Preview

Jamie Whyte's Opinion Rights

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
209 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Jamie Whyte's Opinion Rights
In his essay “Opinion Rights,” Jamie Whyte argues that “we are not entitled to our opinions, nor should we be, because such an entitlement is the enemy of intellectual progress” (13). Whyte supports his claim by informing his audience that rights to an opinion entail duties. Whyte states that “the only time people invoke the right to their opinions is when they have suddenly realized they have no grounds upon which they can hold those opinions and thus are left instead with nothing but selfish motives for holding those opinions” (16). Based on Whyte’s claim we should all support our opinions with evidence. Whyte, a former philosophy lecturer, is also an author of books about reasoning and politics. As I read his essay for the first
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    A Rhetorical Analysis Of Nancy Sommers Between The Drafts
    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A Rhetorical Analysis Of Nancy Sommers Between The Drafts

    She comes to understand that it is with our daily lives that we begin to find ourselves and realize that our words not only the text matter. One has to give their own authority and their own standpoint to make their point argumentative. Through personal life, methods of teaching and college experience does Sommers truly notice the change between her own authority and textual information. It is within us that truly makes a paper what it is. Our own authority should be our judgment. Between the drafts makes one comprehend what really happens between 2 papers. Drafts not only have to be papers but they can pertain to our own lives as well. Arguments begin with our own voices. Either the risk one takes or the risk they do not. It is with much evidence and disdain that Sommers truly presents her argument. One is lost between the words of the paper to make it seem less effective. Sommers uses effective writing techniques’ and much revision to make her thesis…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Accommodating Science Fahnestock Summary
    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Accommodating Science Fahnestock Summary

    Stasis theory explains how “issues naturally develop in public forums” by positing four questions: “What exactly happened and who did it?”; “What was the nature or definition of the act?”; “What is the quality of the act, or, in other words, what were the mitigating or aggravating circumstances?”; “Who has jurisdiction in this case and what action is called for?” (Fahnestock 345). The first question is the nature of scientific research, and is where scientific discourse hovers. Public audiences tend to look for the value in the results of research rather than engage in the debate over whether it is fact, wanting to know “why” rather than “what”, and want to know if anything needs to be done about it (Fahnestock…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Iroquois Theatre Disaster
    • 2184 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Iroquois Theatre Disaster

    Santayana, G. (2005). In Life of Reason (p. 284). Scribner 's. Retrieved March 3, 2010…

    • 2184 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analyzing David G. Myers 'Do We Fear The Right Things?'
    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Analyzing David G. Myers 'Do We Fear The Right Things?'

    People have fears for many things from spiders to clowns. Due to the attacks on September 11, 2001, many Americans can now add another fear to that list. Something that was considered to be a convenience since it’s invention is now something people are replacing with long drives in their personal vehicles, buses and train rides for long distances. In some of these cases, one also goes…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Crimes Against Logic By James Whyte Analysis
    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Crimes Against Logic By James Whyte Analysis

    The claim is made that if your opinion is associated with something bad it is automatically wrong. Basically if you share similar or the same values with that is considered wrong, you are wrong too. Whyte uses an example involving Hitler and Lenin, both communist leaders who did some pretty bad things. But Whyte shows, that there is favoritism for Lenin and good things are associated with him, for example if you were to state one of his ideas it wouldn’t be seen as wrong automatically. But on the other hand if you were to explain or agree with one Hitler’s, ideas it would be seen as wrong the majority if not all of the time. The idea that Whyte provides is that two bad things can’t or shouldn’t outdo each other. Arguing two wrong arguments against each other doesn’t change the fact that they are both…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Farenheit 451
    • 1132 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Farenheit 451

    “The most tyrannical of governments are those which make crimes of opinions, for everyone has an inalienable right to his thoughts.”-Benedict Spinoya…

    • 1132 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Stuart Mill Diffusion Of Knowledge Analysis
    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages

    John Stuart Mill Diffusion Of Knowledge Analysis

    John Stuart Mill, author of the chapter “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion” in the philosophical work On Liberty, outlines four main arguments of why society is impacted by the silencing of others’ opinions. Wayne Fuller, author of the chapter “Diffusion of Knowledge” in the work The American Mail: Englarger of the Common Life,” presents ideas that Mill would be able to apply his ideas to.…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Arguments Against Hitchens
    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Arguments Against Hitchens

    One of the most controversial man, Christopher Hitchens, in his letters, “Letters to a Young Contrarian” (2001), implies that people of the contemporary society should avoid thinking other than for themselves by taking on the pathway of being a contrarian. His purpose is to help “individuals on how they think, and not what they think by making them a more independent and questioning person” (63). The letters take us through a pathway of what is means to be a contrarian. He uses great personal and current examples to explain why individuals should have a voice for their own. Two of the most important topics in which he heavily discusses about are religion and racism. Throughout…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Institutional Virtue Analysis
    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Institutional Virtue Analysis

    Philosopher Miranda Fricker attempts to make a connection between epistemic justice and the ideal of political freedom in her essay, Epistemic Justice as a Condition of Political Freedom? She demonstrates that individuals must not face epistemic injustice when an institution interferes on its citizens’ liberty. She proposes a solution that consists of a collective ethos within institutions. In the essay titled, Generic Liberal Ideals and the Problem of Institutional Virtue, Ross Jensen offers two objections to Fricker’s argument. He claims that a collective ethos would result in an individual’s loss of political thought, and that implicit bias is contrary to a collective ethos. This commentary…

