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An opinion is only a thought. Regardless of how concretely or teniously correct we feel that thought to be. We take no action on it, we may express it, but only as our opinion and being of no commercial value.
What is the point of having an opinion and not acting upon it?
I mean, thinking 1 thing and doing the opposite seems like a denial to me.
I tihnk it's the way an opinion or judgement is presented that makes all the difference, though I do think a judgement is harsher and more definite than an opinion. I often have opinions about things, especially current affairs, and tend to give it as a one liner 'I think that...' and it usually opens an interesting debate with others, who may or may not agree with me. Today I had to cut off an old friend who was abusive in their manner of disagreeing with me,in the midst of a lively respectful debate with others, which I felt there was no need for. The person's contempt for me was obvious - no friend would have spoken to me with that level of derision, it was truly awful, and even others said so. Let's just say their inner opinion of me was not a positive one, but totally devoid of respect and humanity. So I had to make a difficult 'judgement' there, but it is based on evidence and years of experience, learning to know the difference between healthy, positive people, and abusive, negative ones. I feel bad but I don't regret it, as the person crossed the line.
I believe strongly in having opinions. I feel they make us who we are, and enable us to truly engage with our environment, our lives, our world. Otehrwise I tihnk we would just be passengers in life, and go through it with our eyes closed. Some people have not appreciated my personality being this way, feeling threatened and choosing to snipe sarcastically rather than openly and honestly disagreeing, but that's life I guess.
An opinion is entirely subjective. You hold opinions based purely on your own experience and what you have come to believe personally is correct. I don't think that having an opinion and not voicing it is a denial. In fact it is my opinion that most people should keep their's to themselves.
A judgement is holding someone's actions accountable to a standard. In law the individual is held accountable and judged against the laws of the land. Individuals hold others up to their own standard or moral code and expect others to conform to their way of thinking.
For example, it is my opinion that homophobes and racists are lowly scum. If I was to be judgemental I would insist that they have no place in society and should be oppressed and removed from the public eye so that I don't have to see the product of their tiny minds.
I think that some people are looking for a way to get around that sticking point in the bible that tells them not to do this. The idea being to conflate opinion with judgement and have a ready answer when they are told the bible tells them not to judge others. What it means is that you should not hold others up to your own personal moral code...no matter how right you think you are. There's no getting around that.
To clarify this post here are the definitions of the two words.......
Definition of an opinion is
1. a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.
2. a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.
3. the formal expression of a professional judgment:
Definition of a judgement is
1. an act or instance of judging.
2. the ability to judge, make a decision, or form an opinion objectively, authoritatively, and wisely, esp. in matters affecting action; good sense; discretion: a man of sound judgment.
3. the forming of an opinion, estimate, notion, or conclusion, as from circumstances presented to the mind: Our judgment as to the cause of his failure must rest on the evidence.
To me there is little, if any, difference between the words opinion and judgement. What is different is the phrase "having an opinion" and "passing judgement".
To illustrate, let's consider someone who has made a personal choice that is considered "uncommon" in today's society (perhaps it is a personal choice that would be considered "liberal"). This person works with someone who would most likely be defined by present society's standards as "conservative". The conservative person could have an opinion that the liberal person is somehow "wrong", or that they personally would not have made the same choice in their lives; yet if they do not let this opinion affect their interactions with the other person, then in my opinion it would not be "passing judgement".
I can see where someone may make the argument that to have an opinion would mean the same as "passing judgement", yet to me it comes down to what you hold in your mind and how this opinion affects your interactions with that person that indicates whether your opinion is being "passed" or whether you keep it to yourself.
To further philosophize on this idea, we really can only base how others think about us on our interactions with them (excluding gossip and hearsay, which really shouldn't be listened to anyway). What they really think can be something entirely different, perhaps even just the opposite. "Passing judgement" seems to me more of an agressive phrase, something that comes from within and is directed towards someone else; it has an object--the judgement is being "passed" from one place to another. "Having an opinion" seems to me something that can be internalized, and kept there; you can have something, but no one else needs ever know about it.
He is there being paid to do that, this is not the norm of society and if he spoke to people like that in RL, he would get arse kicked pretty quickly.
Reality TV is not real life.
Didn't say it was.
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What is the point of having an opinion and not acting upon it?
