You can often hear such criticism that someone is "not objective". And this seems to be a universal argument against the speaker. Is objectivity a property, a 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 subject of the article below.
Terminology
The logical dictionary gives a very strict, although not entirely clear definition, which is based on the concept of subjectivity. In short, objectivity is a judgment independent of subjective tastes and preferences.
But such a definition is incomplete and requires more in-depth knowledge of the subject of study. That is why it is better to turn to Ushakov's dictionary. It says that objectivity isunbiased and impartial attitude.
In addition, it is often specified that this term is an abstract noun derived from the word "objective". Efremova, in turn, argues that the latter can be described by the following definition: connected with 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 considered concepts 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.
History of the concepts "subjectivity" and "objectivity"
An interesting fact is that the Latin words from which the terms in question originated originally 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. Such a phenomenon always occurs with terms that have origins in a given science. Only in the 20-30s. of this century, descriptions of subjectivity and objectivity began to appear in dictionaries,close to modern. Similar 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, has honed the definitions to modern standards in the form in which they are now recognized and as they are given directly in this article.
Objectivity as a property
Reality as an external world has objectivity. Why? First, because it is the root cause for itself. Secondly, man and his consciousness are a 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 for objectivity is precisely its independence from the generation of the external world (human consciousness). From the foregoing, we can draw the following conclusion: a term can be not only a principle, but also a property.
Principle of objectivity
The main question of philosophy is the following: what is primary, spirit or matter? The dilemma has two corresponding solutions. And if we take the second as a basis (that is, after all, matter), there is a need to recognize the objectively real existence of the object of knowledge, as well as the possibility that in the course of human objective activity it will find its adequate reflection.
The principle of objectivity corresponds to this typethinking, in which the subject of research is not subjected to subjective evaluation, that is, it does not receive external definitions, but manifests its own properties. The subject is not subject to thinking, on the contrary, the first is above the second. Truth can be said to be that which remains true even if denied.
Scientific objectivity
Objectivity is one of the most important requirements of the scientific method. This is justified by the exclusion of the 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 substantiated);
- strive for the most complete knowledge that stands the test of experience;
- multilateral methods and valuation;
- a balanced combination of these methods and research 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.