Beyond Feelings

CHAPTER 5 How Good Are Your Opinions?
2. Which of the following individuals is likely to be most successful at
persuading the public to buy a certain brand of running shoes? Explain your
reasoning.
a. An experienced trainer
b. An Olympic running champion
c. A podiatrist
d. A physician in general practice
e. The surgeon general of the United States
3. Of the individuals listed in application 2, who is likely to be the most
knowledgeable source of information on running shoes?
4. What factors might compromise the endorsements of the various people
listed in application 2? Which individual’s endorsement would you be most
likely to trust? Explain.
5. When this author uses the word opinion, his major emphasis is on which
of the following? Explain your reasoning.
a. A statement of preference
b. A considered judgment
c. A view or belief casually arrived at
d. A bigoted position
e. An unsupportable position
f. All of the above
g. None of the above
6. Which of the following would this author be likely to rate as most important
in forming a reliable opinion? Explain your reasoning.
a. Seek reasons to support your opinions.
b. Distinguish between input from experts and input from others.
c. Reject others’ opinions.
d. Subject opinions to ongoing reexamination based on new evidence.
7. A high school junior invited his thirty-five-year-old neighbor, the mother
of four children, to his prom. The woman was married, and her husband approved
of the date. However, the school board ruled that the boy would be denied
admission to the dance if he took her. 19 What is your opinion of the board’s
decision?
8. Read the following dialogue carefully. Then decide whether anything
said violates the ideas in the chapter. Identify any erroneous notions, and explain
in your own words how they are in error.
Fred: There was this discussion in class today that really bugged me.
Art: Yeah? What was it about?
Fred: Teenage sex. The question was whether having sex whenever we
please with whomever we please is harmful to teenagers. Some people
said yes. Others said it depends on the circumstances.
Art: What did you say?
Fred: I said it doesn’t do any harm to anybody, that parents use that story
to scare us. Then the teacher asked me what evidence I had to back up
my idea.
Art: What did you tell him?
Fred: I said I didn’t need any evidence because it’s my opinion. Sex is a
personal matter, I said, and I’ve got a right to think anything I want about
it. My opinions are as good as anybody else’s.
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