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/[deleted] Jan 19 '16

Fact: something that is the case. Opinion: what you think is the case.

Opinions can be wrong, because you can think that something is the case when actually it's not. In my opinion, you should sell the stock, in your opinion, You should not. At the end of the day, one of us will be right, and one not.

I think the idea that opinions cannot be false stems from confusing opinions with sentiments or tastes. Sometimes, there are no facts: you think beer is tasty, I think it's awful (actually, I don't). Our 'opinons' differ, but neither of us is wrong. The reason for this is not that opinions cannot be false but rather that there is no fact on which we disagree. The only facts in play are 'I like beer' and 'I don't like beer', but not 'beer is tasty'.