You can often hear such criticism that someone is "not objective." And that seems like a universal argument against the speaker. Is objectivity a property, characteristic, or one of the conditions? How specialized is this term? Does it have a purely positive color or is it a priori neutral? The definition of objectivity, its connection with subjectivity, objectivity in philosophy and its role in the scientific picture of the world - this is the topic of the article below.
Terminology
The logical dictionary gives a very strict, albeit not entirely understandable, definition that starts from the concept of subjectivity. In short, objectivity is a judgment that does not depend on subjective tastes and preferences.
But such a definition is incomplete and requires more in-depth knowledge in the subject of research. That is why it is better to turn to Ushakov’s dictionary. It says that objectivity is an open-minded and impartial attitude.
In addition, it is often specified that the term is an abstract noun formed from the word “objective”. Efremova, in turn, argues that the latter can be described by the following definition: related to external conditions.
Objective and subjective
Returning to the very first definition given here, it is necessary to mention the term "subjectivity" as well. Roughly speaking, these two concepts under consideration are opposite. Subjectivity directly depends on personal preferences and tastes, it is associated with the interests and views of the subject.
Object and subject
For the convenience of operating with concepts, we denote that what the activity is aimed at is called an object. The subject can be given the following description - the one who regulates and, in fact, carries out activities as such.
The history of the concepts of "subjectivity" and "objectivity"
An interesting fact is that the Latin words from which the terms in question originated had diametrically opposite meanings in relation to each other.
Until the nineteenth century, the situation with vague definitions of terms remained the norm. Objectivity in philosophy was interpreted by different thinkers in different ways. This phenomenon always occurs with terms that have origins in this science. Only in the 20-30s. this century in the dictionaries began to appear descriptions of subjectivity and objectivity, close to modern. Similarly to the current ones, they also contained cross-references to each other.
The next stage of development was the opinion that subjectivity corresponds to art, and objectivity to science. This was facilitated by a clear delineation of these areas.
This identification of one with the other is firmly rooted and, moreover, refined definitions to modern standards in the form in which they are recognized now and in which they are given directly in this article.
Objectivity as a Property
Reality as an external world has objectivity. Why? Firstly, because it is the root cause for itself. Secondly, man and his consciousness are the product of reality at one of the stages of its development. And he (man), in turn, is a reflection of the objective world.
One of the conditions of objectivity is precisely its independence from the generation of the external world (human consciousness). From the foregoing, one can draw the following conclusion: a term can be not only a principle, but also a property.
The principle of objectivity
The main question of philosophy is: what is primary, spirit or matter? The dilemma has two corresponding solutions. And if we take the second one as the basis (that is, all the same matter), it becomes necessary to recognize objectively the real existence of the subject of knowledge, as well as the possibility that it will find its adequate reflection in the course of human objective activity.
The principle of objectivity corresponds to a type of thinking in which the subject of research is not subjectively evaluated, that is, it does not receive external definitions, but displays its own properties. The subject does not submit to thinking, on the contrary, the first is above the second. We can say that truth is something that will remain true, even if you deny it.
Scientific objectivity
Objectivity is one of the most important requirements of the scientific method. This is justified by the exclusion of subjective interpretation of the result.
The principle of scientific objectivity is a feature of the scientific method. He obliges to:
- reasoning (to be evidence-based and reasonable);
- the pursuit of the most complete knowledge that withstands the test of experience;
- multilateral methods and assessment;
- a balanced combination of these research methods and techniques (for example, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction).
Thus, objectivity is what brings the scientific approach closer to the truth, but does not make it absolutely true.