truth Changes
Before the fifteen century, people believed the earth was flat, and they believe this based upon the accepted “credible” reasons and evidence of the times, for example:
- Religious leaders said the earth was flat;
- Educational leaders said the earth was flat;
- The majority of scientific experts said the earth was flat;
- Stories had been passed down from generation to generation, supporting the idea that the earth was flat, and;
- If a person looked toward the horizon, he or she could clearly see that the earth was flat. (Chaffee, 2000)
Today, however, people believe the earth is round based upon other accepted “credible” reasons and evidence, for example:
- Great thinkers and scientists like Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo demonstrated the earth is round by studying the heavens;
- Adventurers, for example Columbus and Magellan, proved the earth is round by navigating its oceans;
- When flying in an airplane, people can observe the horizon and how it changes, and;
- Actual photographs taken from space clearly show the spherical shape of Earth. (Chaffee, 2000)
Why People Accept Opinion as Fact
People often accept opinion as fact because they do not make the effort to examine either their own thinking or that of other people, especially those individuals seen as “authority figures,” for example, parents, teachers, church leaders, government officials, talk-radio personalities, newscasters, etc.
As a result, people blindly accept what they have always been told or what they are now being told as being fact or “the truth.”
Recognizing the Difference Between Opinion and Fact
One way for people to recognize opinion, as opposed to fact, is for them to ask themselves why they believe something is true? Is it because someone whom they respect told them it was true? Is it because they have always believed it to be true? Is it because a radio or TV personality said it was true? If the answer is “yes” to any of these questions, people need to examine what they have been accepting as fact by doing the following:
- Consider the evidence provided in support of that “fact;”
- Ask if the evidence is credible or if it is perhaps biased;
- Ask if the evidence is distorted by prejudice and/or personal perception, and;
- Ask if this “fact” was once considered true but has now been proven false.
In summary, people can learn to identify fact (truth) as opposed to opinion if they are willing to take the time to examine what they believe. Of course, they must be prepared to face the possibility that what they have always believed to be true is instead a lie and always has been.
References:
- Chaffee, J. (2000) Thinking Critically: Sixth Edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
- Guerin, W. (1992) A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language (2005) New York: Simon and Schuster.
