December 22, 2005
Criticism v Journalism - Objectivity is not only impossible, it's not always desireable either.
Today over on Websnark Eric Burns has posted a really good essay concerning objectivity in criticism and by extension objectivity in general. I recommend you go read the essay and attending comments before going any further.
What this made me think about was the growing trend in our culture to look for "fact" even when there isn't any. The media is becoming more and more an exchange of opinions. Especially in national media coverage. Less and less are the facts mattering and more and more objectivity is being abandoned for subjective beliefs. In many aspects of life this is all good and well, but when an agency purports to be objective and then does this the effect is very damaging.
The opposite is occurring too. Critics get angry at one another because they aren't being "objective" enough. My friends get angry at me for saying that the bands they like aren't any good because "That's just your subjective opinion!" to which I am forced to reply "Yeah, and it's just your subjective opinion that they're any good. So?" as if somehow the fact that it's an opinion disqualifies it from having meaning.
In any endeavor where the Truth (note the capitalized "T" for grandiose metaphysical concept) is claimed to be expounded then objectivity is an ideal to strive for. I don't believe that it can ever be achieved by an individual since we're all the products of our unique experiences, but it is still something to attempt to achieve. However when the goal of an endeavor is simply to say "Here's what I think. Here's why. I think they are good and convincing reasons." then objectivity is not only not the ideal to pursue, but claims of objectivity hurt your argument.
To claim to be objective when espousing subjective beliefs is not only a conflict of reason, but also opens up every single one of your arguments to dismissal because they can not be trusted to be facts even when stated as such and even if they really are facts.
When it comes to subjective discussion the only place for objectivity is in the analysis of the arguments. In other words if you feel that someone's supportive arguments for their thesis are weak you must deal with those arguments in a rather objective way. You can't just say "Nuhuh! Because anyone who says that is stupid!" There has to be a logical, reasonable, and founded reason that you disagree with a point or think an argument is invalid. It is only within this scope that objectivity has place in subjective discussion.
The over-emphasis on objectivity in our culture is both heartening and dismaying. It is heartening because it is good to see people striving to find the fundamental facts of issues. It is good to see people wanting to move aside the bullshit and find the Truth buried under it. However, it is dismaying when people claim that anything not objective is not only "True" but that it can not be "True". It is completely possible for a subjective position to end up being totally in line with an objective truth.
The key thing to remember is that the subjective argument is not claiming to be the objective truth. This does not mean that only objective facts can be true, but only that only objective facts can be objective facts. This sounds a bit silly to say, but it's the basic state of things.
In summary, objectivity is good when one is dealing with an objective subject. "It is raining." is a totally objective statement and an objective analysis of it (sticking your head out the door to see if it is, in fact, raining) is perfectly in place here. However the statement "The world is more beautiful when it's raining" can not be checked by a similarly objective method. And saying that the statement is "false" because it is not objective is a huge mistake. Unfortunately, this type of mistake is becoming more and more common in our society.
Posted by morr at 04:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 15, 2005
This here be a blog...
Ok, I've found my WOU blog. Not that I expect it to turn into the wonder of the blogging world, but I'm a bit excited. I never had much luck with the Livejournal I briefly employed so hopefully this will pay off better. I'm allowed to work on my blog at work since I work for the University that hosts it as a student worker so I should find more time to get stuff entered.
Wish me luck!
Posted by morr at 10:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack