The most annoying beliefs

Although some opinions are worthy of respecting equally as others, this really depends on the subject. Opinions overall are pretty worthless, as demostrated by the phrase "everything will work out in the end". That's just an opinion on how things will work out; unless the work is done, things generally don't work out much in your favour in my experience.

I think a lot of people mistake opinions for beliefs.

 

yep...and then theres ones like Muslims are taking over the world..thats actually more like a fact than a belief

 

Really? What was the last time a Muslim country invaded somewhere?

 

well I believe in generally respecting people, and along with that I don't go around trashing their beliefs and opinions if I don't share them.

I don't believe in an afterlife or astrology but if other people want to believe that, that's fine by me.

I might debate the issue and give my view, but I respect that others can have different beliefs to me.

what I don't like is arrogant people who think they have the right to insult and put down anyone
who disagrees with them. no one knows it all.

 

When people espouse blatant bigotry, I think I have the right to call them what I like. After all, an insult is also an opinion that arguably ought to just be kept to ones self.

 

we really need a sarcasm smiley in this forum

 

Ding ding! We have a winner!:afro:

 

Apologies...let me give some facepalm instead.

 

There's a very big difference between respecting someone's right to have an opinion (good) and respecting their opinion itself no matter what it is (bad).

I'm sure everyone has come across some beliefs that they find idiotic. Even the saintly Razy Tree?:angel:

 

As lithium points out, a lot of the time it is a case of a simple misconception. People seem to forget the difference between respecting a person's right to have any thought, opinion or belief, and treating that belief as equal to any other in itself simply for existing. The mistake is costly. It encourages lazy and childish thinking, and allows ridiculous nonsense to be brought up again and again in serious debate when that time could be used on discussing the facts rather than groundless fantasy. Just look at how much time is spent on discussing, say, creationism, as if it is on par with a scientific knowledge of Earth's history.

Most people who cherish the "each opinion is equal" ethos are just trying to have sound morals and haven't really thought the issue through. With a bit of scrutiny, the error becomes obvious. A statement such as: "Some people believe there is a god, others believe there isn't. The chances are therefore 50/50" dissolve when a little logic is applied. "Some people believe the Earth is only thousands of years old, others say it is billions. The chances are therefore 50/50" is more obviously untrue, and "some people believe the world is being governed by reptilians, others say this is bullshit, therefore..." are clearly plain nonsense talk.

Do I respect a person's right to believe in reptilians and become a David Icke fanatic? Of course. Do I want these people to be presenting their case again and again as a serious talking point when they have zero credible evidence? No, because their belief is clearly absurd, and I have every right to say as much.

Opinions and beliefs should never be exempt from criticism simply for being opinions or beliefs. Respect is earned.

 

Sometimes it does someone a favour to have their opinion/belief trashed. It's not very useful to let people carry on their lives dragging a load of silly beliefs around with them. The current world we inhabit is proof of how detrimental an effect that can have.

 

I wish more people had trashed my silly beliefs.

On the subject of the afterlife, it can actually be a harmful assumption to carry around with you. I would go as far as to say my life experience was badly inhibited by the belief. I thought I was going to live forever. What was the rush with living fully?

 

sometimes we may trash the only reasonable opinion.

 

Yeah, I thought the same thing when I had written that. Think how informed we would all be if silly beliefs were tested to destruction and stamped out altogether. Though people need open-mindedness before they allow therr beliefs or opinions -and therefore their value systems- to be changed, which is in short supply right now, I feel. We would all learn to be open minded if we were shown how fragile our beliefs can be.

A solid belief system to me indicates stagnation. Science is a good analogy for this. Once classical scientists' beliefs were overcome and the laws of science accepted as not universally applicable to all of creation, more and more research came to fruition. If the rules for science were never rewritten then we could not accept the existence of atoms and their constituent parts. Each time our sciences become utterly believed in as the final answer, we deny ourselves the discovery of new realms. New dscoveries are always sending us back over what we thought we knew, forcing us to rethink it.

 

Most of the reasonable opinions are trashed live on air when it comes to political or economical subjects these days. A good opinion can not be truly trashed, for it can be backed up with solid fact and replicable experience. Again, this highlights the need for open-mindedness. When a metaphysical investigator offers an opinion in a room full of supposed telekenetics, of course they will poo-poo him, but if the experiments should fall in his favour then whose opinion has really been trashed?

This is the thing, we come on to opinions about an opinion. Opinions on opinions are often worth even less than the original opinion, unless they bear relevance to the reality of a situation. Often, because of people's mindset these days, they don't bear relevance!!

 

i'd reread the option perhaps?

 

The good thing is that if someone's argument gets "trashed" when it is actually valid, they can bring out their evidence to support the case and either persuade the "trasher" or at least present a convincing case for others to consider. That's the beauty of a sensible debate. Ultimately, arguments with a sound grounding in reality and proof as backup will be taken more seriously than those without a leg to stand on, and with good reason too. We of course remain open-minded to the possibility, but clearly a belief in a provable fact is more worthy of serious attention than a belief in demons.

 

I wrote the option.

"Everyone's opinion should be respected equally"

Not all opinions are worthy of the same level of respect.

 

Period.

 

in that case i imagine your neutral in regard to politics and economic decision making or blame?

what the shitting fuck are we still doing believing in god???? :mickey: