233 The Serious Use of the Word Opinion
233 慎用“观点”一词
"Opinion" is a word that is often used carelessly today. It is used to refer to matters of taste, belief, and judgment. This casual use would probably cause little confusion if people didn’t attach too much importance to opinion. Unfortunately, most to attach great importance to it. "I have as much right to my opinion as you to yours, '' and ''Everyone’s entitled to his opinion, '' are common expressions. In fact, anyone who would challenge another's opinion is likely to be branded intolerant.
“观点”这个词如今经常被漫不经心地使用。人们用它来谈论品味，信仰和判断。人们如果不太重视观点，这种对”观点“二宇的随意使用可能还不会引起什么麻烦。遗憾的是，大多数人确实很重视观点。人们通常说：“你有权利阐述你的观点，我也有权利阐述我的观点。”“人人都有权利阐述自己的观点”。事实上，谁要是不同意别人的观点，会很有可能被认为是不够宽容。
Is that label accurate? Is it intolerant to challenge another's opinion? It depends on what definition of opinion you have in mind. For example, you may ask a friend ''What do you think of the new Ford cars?" And he may reply, "In my opinion, they're ugly." In this case, it would not only be intolerant to challenge his statement, but foolish. For it's obvious that by opinion he means his personal preference, a matter of taste. And as the old saying goes, ''It's pointless to argue about matters of taste."
那么，这种说法准确吗7对别人的观点提出质疑就是不宽容吗？答案取决于你是怎么给观点下定义的。比如说，你可能会问一个朋友“你觉得新款的福特车怎么样？”他可能会回答说：“我认为很难看。”这时候，反对他的观点不仅是不宽容的，而且是愚蠢的。显然他所说的观点指的是个人喜好，是个人品味的问题。古话说得好：“为品味争论是无意义的。”
But consider this very different use of the term, A newspaper reports that the Supreme Court has delivered its opinion in a controversial case. Obviously the justices did not shale their personal preferences, their mere likes and dislikes, They stated their considered judgment, painstakingly arrived at after thorough inquiry and deliberation.
但是看看下面这种对“观点”非常不一样的使用。报纸报道说高等法院已经宣布了对一桩有争议的案子的判决。显然这里的判决所陈述的不是他们的个人喜好，喜欢还是不喜欢。他们宣布的是经过全面调查和深思熟虑后得出的判断。
Most of what is referred to as opinion falls somewhere between these two extremes. It is not an expression of taste. Nor is it careful judgment. Yet it may contain elements of both. It is a view or belief more or less casually arrived at, with or without examining the evidence.
人们通常所说的观点常介于上面提到的两种较为极端的情形之间。它既不是个人口味的表达，也不是深思熟虑后的判断，但却可能包含这两种部分，它或许只是一种随意之间产生的或看法，可能有证据，也有可能没有证据。
Is everyone entitled to his opinion? Of course, this is not only permitted, but guaranteed. We are free to act on our opinions only so long as, in doing so, we do not harm others.
每个人都有权利阐述自己的观点吗？当然了，这不仅仅被允许，而应该被保证。我们有权利根据自己的观点行事，但前提是我们不能伤害他人。