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Sort of related to the quotation I posted yesterday. "If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign..."

Posted by Dr.Vermin (aka Dr.Vermin) Jul 19 '12, 14:15

If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason for thinking as you do. If some one maintains that two and two are five, or that Iceland is on the equator, you feel pity rather than anger, unless you know so little of arithmetic or geography that his opinion shakes your own contrary conviction. The most savage controvers...ies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way. Persecution is used in theology, not in arithmetic, because in arithmetic there is knowledge, but in theology there is only opinion. So whenever you find yourself getting angry about a difference of opinion, be on your guard; you will probably find, on examination, that your belief is going beyond what the evidence warrants.

-Bertrand Russell, "An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish," 1943

Responses:

[deleted] 1
- Indeed. -- nm - Dr.Vermin Jul 19, 14:25
[deleted]
(I'd also be amused at Christians leaning on Bertrand "Celestial Teapot" Russell for support) -- nm - Reagen Jul 19, 14:19
If someone thinks 2+2=5, that may or may not affect me. if someone is actively working to discriminate and opress a segment of society - Reagen Jul 19, 14:18 5
- You're going far beyond "opinion" there. - Dr.Vermin Jul 19, 14:21 3
  - Assuming we're still talking about Chik-Fil-A, it's exactly the same thing, since they're working towards enacting their viewpoint on society. -- nm - Reagen Jul 19, 14:23 2
    - Ah. See, no we're not. -- nm - Dr.Vermin Jul 19, 14:24
    - [deleted]
- Additionally, if the person who believes 2+2=5 clings to that belief and that obstinance affects your life in any way, you feel anger, not pity. -- nm - pmb Jul 19, 14:20

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Sort of related to the quotation I posted yesterday. "If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign..."

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