: the Subjectivity of Objectivity
Simply put, subjectivity is “the quality of being based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions,” whereas objectivity is when one is “not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts.”
Depending on the environment you find yourself in — academia, the corporate world, tech, politics, etc. — there may be pressure to try and be as objective as possible. Although such a sentiment may originate from a good intention, complete objectivity is never fully attainable. Thus, one must ask, who gets to define what the objective truth is? And therein lies the problem. We all have a bias that has formed from our unique life experiences that makes complete objectivity never fully attainable by one person/group of persons, as their truth may well in fact be different than my truth.
(It is best to read “truth” here as something equal to one’s experience and reasoning for coming to certain beliefs and ideals—but more on this later.)
If complete objectivity can never be a reality, are we to respond by enforcing our specific beliefs and ideas onto people? Absolutely not and given the track record of those who have tried to do so in the past, it has never gone over well. What then is it that people hope to achieve when they state that we…
