Trying To Be Objective In A Subjective World

in #objectivism8 years ago (edited)


Our senses are not the best tools to perceive objective reality. We can only perceive so much of the electromagnetic spectrum. Even if this was not enough, every single bit of information we receive is distorted through trillions of broken phone games. Everything we see around us is subjective whether we like it or not. Nonetheless, we can be objective about this subjective reality. It just takes effort.
 


You could use objective logic in order to understand the world better. Objectivism allows someone to see beyond emotions, predispositions, cognitive biases and other common fallacies. Through an objective eye, words such as “selfishness”, “anarchy” and “atheism” become the most humane ideas you could have come across.

Imagine good being pushed by selfish individuals instead of groups killing each other. Most deaths on this planet are not caused by interpersonal conflict but rather group juxtapositions. Imagine if you could improve livelihood without the need of personal sacrifice towards a religious or governmental cause. Imagine if you could spare your emotions to be carefully directed to many people instead of "passionately" poured over one person.
 


Can you really love everyone objectively and unconditionally? Of course not. You see, love is a selfish emotion that is allocated to a special few in your life. You love people, ideas, countries because of their subjective qualities. That love though, those passionate preferences towards something, is what is really objective to you and only you. Similarly, money might be pieces of paper, subjectively representing value—but that value affects our life in a very real and objective way.

We can be objective about death but very few have the courage to do it. We know we are made out of carbon molecules. We know that some people in the past, not knowing any better invented things like “souls” and concepts like “religion” in order to give explanations about things they did not really understand or they didn't have the courage to critically analyse. Objectively, we are living things, much like the trees and the rest of the animals. We will too perish and return to earth, recycled through the circle of life. Objectively, we developed religion because we understood that one day we will cease to be.

Objectivism can be excausting since it can strip someone off everything they hold dear. Whether this is love, friendship, religion, tradition, culture, everything loses value under objective examination. You love someone instead of someone else because of sheer luck and circumstance. You are friends with someone because at one point your interests aligned. Your tradition, culture and religion are nothing more than than the result of your birth in a specific geographic area instead of another.
 


Being objective about the world violates our current ideas about religion, ethics, democracy and tradition. Being objective demands that we forget everything we know and believe to be true in order to re-evaluate what we can perceive as real. In essence, being objective goes against everything around and inside of us.

The trick in life is not to try to be objective about every single thing. Instead we should acknowledge that all things interconnect through separate subjective realms and that we can make objective decisions based on their past objective outcomes. History is probably the best tool that can assist us in this endeavour but very few os us have the courage to examine the world from such a profound way.








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Reminds me of an activity we did in high school public speaking class. The teacher said something to the person in the first desk. No one knew anything, she only told the first person to repeat it and to pass it on. Not only had it changed by the time the last desk got the tidbit, but it had been turned in the opposite direction.

@vegascomic

Imagine this playing for centuries, or thousands of years and then served to us as religion...

@thecryptofiend

thank you man. you are too one of the few people I follow and enjoy reading :)

Thanks mate. It means a lot coming from you. I knew I would enjoy your work when I read your first post even though I disagreed with some of the things you said! Your posts are always stimulating and thoughtful.

All the things i learned it was because I disagreed with someone else. (and often got into a fight). It is a good thing . it stimulates growth. In contrast when we all agree on something then we should start worrying.

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