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Justice Game
    • 1396 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Justice Game

    More than anything else, conflicting perspectives are the result of bias or self-interest. Conflicting perspectives are prevalent in our society and individuals’ perspectives are always going to be subjective as their personal paradigms, context and profession invariably influence their interpretation. Geoffrey Robertson’s Trials of OZ and Diana In the Dock: Does Privacy Matter? in The Justice Game primarily constructed as personal retrospectives demonstrate how conflicting perspectives are the result of bias or self-interest. Radio National’s Rear Vision Program explores the ideological dichotomy between the media and privacy whilst opposing views regarding censorship are explored in the Sydney Morning Herald’s (SMH) newspaper article Is Wikileaks a force for good? (July, 2011) also represent that conflicting perspectives are the result of bias or self-interest.…

    • 1396 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Hip-Hop Is No Longer Than Me
    • 1709 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Hip-Hop Is No Longer Than Me

    Is everyone entitled to his or her opinion, even though it might be wrong? Sometimes, what people might say may not make any sense at all. If you call them out on their personal opinions, they will say, “It is my opinion, and that's all that matters.” In Paul Kix’s article “Hip-Hop Is No Longer Cooler than Me,” he states his opinion about the fact that Hip-Hop has lost its value and coolness. In his view, Hip-Hop used to mean something. Nowadays people just rap about nonsense. Kix’s own personal view of hip-hop is his opinion, but other people might totally differently. However, in Joan Ryan’s article “We Are Not Created Equal in Every Way,” she like Kix are subjective. In this piece Ryan explains how everyone is created differently, and…

    • 1709 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    No Restrictions On The First Amendment Essay
    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages

    No Restrictions On The First Amendment Essay

    The First Amendment is the cornerstone of American democracy and the primary protector of the freedoms Americans enjoy. While some might argue that there should be no restrictions on the First Amendment, the First Amendment should be restricted in order to promote public safety and ensure the smooth functioning of society, and those limitations should be narrowly crafted and explicitly defined by the Supreme Court. A person has the right to voice his or her opinion on a matter, regardless of what another person thinks about that opinion. This idea should be protected under the First Amendment unless a person’s opinion expressed through speech incites violence or disrupts the flow of society.…

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Counseling Ethics & Critical Thinking
    • 1196 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Counseling Ethics & Critical Thinking

    The authors’ main purpose of this chapter is to teach the importance of examining our ethics through the lenses of critical thinking. In general, critical thinking is being able to learn new material with an open mind and having a heightened level of self-awareness of our biases and how our biases impact the analysis of information. A critical thinking approach when applied to the logical analysis of journal articles, chapters or entire textbooks--encourages us to analyze the author(s)’ goals, objectives, issues, observations, facts, conclusions, biases, inferences, assumptions, perspectives, and their overall point of view. Critical thinking entails the ability to think clearly and rationally. Critical thinkers will take additional steps to increase their learning by conceptualizing, making connections between ideas, identifying, constructing and evaluating arguments. It requires the reader to find inconsistencies and common errors in thinking or reasoning. Our approach to this new problem solving process should be systematic and logical, not emotional. Critical thinkers will clearly spotlight, not hide, their own beliefs and values, (2006, Foundation for Critical Thinking). This reflection paper will follow the critical thinking steps of analyzing the logic of an article as suggested by Dr. Richard Paul and Dr. Linda Elder (Foundations of Critical Thinking). All steps and required criteria have been italicized, underlined and highlighted in bold.…

    • 1196 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    R. V. Keegstra : in Support of the Dissent
    • 2805 Words
    • 12 Pages

    R. V. Keegstra : in Support of the Dissent

    What does freedom of expression really mean? Why is it important to our democratic society? In the landmark case of R. v. Keegstra (1990), the issues of freedom of expression and hate speech is brought in front of the Supreme Court of Canada. The case also deals with issues of whether sections 319(2) and 319(3)(a) of the Criminal Code violated section 2(b) and section 11(d) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The courts view that the objectives of having freedom of speech are correlated with democracy in the sense that for members of society to have their voices heard, they must be free to speak on matters that provide value back to society. This case has served as precedence for other freedom of expression cases. R. v. Keegstra can be looked at through many of the legal principles, but for the purposes of this essay, I will focus on the Offense Principle. This principle, brought forward by Joel Feinberg, is a tangent of John Mill’s Harm Principle, which deals with non-physical harm, such as hate speech. This is evident when looking at R. v. Keegstra, as the Offense Principle is the best principle to articulate why the dissenting judges ruled the way they did. I believe that the lead dissenting judge, Beverly McLachlin, ruled accurately in her judgement and I intend to support this ruling throughout this essay. As well, I will provide a summery of R. V. Keegstra, look at Philosophical principles as…

    • 2805 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Wooden-Headedness And Racism In Modern Society
    • 166 Words
    • 1 Page

    Wooden-Headedness And Racism In Modern Society

    People naturally try to justify their decisions to their peers, regardless of whether or not their ways of thinking are actually valid, due to a subconscious drive to find their place in society. This overwhelming drive to defend ourselves often results in us becoming blind to the blatant truths that counter our close-minded mindsets. This societal “blindness” is known as “Wooden-headedness.” Wooden-headedness is a predominant concept in today’s society, especially because of the multitude of controversial movements, ways of thinking, and uncommon ethics making an appearance. This concept is especially prevalent in political areas, such as the topics of “Global Warming,” and the prevalence of Racism in modern society.…

    • 166 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics