How do you change another person's opinion?
- Thread starter Joonas
- Start date
Changing someone's mind has much more to do with the other person's personality than with your argument. A very small fraction of the population is open-minded and secure enough to admit to being wrong. Most people have great difficulty admitting they're wrong because they've effectively been punished all their lives for being wrong, e.g., bad grades, failing tests, admonishment, etc. So, it's an irrational thing. Even if you have a good argument backed up with facts and data, it matters little. You persuade, not with facts and figures, but with charisma, emotion, and psychology. If you're good at this, it can be done even when you're the one who's wrong. Just look at successful politicians.
/signed for truth.
If you want something you have to do what it takes. If you want to do it the "good" way then you have to do what it takes to redefine what you see as good. You see, it's all possible, you just have to think out of the box. But you know, it's a lot easier if you just always live outside the box, because then your box automatically becomes a lot larger by default.
Diz be troo!!!
But seriously, it's not your job to impose your perspective on others. If you feel that your perspective wasn't represented, you can put up a good argument and not target anyone with it. Point out a contradiction and identify underlying assumptions.
"Hmm, so if commoners had been targeted, this would have been unacceptable. Is it possible that we can justify it happening to celebrities because we cannot relate to their popularity? We can talk about PR as much as we want, but what is more important to someone: the fact that someone is talking about them, or the manner in which someone is talking about them?"
Also, many of the implications of popularity seem to be seated in irresponsibility. People don't like attention-seekers (perhaps they see it as irresponsible behaviour) and believe that people that they can label as attention-seekers deserve whatever attention they get. This is reasonable. If I want money and invest in a company, I have to accept whatever risks are involved with that. Perhaps the problem is with the label is applied more generally than specifically. Not everyone who receives attention was actively seeking it.
Now, this is on the receptive side. As for the hackers, I do not see how they could be justified in their actions. If someone crosses the street without looking, they must accept the consequences. This, however, does not mean that a driver is justified if he or she purposefully attempts to run over someone who is acting in such an irresponsible manner.
Agapooka
People's opinions can't be changed unless they want for them to. A lot of the time they wont be open to it because being open to it means critisizing your own beliefs which is scaaary. You know when you find something out and it kind of messes up your whole world for a while? People don't like that because it challenges the safety and validity of their thinking and leaves them in a new, unknown place.
This is even more true for dumb people. Like, this is why superracists and superhomophobes can still hold their beliefs because they just will not respond to logic. They don't like logic. It's like a defense mechanism, because logic means they can't blame their shitty lives on a black gay guy anymore.
And people who comment on news like that are generally on the dumber side, I've noticed. Having the reaction of "I can't wait for "[celebrity name]'s sex tape to come out!!!" without any moral thinking pretty much means they're not worth your time. I used to be like you, trying to challenge people, but it's no use because telling logic to those of no logic.... really, really sucks.
This is even more true for dumb people. Like, this is why superracists and superhomophobes can still hold their beliefs because they just will not respond to logic. They don't like logic. It's like a defense mechanism, because logic means they can't blame their shitty lives on a black gay guy anymore.
And people who comment on news like that are generally on the dumber side, I've noticed. Having the reaction of "I can't wait for "[celebrity name]'s sex tape to come out!!!" without any moral thinking pretty much means they're not worth your time. I used to be like you, trying to challenge people, but it's no use because telling logic to those of no logic.... really, really sucks.
i think it's good to want to change people's opinions. what if there had never been any feminists? we'd still be living in the dark ages. you just have to be very critical of your cause and its importance. as mentioned, being respectful is also important. i just really feel the need to express my belief that it's not wrong to want to change the world.
Joonas - I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that you're on the internet. Everyone's a troll. Everyone wants to be funny. Everyone wants to say whatever they want and get away with it. Even if that person was of the same thinking as you, once he posted something funny and you tried to be serious, he wasn't going to back down.
That being said, I can completely relate to you. This happens to me all the time in my life. I have strong opinions and am passionate. When I can't get people to empathize with others and see my side, I shut them off mentally. Then we start the whole "HOW DO YOU KNOW? You don't know me! YOU DON'T KNOW THEM!" and I go "I just know. Period." And I'm disregarded. Thus why I am INFJ...
If someone doesn't want to listen, you can't make them. Also, consider that people may agree with you and see your point, or think you're right... they just don't want to admit it.
That being said, I can completely relate to you. This happens to me all the time in my life. I have strong opinions and am passionate. When I can't get people to empathize with others and see my side, I shut them off mentally. Then we start the whole "HOW DO YOU KNOW? You don't know me! YOU DON'T KNOW THEM!" and I go "I just know. Period." And I'm disregarded. Thus why I am INFJ...
If someone doesn't want to listen, you can't make them. Also, consider that people may agree with you and see your point, or think you're right... they just don't want to admit it.
I was going to lay out how you would go about changing someone's opinion, but decided against it.
Manipulating someone's opinion to change to your own really has the potential to do a lot of damage.
Personally, I would not try to directly change someone's opinion about something.
Rather, I would question their view, and explain what my view is.
They can make up their own mind.
Manipulating someone's opinion to change to your own really has the potential to do a lot of damage.
Personally, I would not try to directly change someone's opinion about something.
Rather, I would question their view, and explain what my view is.
They can make up their own mind.
This is the internet, the closest thing earth has ever seen to Hell. Trying to change opinions on here is rather pointless.
Again.. one opinion against another. Opinions are subjective
OT: Most places on the Internet are bad choices for trying to discuss and argue for and against different opinions. You should engage people in RL instead.And you can't really change people's opinions anyway.
Listen, Listen and Listen. You gotta understand who you are speaking to before you can know how to put your message in a way that it will be percieved and understood the way you want it to be. You don't convince them. You put an alternative out there as another option.
