According to dictionary.com, bias is “a particular tendency or inclination, esp. one that prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question; prejudice.”
From the same source, an opinion is “a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty or a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.”
This, in my opinion (or should I say bias?) is a definition at a macro level. I would like to opine (or be biased) more towards saying that any sort of opinion is but a bias towards the consideration of a question. It boils down to saying, an opinion too, stems out of inclination.
As in definition, bias is a tendency or a prejudiced inclination, and an inclination is a belief or judgment, but one that rests on grounds insufficient. If, the grounds for forming an opinion are insufficient, then how is that opinion formed?
The answer to this is simple: it is formed due a biased viewpoint that we may have towards that particular judgment of the mind which itself may have crept in unknowingly.
An example here might clarify. Suppose I have had been eating chocolate ice cream (C) from a reputed parlor ‘A’ in the city. Also, I have had a fair number of trials of Vanilla Ice cream (V) from the same parlor ‘A’. So, since I have complete knowledge (or hence I would assume that I have) of both the taste of C and V from vendor A, it is my opinion, if I prefer either type of ice cream to the other. Let us say I prefer C to V.
Now, I move to another city, which has a different vendor ‘B’. I went there and started going there again and again. I tasted both V and C there. I agreed to the point, that V was definitely better than that of “A”, but it is a natural tendency, that I still stick to C due to the tendency that I have developed for C when I used to go to ‘A’. This is bias. But this bias, is usually called an opinion, because again, I did give a fair chance to both the ice creams at the new vendor ‘B’, and in fact acknowledged that V at ‘B’ was better than ‘V’ at ‘A’, but still, the paramount question remains, if and how will I be able to know that ‘V’ at ‘B’ is so good, that it is indeed better than ‘C’ too? In my opinion(bias), this is not really possible, since I have had an opinion formed earlier, that ‘C’ is better than ‘V’, and I do carry it inherently, everywhere.
I opine that this same logic applies to most of the things. The biased nature transmitted from generation to generation has led one to believe one’s bias as opinions.
Or is this my bias really? I may never know…
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