Philosophy - You do not have a right to your own opinions!

[DTLarca]

Is That So?

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that ~ John Stuart Mill 1850

Your story reminds me of a story from a book on Ethics written by Simon Blackburn who is currently considered the UK's formost respected expert on Ethics.

Relatively speaking - by Simon Blackburn.

I was present at a high-powered ethics institute which had put on a forum in which representatives of the great religions held a panel.

First the Buddhist talked of the ways to calm, the mastery of desire, the path of enlightenment. The panellists all said 'Wow, terrific, if that works for you that's great'.

Then the Hindu talked of the cycles of suffering and birth and rebirth, the teachings of Krishna and the way to release, and they all said 'Wow, terrific, if that works for you that's great'.

And so on, until the Catholic priest talked of the message of Jesus Christ, the promise of salvation and the way to life eternal, and they all said 'Wow, terrific, if that works for you that's great'. And he thumped the table and shouted: 'No! It's not a question of if it works for me! It's the true word of the living God, and if you don't believe it you're all damned to Hell!'

And they all said: 'Wow, terrific, if that works for you that's great'.

The joke here lies in the mismatch between what the priest intends - a claim to unique authority and truth - and what he is heard as offering, which is one more saying like all the others. Of course that person talks of certainty and truth, says the relativist. That's just his certainty and truth, made absolute in his eyes, which means no more than: made into a fetish.

Simon Blackburn - Philosophy Professor - Cambridge University http://www.phil.cam.ac.uk/~swb24/

Also, one mans good neighborliness is another man self serving appeasement. Sometimes it is better to be Churchillian. Glorious 39.

Truth and opinion - rarely the same thing.