Opinion

See also: Theory | Sayings | Philosophies | Public opinion | Ideology

The beliefs or ideas held by a group or individual on a particular topic. To believe a statement or proposition X is to behave as if X is held to be true. It is not necessary that the belief be conscious nor certain. Many opinions can be offensive, although free speech advocates may take issue with this point.

The communication of one’s opinion can be a very dangerous thing to do. Various governments, organisations and individuals will often take severe action against expression of opinions on the basis of national security, threat the the state, etc

In many cases, opinions are formed without access to accurate information and often cannot be disproved or proven. An opinion is therefore a judgement about someone or something. Many factors shape our opinions, including what we inference, our education, social networks, etc

Collectively opinions form one’s attitude, sense of justice and define the basic rights everyone is entitled to. For public discourse or collaboration, opinions often need moderation, or the threat of it, to avoid flame wars, trolling and other problems of etiquette.

A set of very strongly held opinions can be considered an Ideology. Saying identifying with opinion include IMHO and IMO.

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