What Gives You a Right to an Opinion?

In last week's post, I repeated something I used to tell students in my ethics class and that is "If you can only argue one side of an argument then you have no right to an opinion." This week I was going to expand on the issue of what gives you a right to an opinion and the piece I was writing started to get really complicated. So, I had to put it aside and will pick it up later.

The right to an opinion is not the same as the right to free speech. I absolutely support one's right to free speech. Within the normal restrictions that we apply to free speech, I think everyone has a right to free speech no matter how nutty they may appear.

The right to an opinion, as I am using the phrase here, is the right to be taken seriously by other people for the things you say and to have them consider  your perspectives and they sort out their opinions. So, when I say that you do not have the right to an opinion, I am really saying that you have not earned the right to be taken seriously for your unconsidered opinions by others who are developing considered opinion.

I will follow up further on this idea in subsequent posts.