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Are individual opinions of value?
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Individual opinions are not of value because opinions don’t improve society, sometimes they make things worse

Differences in opinions cause society to be divided, prejudices to be formed, and people to be hostile towards one another, which doesn't improve society. Without individual opinions, there would be unity and peace in society. Thus, individual opinions are not of value.

The Argument

Opinions don’t improve society. There are arguments started by opinions. These arguments have divided society through prejudice.[1] If individuals could come together as a whole and agree on everything, then there wouldn’t be division. A person is prejudiced when he has formed an attitude toward a particular social group of people before having enough information on which to form a knowledgeable opinion. The negative prejudice is when the attitude is hostile toward members of a group, which fails to improve the peace and cohesion of society. Opinions that judge people would make people uncomfortable and unhappy. Groups that are the targets of prejudice may be distinguished by anyone of several characteristics such as religion, ethnicity, language, social class, gender, physical abilities, age, or sexual orientation. Frequently they are distinguished by specific inherited physical characteristics such as skin color. Thus, individual opinions are not of value and don't judge people based on their inherited characteristics, which makes people sad. People will have more energy to work, study, and live with happiness without opinions.

Counter arguments

Not having opposing opinions is impossible. A human’s free will includes having opinions of their own. Living in a society that forces people to have the same opinion is an impossible utopia. In addition, prejudice exists not only at the personal individual level but also at the collective societal level. All human societies have prejudice in some form and to some degree.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] Opinions harm society. [P2] Arguments are started by opinions. [P3] Arguments create prejudice in society. [P4] People should share the same opinions.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Opinions improve society. [Rejecting P2] Arguments don’t always stem from opinions. [Rejecting P4] Having the same opinion suppresses individuality.

References

  1. https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/causes-prejudice
This page was last edited on Friday, 10 Jul 2020 at 19:29 UTC

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