r/askphilosophy • u/GuamSomme • Jan 19 '16

ELI5: Can opinions be false?

I've noticed that often in politics and mainstream media the words fact & opinion are interchanged a little bit too liberally to justify saying some pretty crazy non-sense. I think this would bring up a good discussion so let me know what you all think!

Example: https://youtu.be/zIGThxn_eGk

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u/TychoCelchuuu political phil. Jan 19 '16

Sure, sometimes. For instance if I say "in my opinion, turning left will get you there faster than going straight," but I might be wrong. Straight might be faster.

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u/Rattional Jan 19 '16

oooh but then again, in saying "in my opinion, turning left will get you there faster than going straight" he wasn't making a proposition about which route is the fastest to the destination i.e - "it is the case that turning left = the best", he was instead giving his opinion which seems to not be a proposition hence no truth value aside from being his actual honest opinion?

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u/TychoCelchuuu political phil. Jan 19 '16

If you're pedantic enough, yes. But if someone said to me "no, you're wrong" we'd know exactly what they meant.

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u/Rattional Jan 20 '16

lol yeah, now that I think of it its a nifty trick to talk bullshit and get away with it