Posted on 09/14/2012 8:41:49 AM PDT by Salvation
Featured Term (selected at random):
The quality of impartial reflection in which the mind considers things as they really are, and not as a person is naturally or temperamentally inclined to view them. Philosophically, it is the viewpoint that regards extramental beings as real, so that the mind is said to possess truth when its knowledge corresponds with the reality outside the mind. Opposite of subjectivity.
The truth sets you free.
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I am very interested in a discussion of objectivity as a philosophical concept. It seems to me that no one can Know that they themselves are objective. And that, such being the case, anyone who claims to be objective is all the more to be distrusted for it.One can attempt to be objective, but that requires openness about one’s own interests and motives. And openness about one’s own motives is the very opposite of claiming to be objective. If you are claiming to be objective, you aren’t even trying to actually be objective - as opposed to projecting an image of objectivity.
Another way to reach the same conclusion is to observe that “objectivity,” as journalists claim it, is difficult to distinguish from wisdom. And those ancient Greeks who claimed wisdom, the Sophists, became so infamous for slippery reasoning that their name was transmuted into “sophistry” as a byword for self-interested “logic.” The modern Sophists are either called “objective journalists” or else “liberals,” “progressives,” or “moderates." It would seem to follow that opponents of modern Sophists should take the classical approach to their problem, and call themselves “philosophers” - lovers of wisdom, who are open to facts and logic but who eschew ad hominem attacks.
Philosophically, it is the viewpoint that regards extramental beings as real. . . and it seems very much to me that “liberals” do not accept that premise. See my tag line . . .
The refusal of Harry Reid’s Senate to pass a budget seems to manifest the conceit that if they don’t admit that they are overspending, and if the “associated” press covers for them, then “extra mental beings" don’t matter.
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