Are you an objectivist or a subjectivist?
I believe that in discerning
whether these positions are Polar, it is notable that the argument on morals,
in which each position finds its roots, should be represented in the
discussion. These are my beliefs and hold no weight.
Firstly,
objective thought is a mindset that presupposes because a statement can’t be
empirically proven that it must be false or rather it loses any credibility.
This is a process of thought with scientifically proven merit that has withstood
the test of time and contributed greatly to mankind and society as a whole.
With that being said though, mankind and our nature as a whole is one with
unique composition of the conglomerate practices of thought, speech, emotion,
and morality. Morality is the argued issue between subjectivity and objectivity.
Our nature as biologic creatures
has, in my belief, instilled a set of protective values into our societies. As
there are multiple societies in our world there are equally as diverse moral
values. And in the outer spaces between
moral sets you find taboo actions. This I believe is a biological trait past
down from our ancestors. Our moral beliefs as to what is right and wrong can be
found in our tribal like behaviors. An example can be looked at through the
lens of psychology with the “group think”
theory. The ”group think” theory
notes that people will abandon their moral beliefs and more notably their logic in hopes of maintaining a group’s
homeostasis, because there are usually repercussions from the group if the individual
introduces contrary ideas or statements that reduce or destabilizes the groups
balance and ease in which they function as a group. High school cliques are an
example in which the group has an overall behavior and consensus on issues such
as behavior and treatment within the group. Once a member does or says
something that destabilizes the balance of the group they are usually cast out
or punished by the collective group’s idea of what’s right. The group will
decide that because five people in the group believe it’s right that the one
wrong person must be wrong. This can be seen in our society when we send our
criminals off to jail. These people are cast out of our society for performing
acts that are against the law and thus their genetic value has been brought to
zero. The subjective moral example “murder is wrong” is an example, I believe,
of a long held biological safe guard that mankind has made to maintain the
peace of a group in the tribal sense. Murder is violent and violence leads to
more violence so over time it’s been genetically insuring not to be violent. So
morals in my sense are a biological living guide that provides a higher
possibility of passing on your genetics. The belief is that we’re here to
explore our morals and then biologically reproduce, and then instill the morals
in which we’ve proven to work into our children.
This is relevant in the argument of objectivity vs. subjectivity mainly because I believe that the individual who
participates in the argument either believes one of two things. The objectivist
will believe that since there is no quantifiable p+roof that there shouldn’t
even be a propagated argument. The subjectivist will show example after example
of wrong doing and question the objectivist’s perception of reality. The
subjectivist will fall back on previous experiences of pain and emotional
suffering and find value in the feeling of right or wrong in the world. I
believe that morals are connected to our emotions in a way that people
assimilate their beliefs to a physiological response because of the
destabilizing effect of altering one’s perception of reality along with a
person’s willingness to adhere to group standards in fear of being cast out or
punished by that group. I therefore believe that morals are a way of protecting
and insuring that the expected response is what is the status quo for the
society in which we were raised and developed, which in turn provides a
comfortable environment for the subject to live and successfully reproduce. So
I guess I’m an objectivist. right?
