216. Whose opinion would you never question?

To begin with, I’d like to say that I strongly believe that there are no people whose
opinion I would never question. Any opinion is questionable, even if it is
connected with some unquestionable truths and beliefs.
It goes without saying that we usually trust authority figures, that is, those whom
we consider older and more experienced than ourselves. But is it always true that
our own opinion isn’t as important as those of authority figures?
One can think of a list of people who always come up with a correct decision to
any situation in your life. Polls show that these include the following groups and
individuals: your family and friends, politicians, journalists, pop culture celebrities
and even your boss at work. “Trust none of the above,” some people will say
though. “The only opinion I trust is my own”. In fact, many mass media figures
can be biased of opinion and try to convey a false or misleading message. What is
your solution? Question everything anyone says.
One of my most basic axioms is that there can only be one truth and one standard
of right and wrong as far as empirical facts as well as ethical standards go, but that
the limited vision and knowledge of human beings make us unable to know
absolutely what that truth or that ethical standard is; we can only approximate it in
our minds. If this is true, how does one explain the incredible diversity of opinions
regarding what is true as well as what is ethical?
The example that springs to my mind is René Descartes. One of the most
prominent philosophers ever, he questioned absolutely everything and could only
deduce that something is true after a long procedure of asking himself what is real
and what is not.
The same with the famous Socrates who is known for queries about everything. He
would even ask slaves for their opinion, so bad he wanted to dig out the truth.
I believe that we humans, for all our intelligence, are still limited in our minds as
well as our perceptions of reality. We can only know so much or sense so much
and thus when we form opinions based on our knowledge and perceptions, we are
prone to error. The problem comes when clashes between people with different
opinions occur. Why is that, if we all live in the same universe, use the same
senses, and sometimes communicate the same ways? What's stopping us from
reaching the same conclusions? I think the primary factor is in people stubbornly
clinging to an opinion, even if it is highly questionable. I believe there can’t be
people whose opinion I can blindly and dogmatically accept.
To sum up, I’d like to mention that to form a balanced opinion, you must listen to
the opinions of many and keep an open mind, whether you agree with them or not.
Then you should try to formulate your own thoughts and create your opinion about
the problem in question.