Objectivity is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “the fact of being based on facts and not influenced by personal beliefs or feelings.” In appliance to ideas, opinions, and decisions, that would mean defining things based on independent criteria. What rarely gets discussed anymore though is the need for objectivity standards in morality and purpose.
The last several decades have seen the slow erosion of any semblance of religion and with that, values that were once the bedrock of western society, culture, or law. Though one may debate the merit of religion or morality in the public space, there has been nothing to replace it in the public sphere. As a result, the push has come towards the belief that morality is primarily subjective.
Subjective morality is pointless because if two ideas that are at odds with each other are given equal weight, then they are both worthless as they cannot be true at the same time. From the immortal words of the film The Incredibles, “everyone’s special...which is another way of saying nobody is.” Without standards to actually determine which is good and which is bad, what is well made and what is shoddy, everything lacks value.
Objectivity allows us to critically evaluate concepts, art, work, anything under the sun for its purpose and the impact it has. After all, Christ has said “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.” One can only determine whether or not something is good then if one has an objective set of standards to determine them by.
The past few years have seen crusades against a myriad of concepts, such as “racism,” “sexism,” “inequality,” and other such problems that members of our society seek to address. However, lacking objectivity, we have no definition of what those words mean and therefore no way to actively address them. We would need those standards to determine what success would look like in addressing them.
“Inequality” provides the best example of the need for objective clarity. Afterall, in terms of wealth inequality, the difference between rich and poor could just as easily be solved by making everyone poor as it would by making everyone wealthy. Those reading this are likely revulsed by the former notion and that shows the problem with a lack of clarity in objective standards as that revulsion suggests inequality elimination may not be the actual goal since that would be an unpleasant outcome. Therefore, the objective goal is actually the elimination of destitution and eliminating inequality is only a means to accomplish that.
Without objective standards, one cannot know what success looks like, what our goals are, and how we know what we are doing accomplishes those goals. After all, many different goals may be accomplished by different methods than what was expected. The focus on method instead of those goals then can lead to disastrous results.
Look no further than Trump’s famed border wall, which he repeatedly promised to build in 2016 to reduce illegal immigration. At the time of writing this, the wall is still not built, but illegal immigrant border crossings reduced 78% over seven consecutive months in 2019. If the goal was to build a wall, Trump objectively failed, while if the goal was to reduce illegal border crossings, Trump succeeded (I take no stance on that, merely use it as an example). One needs to be clear on the goal or else the end results will not make sense with it.
Having these standards, more than limiting us in archaic beliefs, actually allows us to accomplish good and push closer to it. This allows us to make decisions and progress forward on the right path. After all, C. S. Lewis once noted “Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer.”
Now reading this, one might wonder what is objectively good or for the definitions this blogpost discussed. Well, that is another matter worthy of its own discussion and blogpost. In the short term though, remember that it is important to push for the truth (not YOUR truth but THE truth) as that is the best way to find it.
In the meantime, getting to the need for objectivity is important in and of itself. If we do not have that realization, we will not pursue objectivity. Once that is determined, the truth and objective reality can be accepted.
Therefore, as society pushes forward in its quest for morality and purpose, it is important to understand the reasons for why and what they hope to accomplish. If the end result is purely subjective, then the end goal and the methods to accomplish it are meaningless. We need objectivity and objective morality or else everything is equally worthless.
Subjective morality is pointless because if two ideas that are at odds with each other are given equal weight, then they are both worthless as they cannot be true at the same time. From the immortal words of the film The Incredibles, “everyone’s special...which is another way of saying nobody is.” Without standards to actually determine which is good and which is bad, what is well made and what is shoddy, everything lacks value.
Objectivity allows us to critically evaluate concepts, art, work, anything under the sun for its purpose and the impact it has. After all, Christ has said “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.” One can only determine whether or not something is good then if one has an objective set of standards to determine them by.
The past few years have seen crusades against a myriad of concepts, such as “racism,” “sexism,” “inequality,” and other such problems that members of our society seek to address. However, lacking objectivity, we have no definition of what those words mean and therefore no way to actively address them. We would need those standards to determine what success would look like in addressing them.
“Inequality” provides the best example of the need for objective clarity. Afterall, in terms of wealth inequality, the difference between rich and poor could just as easily be solved by making everyone poor as it would by making everyone wealthy. Those reading this are likely revulsed by the former notion and that shows the problem with a lack of clarity in objective standards as that revulsion suggests inequality elimination may not be the actual goal since that would be an unpleasant outcome. Therefore, the objective goal is actually the elimination of destitution and eliminating inequality is only a means to accomplish that.
Without objective standards, one cannot know what success looks like, what our goals are, and how we know what we are doing accomplishes those goals. After all, many different goals may be accomplished by different methods than what was expected. The focus on method instead of those goals then can lead to disastrous results.
Look no further than Trump’s famed border wall, which he repeatedly promised to build in 2016 to reduce illegal immigration. At the time of writing this, the wall is still not built, but illegal immigrant border crossings reduced 78% over seven consecutive months in 2019. If the goal was to build a wall, Trump objectively failed, while if the goal was to reduce illegal border crossings, Trump succeeded (I take no stance on that, merely use it as an example). One needs to be clear on the goal or else the end results will not make sense with it.
Having these standards, more than limiting us in archaic beliefs, actually allows us to accomplish good and push closer to it. This allows us to make decisions and progress forward on the right path. After all, C. S. Lewis once noted “Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer.”
Now reading this, one might wonder what is objectively good or for the definitions this blogpost discussed. Well, that is another matter worthy of its own discussion and blogpost. In the short term though, remember that it is important to push for the truth (not YOUR truth but THE truth) as that is the best way to find it.
In the meantime, getting to the need for objectivity is important in and of itself. If we do not have that realization, we will not pursue objectivity. Once that is determined, the truth and objective reality can be accepted.
Therefore, as society pushes forward in its quest for morality and purpose, it is important to understand the reasons for why and what they hope to accomplish. If the end result is purely subjective, then the end goal and the methods to accomplish it are meaningless. We need objectivity and objective morality or else everything is equally worthless.
Very well written
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