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I'm starting to think I have no actual opinions of my own.
Recently, I've been involved in a few arguments online about different subjects, many of which are very complex and which the answers are not always readily obvious. After getting in quite a few arguments on different issues and hearing arguments from all different sides of each issue, I'm starting to get the feeling that I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about and that all of my opinions on politics/anything else are just things I'm repeating from other people.
After realizing this, I can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of apathy about everything: I feel like I shouldn't bother having opinions at all since I quite clearly have absolutely no idea how the world actually works.
Comments
I know that feel, bro.
I think it's still fine to have opinions; you just need to know what you're basing those opinions on. For example, I can say that I have an opinion on, say, the Keystone XL pipeline issue, but instead of being an idiot and simply stating it and leaving, I ought to know what information and reasoning I'm basing my opinion of it on. For example, I can say that I oppose it on the basis that it makes it easier to develop yet another fossil fuel resource, and that I'll be willing to entertain a counterargument that it might be developed anyway and in less environmentally-friendly ways but the burden of proof for this counterargument is on whoever gives it.
That said, sometimes I just feel like I know far too little to have an informed opinion. I could come up with an uninformed opinion based on very superficial details -- such as "Edward Snowden is a hero for whistleblowing" or "Edward Snowden is a traitor to the US" -- but it really ought not to be something I base any grandstanding on.
Google touchy subjects beforehand, read up on logical fallacies, try to read more in general and don't be afraid to make mistakes(would you have learned this stuff if you'd kept your mouth shut in the first place?). Recognizing your own ignorance already puts you ahead of the curve.
Unless you have some very strong convictions regarding a topic, it's probable you'll end up with some weird amalgam of opinions that seem like having no opinions at all. I always come off as right wing when I discuss stuff with my left leaning friends, and like a commie when compared to my right leaning ones.
> I always come off as right wing when I discuss stuff with my left leaning friends, and like a commie when compared to my right leaning ones.
This could also result from them having extreme opinions to start.
Unless you're spearheading some area of research, chances are your opinions are going to be heavily influenced by everyone else's one way or another.
Be humble, try to understand why you believe the things you do, keep listening to others' opinions and understand them, etc.
Edit: Now that makes more sense.
The important thing is that you get your opinions out and state where you're coming from--if you acknowledge and understand the other person's opinion, and get the other person to do the same for yours, then that alone is success. It's okay to have differing opinions, but it's not okay to see someone else's opinion as just something to be torn down rather than as the result of a thinking process.
All of these suggestions sound pretty exhausting. I think I'm beginning to understand why they say ignorance is bliss.
It's bliss because of cognitive biases, wheeeeeeeeee.It also meants persecuting of minorities out of fear born of ignorance.
I'm not sure why you think it's exhausting, it's simply about being curious and empathic about points of view.
Well, as I said, you don't have to do research on stuff to have an opinion on it. But just be prepared to say "based on what I know".
And if you don't like dealing with people who are like "well, how about you consider this evidence", you can always shut them down by saying "I'll think about it."
Zennistrad,
I tend to agree with Stormtroper on this. The fact that your opinions may be influenced by other people is not necessarily a terrible thing and I feel like listening to people is pretty helpful in general.
Also, I think it is okay to just say "I don't know" or "I'm not sure" sometimes. If these issues are complex and difficult to answer, then chances are plenty of well-educated and intelligent people have come to different conclusions about them. That being the case, it is reasonable for it to take some time for you to work through them yourself. There is no shame in admitting that you do not know enough about a subject to have a strong opinion, even if online arguments might make it appear as though everybody else is an expert.