Three Truth, Four Truth, My Truth, Your Truth
I spoke with a friend earlier today. We discussed the distinction between "objective" and "subjective." For sake of anonymity, the friend's name is Anna.
I am going to make some inferences; I apologize if they are incorrect.
As far as I could tell, Anna's concern was that another person was having trouble considering a thing from a different perspective. Anna thought the other (we'll name the other Joe) needed to be more subjective or open to other interpretations of the thing. Thus, we chatted about which word would be right: subjective or objective.
As Anna and I chatted, we agreed that the situation was a dash more complex than that. At one point, Anna distinguished between her truth and Joe's truth. That's the essence of "subjective": in this sort of case, "truth" isn't really a thing; rather, one person has perspectives that they believe are truth and the other does the same.
Anna and I chatted some more, and we agreed that "objective" or "subjective" might not be the right words since Joe had some objective truth and some subjective perspective mixed together (as we all are wont to do).
After that, Anna was curious if I had an approachable definition for "philosophy" for one of her students. Now, I have been scolded for my imprecise use of the term philosophy. However, if you're going to be a stickler, I'll scold you for your imprecise usage of "utilize," "rhetorical questions," "ADHD," "I've got this down to a science," "math," and so many more.
Even so, I still used some artistic license. I said that "philosophy" is the scientific method for the soft sciences. (Hard sciences are math, anatomy, physics, chemistry, etc.: things that just have factual relationships. Soft sciences are psychology, theology, etc.: things whose truths are slipperier.)
The dictionary says that philosophy is "the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence." There are bashnillions of books written about each of those, so, for now, I'm going to stick with my synopsis: Philosophy is the scientific method for the soft sciences, a method for pursuing truth about the slipperier things. (I'm amazed to discover that "slipperier" really is a word.)
I'll try to get a stricter, stronger definition of philosophy another day.
I am going to make some inferences; I apologize if they are incorrect.
As far as I could tell, Anna's concern was that another person was having trouble considering a thing from a different perspective. Anna thought the other (we'll name the other Joe) needed to be more subjective or open to other interpretations of the thing. Thus, we chatted about which word would be right: subjective or objective.
As Anna and I chatted, we agreed that the situation was a dash more complex than that. At one point, Anna distinguished between her truth and Joe's truth. That's the essence of "subjective": in this sort of case, "truth" isn't really a thing; rather, one person has perspectives that they believe are truth and the other does the same.
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| This is subjectivity: the "truth" depends on the subject, whether it be you, he/she, or I. |
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| This is objectivity: there is an external truth, an object that exists on its own. You, he/she, and I can collectively pursue truth. |
Anna and I chatted some more, and we agreed that "objective" or "subjective" might not be the right words since Joe had some objective truth and some subjective perspective mixed together (as we all are wont to do).
After that, Anna was curious if I had an approachable definition for "philosophy" for one of her students. Now, I have been scolded for my imprecise use of the term philosophy. However, if you're going to be a stickler, I'll scold you for your imprecise usage of "utilize," "rhetorical questions," "ADHD," "I've got this down to a science," "math," and so many more.
Even so, I still used some artistic license. I said that "philosophy" is the scientific method for the soft sciences. (Hard sciences are math, anatomy, physics, chemistry, etc.: things that just have factual relationships. Soft sciences are psychology, theology, etc.: things whose truths are slipperier.)
The dictionary says that philosophy is "the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence." There are bashnillions of books written about each of those, so, for now, I'm going to stick with my synopsis: Philosophy is the scientific method for the soft sciences, a method for pursuing truth about the slipperier things. (I'm amazed to discover that "slipperier" really is a word.)
I'll try to get a stricter, stronger definition of philosophy another day.
Fascinating. Very thorough breakdown of subjectivity vs. objectivity. The diagrams are most helpful. Thank you for expanding my mind!
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