Increasingly, with pundits and politicos offering their opinions about world affairs and attempting to decipher the hidden motives of other people also offering their opinions, it is becoming increasingly difficult to recognize the difference between someone's opinion and the analytical assessment of a situation that is based on objective reality that can be verified through empirical evidence.
Can we hear it in ourselves even? Do we know when we are offering a biased opinion and an assessment based on a neutral, objective analysis of verifiable facts?
Listen to yourself. When you begin to hear yourself using these expressions, take a reality check:
I believe......
I feel.....
I think......
I suspect.....
I hope.....
It is fairly obvious to me....
Most people would agree with me, I'm sure....
I know for a fact....
Who knows anything for a fact?
Facts are based on empirical evidence. Most everything else is a subjective conclusion drawn on untrustworthy data.
Can we hear it in ourselves even? Do we know when we are offering a biased opinion and an assessment based on a neutral, objective analysis of verifiable facts?
Listen to yourself. When you begin to hear yourself using these expressions, take a reality check:
I believe......
I feel.....
I think......
I suspect.....
I hope.....
It is fairly obvious to me....
Most people would agree with me, I'm sure....
I know for a fact....
Who knows anything for a fact?
Facts are based on empirical evidence. Most everything else is a subjective conclusion drawn on untrustworthy data.
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