Everything We Hear Is An Opinion not a fact, Marcus Aurelius

Everything we hear is an opinion: This quote is a constant reminder of our bias, subjective views and opinions that influence our decision making. Marcus Aurelius makes a compelling point to remind us about how incomplete some of our facts are. It also reminds us to be mindful and be open to a contrary view point that makes us question our thoughts, decisions and approaches.

Remember the quote – until the lion learns to write, each story will glorify the hunter. All we hear is an opinion and especially with social media – we mostly hear about the information from our bubbles. It is increasingly difficult to receive an opposing viewpoint because the algorithms don’t usually point you to such aspects. Also, we are in the danger of being in echo chambers because when people support our views, we tend to like them more. This quote makes a case for us to actively pursue opposing viewpoints to strengthen our thinking.

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth!

Marcus Aurelius

Everything we hear is an opinion not a fact

Facts have a compelling way of influencing us and strengthening or weakening our opinions. However, are all facts reliable? Is there a possibility that some opinions are misrepresented as facts? Most things that are recorded in history are done by a person, right? It is very hard to ignore personal opinions when it comes to recording these facts. It can occur in the form of bias, negligence or ignoring some other facts in favour of something else.

Truth is, things are never simple nor are they plain black and white. We are being too naive if we think that things are akin to a mathematical equation. Life will always make us decide based on opinions, missing information and our personal biases. So, when someone opposes us, instead of choosing to attack them or defying them – maybe we can open up to a possibility that they can be right. We can at least explore what these opposing lines of thought mean and whether they can affect our decisions.

Stoicism, Objective approaches to face these opinions and identify the facts

This has more context in a similar quote that says – Marcus Aurelius was a Roman Emperor, a philosopher who was last referred to as the “Five good emperors”. His greatest contribution is towards his true passion – stoicism which is dedicated to restraint of emotions and listening to the voice of reason.

The main themes that come out of the quote everything we hear is an opinion are:

• Role of interpretation and judgement
• Importance of vetting facts from multiple sources
• Identifying our own biases before we judge

Everything we see is a perspective not the truth

Most information we receive has been recorded by an individual. When there’s an individual, it is also likely that they have a bias based on their own upbringing, knowledge and experiences. The number of things that can be classified as hard facts can be limited if you factor in the perspective that everything we hear is an opinion.

Maybe there’s a different side to the story as well. Perhaps, we should hear this other side before making a judgement.

Vetting facts or opinions from multiple sources

It is so easy to get sucked into the trap of echo chambers and think that everyone thinks the same. While interpreting this quote everything we hear is an opinion, I’d encourage us to consider an opposite view from ours. It not only helps us quiz ourselves but also be more open to someone who doesn’t agree.

Unfortunately, social media only shows us things that we tend to agree with more. Perhaps, there is value in finding an alternate view point to be able to learn something and enhance our thought process.

Identifying our own bias

This is the most tricky part. Even our interpretation is an opinion and is based on some other opinions. There won’t be a stage where we are perfectly objective. It also means that it is ok for people to disagree with us. Isn’t it relaxing to know that an opposing view doesn’t mean an attack?

Instead, it might mean an opportunity for us to reconsider and review what we’re thinking. Ultimately critical thinking is at the crux of this quote – everything we hear is an opinion.