Objectivity (philosophy)

Not to be confused with Objectivism (Ayn Rand). the ontological status of objects and ideas is resistant to
Further information: Journalistic objectivity change.
Plato considered knowledge of geometry a condition
Objectivity is a central philosophical concept, related to of philosophical knowledge, both being concerned with
reality and truth, which has been variously defined by universal truths. Plato’s opposition between objective
sources. Generally, objectivity means the state or quality knowledge and doxa (opinions) became the basis for later
of being true even outside of a subject's individual biases, philosophies intent on resolving the problem of reality,
interpretations, feelings, and imaginings. A proposition is knowledge, and human existence. Personal opinions be-
generally considered objectively true (to have objective long to the changing sphere of the sensible, opposed to a
truth) when its truth conditions are met without biases fixed and eternal incorporeal realm that is mutually intel-
caused by feelings, ideas, opinions, etc., of a sentient sub- ligible.
ject. A second, broader meaning of the term refers to the Where Plato distinguishes between what and how we
ability in any context to judge fairly, without partiality or know things (epistemology), and their ontological status
external influence. This second meaning of objectivity is as things (metaphysics), subjectivism such as Berkeley’s
sometimes used synonymously with neutrality. and a mind dependence of knowledge and reality fails to
distinguish between what one knows and what is to be
known, or at least explains the distinction superficially.
In Platonic terms, a criticism of subjectivism is that it
1 Objectivism is difficult to distinguish between knowledge, doxa, and
subjective knowledge (true belief), distinctions that Plato
“Objectivism” is a term that describes a branch of makes.
philosophy that originated in the early nineteenth century.
The importance of perception in evaluating and under-
Gottlob Frege was the first to apply it, when he expounded
standing objective reality is debated. Realists argue that
an epistemological and metaphysical theory contrary to
perception is key in directly observing objective reality,
that of Immanuel Kant. Kant’s rationalism attempted to
while instrumentalists hold that perception is not neces-
reconcile the failures he perceived in philosophical real-
sarily useful in directly observing objective reality, but
ism.
is useful in interpreting and predicting reality. The con-
Stronger versions of this claim hold that there is only one cepts that encompasses these ideas are important in the
correct description of this reality. If it is true that real- philosophy of science.
ity is mind-independent, then reality might include ob-
jects that are unknown to consciousness and thus might
include objects not the subject of intensionality. Objec-
tivity in referring requires a definition of truth. Accord-
2 Objectivity in ethics
ing to metaphysical objectivists, an object may truthfully
be said to have this or that attribute, as in the statement 2.1 Ethical subjectivism
“This object exists,” whereas the statement “This object
is true” or “false” is meaningless. For them, only proposi- See also: David Hume, Non-cognitivism, and
tions have truth values. The terms “objectivity” and “ob- Subjectivism
jectivism” are not synonymous, with objectivism being
an ontological theory that incorporates a commitment to The term, “ethical subjectivism,” covers two distinct the-
the objectivity of objects. ories in ethics. According to cognitive versions of ethi-
Plato’s idealism was a form of metaphysical objectivism, cal subjectivism, the truth of moral statements depends
holding that the Ideas exist objectively and independently. upon people’s values, attitudes, feelings, or beliefs. Some
Berkeley’s empiricist idealism, on the other hand, could forms of cognitivist ethical subjectivism can be counted
be called a subjectivism: he held that things only exist to as forms of realism, others are forms of anti-realism.
the extent that they are perceived. Both theories claim David Hume is a foundational figure for cognitive ethi-
methods of objectivity. Plato’s definition of objectivity cal subjectivism. On a standard interpretation of his the-
can be found in his epistemology, which takes as a model ory, a trait of character counts as a moral virtue when it
mathematics, and his metaphysics, where knowledge of evokes a sentiment of approbation in a sympathetic, in-

1
2 6
formed, and rational human observer. Similarly, Roder-
ick Firth’s ideal observer theory held that right acts are
those that an impartial, rational observer would approve
of. William James, another ethical subjectivist, held that
an end is good (to or for a person) just in the case it is
desired by that person (see also ethical egoism). Accord-
ing to non-cognitive versions of ethical subjectivism, such
as emotivism, prescriptivism, and expressivism, ethical
statements cannot be true or false, at all: rather, they are
expressions of personal feelings or commands. For exam-
ple, on A. J. Ayer’s emotivism, the statement, “Murder is
wrong” is equivalent in meaning to the emotive, “Murder,
Boo!"
2.2 Ethical objectivism
Main article: Moral realism
According to the ethical objectivist, the truth or false-
hood of typical moral judgments does not depend upon
the beliefs or feelings of any person or group of persons.
This view holds that moral propositions are analogous
to propositions about chemistry, biology, or history, in
so much as they are true despite what anyone believes,
hopes, wishes, or feelings. When they fail to describe
this mind-independent moral reality, they are false—no
matter what anyone believes, hopes, wishes, or feelings.
There are many versions of ethical objectivism, includ-
ing various religious views of morality, Platonistic intu-
itionism, Kantianism, utilitarianism, and certain forms of
ethical egoism and contractualism. Note that Platonists
define ethical objectivism in an even more narrow way,
so that it requires the existence of intrinsic value. Con-
sequently, they reject the idea that contractualists or ego-
ists could be ethical objectivists. Objectivism, in turn,
places primacy on the origin of the frame of reference—
and, as such, considers any arbitrary frame of reference
ultimately a form of ethical subjectivism by a transitive
property, even when the frame incidentally coincides with
reality and can be used for measurements.
3 See also
• Epistemology
• Objectivity (science)
• Philosophical realism
• Subject-object problem
4 Further reading
• Bachelard, Gaston. La formation de l'esprit scien-
tifique : contribution à une psychanalyse de la con-
REFERENCES
naissance. Paris: Vrin, 2004 ISBN 2-7116-1150-7 .
• Castillejo, David. The Formation of Modern Objec-
tivity. Madrid: Ediciones de Arte y Bibliofilia, 1982.
• Kuhn, Thomas S.. The Structure of Scientific Revolu-
tions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996,
3° ed. ISBN 0-226-45808-3
• Megill, Allan. Rethinking Objectivity. London:
Duke UP, 1994.
• Nagel, Ernest. The Structure of Science. New York:
Brace and World, 1961.
• Nagel, Thomas. The View from Nowhere. Oxford:
Oxford UP, 1986
• Nozick, Robert. Invariances: the structure of the ob-
jective world. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2001.
• Popper, Karl. R.. Objective Knowledge: An Evolu-
tionary Approach. Oxford University Press, 1972,
trade paperback, 395 pages, ISBN 0-19-875024-2 ,
hardcover is out of print. See libraries.
• Rescher, Nicholas. Objectivity: the obligations of
impersonal reason. Notre Dame: Notre Dame
Press, 1977.
• Rorty, Richard. Objectivity, Relativism, and Truth.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991
• Rousset, Bernard. La théorie kantienne de
l'objectivité, Paris: Vrin, 1967.
• Schaeffler, Israel. Science and Subjectivity. Hackett,
1982. Voices of Wisdom; a multicutural philosophy
reader. kessler
5 External links
• Mulder, Dwayne H. “Objectivity”. Internet Encyclo-
pedia of Philosophy.
• Subjectivity and Objectivity — by Pete Mandik
6 References
 3

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