- Position1 of 2›
- Yes, individual opinions are of value.
- Argument1 of 2›
Opinions create different views on life
Cultural sensitivity and understanding of others differences benefits society.
The argument
Opinions create different worldviews. No two people arrive at adulthood by the same route: the family, place, era, language and circumstances a person grows up in shape what they notice, what they take for granted and what strikes them as obvious, and the views they hold are the residue of that particular history. A worldview, on this account, is not an arbitrary decoration laid over a shared picture of reality — it is the picture, assembled from one life's worth of vantage point. The value of individual opinions follows from what happens when a person becomes aware of their own. Holding an opinion consciously, as a position one has arrived at rather than as plain fact, requires recognising that it came from somewhere — that it was formed by circumstances which could have been otherwise. That recognition is the beginning of sensitivity to other worldviews, because it makes intelligible how someone with a different history could look at the same situation and see something else without being stupid or dishonest. The person who mistakes their own outlook for the truth itself has no such resource; to them disagreement can only appear as error. Awareness of this kind is what makes people sensitive to others and accepting of their differences. Tolerance built on it is not mere politeness but understanding — a grasp of why difference exists at all, rather than a decision to put up with it. This is why individual opinions are of value rather than a regrettable obstacle to consensus. Their diversity supplies the contrast by which anyone can see their own position as a position, and a society in which people can do that is one where difference is met with recognition rather than dismissal.
Premises
Counter-arguments
Some worldviews are morally wrong and shouldn’t exist. In the middle east, women are treated as second class citizens. They can be put to death by their husbands without cause. The same goes for people in Africa. Although child marriage is outlawed, small rural villages still practice it out of tradition.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P3] Not all worldviews deserve to be respected.