“That’s Just Your Opinion”

How many times have you heard someone dismiss an argument by saying, “That is just your opinion?” Many people use this line to shut down a debate—a way to claim victory without actually engaging the issue. What they ultimately mean by this statement is that there is no truth, so all we have are our opinions. They may even try to present evidence to support their case. For instance, they may point to the many beliefs and interpretations of the Bible. As if differing opinions mean there is no truth at all. How are we supposed to answer their argument?

If someone argues that there is no truth, many people respond with a simple question: “Is that true?” If the person says “Yes,” they have contradicted themselves and admitted that truth exists. If they say “No,” you have no further obligation to listen to what they are saying. I will not spend much time on this response, because it has been well articulated many times before. It is probably the best response, but there is another way to approach the argument that there is no truth.

The second way is to point out that, if there is no truth, then you cannot be wrong. If there is no plumbline, there is no way to tell whether any of the other lines are straight. To put it back into the context of the debate, when someone says, “That’s just your opinion,” as if there is no real truth, then respond by saying, “Then I can’t be wrong. Why, then, are you trying to change my opinion?” If there is no truth, then they cannot possibly think their opinion is closer to the truth than yours.

From there, anytime they try to correct you, point out that they are violating their own opinion that all we have are opinions. Doing this exposes that they do not believe what they say, or at least cannot live by it consistently.

They do get one thing right, however. We express our understanding of the world in opinions. In fact, every position everyone holds on any issue is an opinion, but that does not mean that someone’s opinion is therefore necessarily untrue.

Socrates pointed this out in his discussion with Crito. He argued that not all opinions are equal. This distinction between good opinions and bad ones is why we have discussions and dialogue. In essence, he says, opinions cannot change the truth, but the truth can change opinions.

When someone says, “That is your opinion,” they are stating the obvious. You do not need to prove that what you say is not an opinion; all you need to do is show them that your opinion is closer to the truth than theirs. If their position is that truth itself does not exist, that task is surprisingly easy—because their own argument defeats itself.

-D. Eaton