How Important Are the Opinions of Experts in the Search for Knowledge?

1290 Words6 Pages
How important are the opinions of experts in the search for knowledge? In the world there are many people who we believe are experts in certain fields and some who believe that themselves are experts in that field. How important these experts' opinion will depend on the area of knowledge, as experts cannot always give a valid opinion on a subject as opinions allow bias. In this essay I will talk about the areas of knowledge and how experts can give back on their opinions in each area of knowledge. And how bias, cultural and religious issues can contradict the opinion. But who is really an expert? And what is an opinion? Or what is the search for knowledge? If I had to define an expert it would be someone who has an excess knowledge in a specific topic or area. An opinion to me, is what someone thinks about something or someone. And the search for knowledge is the search for the truth or what is close to the truth. An expert can be anyone who has an in-depth trusted knowledge on a topic. An expert does not have to be someone who is formally known, or has in-depth knowledge on an actual subject like science or math. It can be any topic, for example, I am a big Bob Marley fan, so my friends see me as an expert in his music so when someone has a question to do with him or his music they come to me first. So if they ask me "where did Bob Marley grow up in?" I would reply and say that he grew up in trench town. But if they ask me on what is Bob Marley's best song, I would have to give my opinion that may be different to other ‘experts' in the same field. However knowing that I know more about Bob Marley people would be very influenced with the decision I make towards what is the best song. Another problem with using the opinions of experts is that it can be biased, for example, I could be asked "is Bob Marley the best reggae singer?" my reply would be yes
Open Document