Americans assume that they have the right, if not the obligation, to express their own opinion. Well, I challenge that assumption. You are not entitled to your opinion, at least not philosophically or in the field of argumentation. You are only entitled to what you can argue for. If you can’t construct and defend an argument, you don’t have a right to an opinion. If you can’t recognize when a belief becomes indefensible, you are not entitled to an opinion. “I’m entitled to my opinion” often becomes a defense for beliefs that should be abandoned. It becomes the “middle finger” to those with whom we disagree and it another way of saying, “I can say or think whatever I like and argue with false rhetorical claims. It’s a way of attacking a person without giving any attention to the arguments that person makes.
If “Everyone’s entitled to their opinion” just means no one has the right to stop people thinking and saying whatever they want, then the statement is true but fairly trivial. No one can stop you from saying that vaccines cause autism, no matter how many times that claim has been disproven. But if ‘entitled to an opinion’ means ‘entitled to have your views treated as serious candidates for the truth’ then it’s pretty clearly false. Opinion doesn’t elevate to “truth” simply because someone makes a statement on television.
There are differences between opinions, beliefs, convictions, true beliefs, and truth. To promote opinion to truth with no backing in sight is an absurdity. You can say, but you are not entitled to having it treated as if it is just the "other side" of the argument. This is one of the weaknesses of having a climate scientist make a statement and then finding an anti-climate spokesperson to offer opinions when that person has no relevant experience or expertise. That person can argue against climate change policy, but has no right to express opinions about the science itself.
It is complicated to insist that you have the right to an opinion about subjects about which you have no knowledge. It is true that you can say whatever you wish to say, but it is false that what you have to say about subjects beyond your level of expertise is also entitled to be a truth claim. Not all opinions are true, valid, or useful. Some opinions are simply dangerous. It doesn’t stop anyone from expressing opinions, but philosophically, it is important to know that you are only entitled to what you can argue for. This means that your arguments must have warrants, truth claims, evidence, and supporting material. Otherwise, you are not making an argument, you are expressing a trivial opinion.
What matters is the ability to make good arguments and to have the ability to back up your arguments. If your opinion can’t do this, then it fails to gain the right to be expressed in the arena of truth claims. It’s just another batch of poorly constructed words repeated over and over to no good end. In this sense, everyone is not entitled to an opinion. Perhaps we are all possessed by habits too corrupt for us to be expressing opinions not rooted in fact, reality, or truth.
If you are offended by this notion, please make any contrary argument you wish, but if it is not an actual argument but just emotional blather, don’t expect it to be taken seriously. You are not entitled to your opinion is a philosophical assertion that goes against the grain of American notions of opinions. Argumentative rebuttals are welcome Ad hominem attacks are not.
The Rev. Dr. Rodney W. Kennedy is a professor of Homiletics at Palmer Theological Seminary, St. Davids, PA
