I think everyone is entitled to their opinion...in a real debate though...experience can often trump observation or just looking up on the subject being debated.

It's called empathy, the ability, in short, to put yourself in another person's shoes to become sensitive to how that person feels and how he or she is thinking. I think that can only be applied to emotional and intellectual situations though, not physical.

For physical things, I think you should have experience unless you have gathered a reasonable amount of information from various sources. For example, since you started this topic based on feedback on a question about sex, I think if the question was, say, "Does sex hurt?" I don't think you're qualified to give feedback if you've never had sex unless you have a general understanding of how it feels based on the stories from other people.

It really all depends on your ability to be empathetic, the information you do know, and the question itself. No one should outright say, "You're not qualified," unless they have investigated how the opinion was generated, and even then, I don't think you really have a right to call out someone's opinion - just because it is an opinion. It depends on if you're criticizing a fact or an opinion, and sometimes there is a fine line there.

While experience enhances a person's take on any situation, I don't think it is necessary to form an opinion. Just because I haven't experienced something, doesn't necessarily mean that I am incapable of formulating a logical opinion for it.

^ Following that same "Does sex hurt" line of thought; while an experienced person could answer this question with a definite "Sex does/does not hurt" a non-experienced could also form an opinion on the basis "I do/don't think sex hurts because ... " I think their opinion is absolutely valid, provided they back up their statement with reason.

I basically told someone their opinion didn't matter in the exact same situation on here, it was a guy though. Anyways I think if you haven't experienced something, you don't have any business talking about it. It's easy to say marijuana is evil and dangerous if you've never smoked it. It's easy to talk shit about people who are addicted to drugs when you've never been there. It's easy to fuck with people about their sex lives if your a hopeless virgin, feel me?

dusk wrote:

It's easy to fuck with people about their sex lives if your a hopeless virgin, feel me?

I like this pun.

haha I was writing that and I was like wow what a pun, I wonder if anyone will notice haha, that was fast

louiebugooey wrote:

It got me wondering, do you consider an opinion valid if the person hasn't experienced the situation?

I wouldn't consider their opinion as valid as someone who had actually experienced something they were talking about, but I wouldn't completely discredit it.

I've never been stabbed in the eye, but that doesn't mean that I'm not 100% sure I don't want it to happen.

Opinions become validated by the weight of the arguments behind them, not by the status of the person holding them. If you allow the latter, you start facilitating authority groups that can declare their opinion more valid for arbitrary reasons and discriminate.

Valid isn't really a particularly fitting word, seeing as it has a formal definition in logic, which is essentially what we're referring to. Furthermore I'd point out isn't actually entitled to an opinion. One is entitled to present a point of view if they can provide reasonable support for why they hold that opinion.

I can say that it is my opinion that the sky is purple at midday, however just because I hold that opinion doesn't mean I'm entitled to it. If I can provide reasonable support for why I hold that opinion then I have a reason to share it, but I have no intrinsic right to hold it, or to try to share it, or expect other people to respect it simply because it is my opinion.
Did that make sense?

That said, the earlier posters here pretty much share my opinion on the op's question. If a person who hasn't experienced our example of having sex, then their opinion is of little to no real worth for someone unless they provide a reason and support for it, based (probably) on second hand knowledge of sex!

In any topic everyone has their own opinion, and a great man once told me that opinions are like assholes, everybody has one and they usually stink. That's not to say they're incorrect, its just stating the fact that no matter how hard you fight it, not everyone will agree with what you have to say. Although someone who is fighting against you and has never expeienced the situation (sex, drugs etc.) they can say what they want, it just gives you the advantage as they are ignorant to the overall concept. My opinion, don't start something you can't finish, do some research before you question someone elses opinion.

louiebugooey wrote:

I was just reading an old thread (because I don't have that much to do) and there was a mention of someone's opinion being invalid because they had never experienced such a thing (sex in this case). It got me wondering, do you consider an opinion valid if the person hasn't experienced the situation?

I would say that it is a valid opinion, but not a strong one.
I'd also get a bit pissed if they were judging a part of my life and they had no idea what they were on about. But I seem to think it's fine for me to do this kind of thing.

So, what's your opinion (lol bad joke)

experience doesnt have much to do with opinion, because imagination is all you need to have thoughts of a situation, which inturn give you an opinion.


everyones thoughts carry value and meaning, and just because they have a lack of experience doesnt mean they should be dismissed from the situation

Like artizhay said, there's a difference between fact and opinion, though sometimes it's a tough boundary to draw. You could also have the "opinion" that gravity doesn't exist, but I wouldn't really consider that an opinion. There are scientific debates, and moral debates, and sometimes they tie in together, and that's when the line becomes fuzzy.

I think I know what topic the OP is referring to, and it was a valid opinion, just not very strongly argued, as she said. Which could very well be due to lack of experience, but someone with experience could probably still argue the same thing. As long as you can adequately back yourself up I see no reason why experience should matter, though it could definitely help.