True or False: Your opinion is just as valid as anyone else's

And if it's true that, say, your opinion of an artist or musician is just as valid as the next guy's, what does that say about the field of criticism? In the age of the blog, is professional criticism a dying art? And if so, then, as a music journalist, will someone please send me money?

(This poll brought to you by the James Taylor and Sting threads.)

:P

enough to work AND keep everyone straight in the lounge. To wit: I have no opinions, only facts. As a fount of wisdom and knowledge, all should defer to my years, experience, insight, humor and the breadth of my encyclopedic, steel trap-like, brain. And I can lie with the best of them.

i think this is highly valuable opinion. :P

:silly:

as anyone else's too, and stinky things come out of all of them :P

Ever. :P

:P

Example of FALSE:
Subject: The world is n years old.
Explanation: Not all opinions are equally valid here.

Example of TRUE:
Subject: This picture makes one think:
Explanation: This is entirely subjective and individual centric. No opinion is any more valid than any other.

"This album sucks."

Of course, your example of the "false" subject is right, but it's right because it's not a matter of opinion. What I'm asking is whether all subjective opinions are equally valid. I, of course, agree with you that all opinions on the age of the Earth are not equally valid, but that's because the age of the Earth (give or take a few hundred thousand years) is a known fact.

And I agree on your "true" subject too, because how a work of art makes an individual feel is of course going to vary from individual to individual.

What I want to know is, are all value judgments of a work of art equally valid?

In addition to purely subjective opinions, opinions such as 'this sucks' are clearly inferior because they fail to even indicate any basis for the opinion, and consists of a bare minimum of information content. However a layman's opinion on a piece of art's intrinsic value and depth, ignoring the purely technical aspects, can be equally valid to a person with a professional knowledge of art if each can lay out a case for that opinion.

So I guess for validity of opinions on works of art I would still go with other:
Yes and no, depending on what kind of opinion we are asking for. A specialist and a layman can both have valid and equal opinions on some categories, but not others, but some opinions in some certain circumstances are more valid than others based on the intrinsic merits of the opinion, and in other cases anything goes, even the specialist stating 'this is poo-poo'.

but on one's ability to use that knowledge to defend the opinion.

Makes sense. Thanks!

here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=7018290&mesg_id=7018327

It's a very nice, decent thing to say, and the Prof's being a good, sympathetic person here.

But when I read it, I immediately thought, "Really? I don't think that's true."

Of course, as mentioned in the OP, if what the good professor says is true, then I'm basically out of a job, so of course I need to believe it's false. :)

We are all entitled to an opinion, and when it is about anything as subjective as art/music, everyone's opinions will differ.

I do however, think that there are valid points to the idea that one person may have more knowledge in the background of an art, thus a "more valid" (or at least more learned and experienced) opinion. Thus the critic.

I just don't let it bother me if I like a band no one else does or vice versa - although I will argue the point sometimes.

my opinion is consistently superior to anyone else's. Unless they agree with me.

But sometimes, I'm right, or very right. Know this by those who rise up to defend themselves against being wrong, through whatever guise, be it "humor", etc. Those who have to prove others wrong, and gather others into groups to attack, just wave their own "I'm wrong" banner all the more fiercely.

Attacking others because you are wrong makes you doubly, triply wrong. Grow up.