I'm entitled to my opinion
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I'm entitled to my opinion or I have a right to my opinion is a common declaration in rhetoric or debate that can be made in an attempt to persuade others to hold the opinion. When asserted for this reason, the statement exempifies an informal logical fallacy of the type red herring. Whether one has a particular entitlement or right is irrelevant to whether an opinion is true or false. To assert the existence of the right is a failure to assert any justification for the opinion.
It can sometimes be an instance of the formal fallacy of equivocation when any of the various concepts of 'a right' - legal rights, natural rights or entitlement are confused.
[edit] References
- Whyte, Jamie, ch. 1., 'The Right to Your Opinion', Crimes Against Logic, McGraw-Hill, 2004
