Holoscience

The Two Meanings of ‘Objective’ and ‘Subjective’

Most of us would like to think of ourselves as objective and abhor being subjective. Scientists and the sharp-minded are objective—weak-minded people are subjective. Western society is run on the principles of science—undeveloped societies by opinion and superstition.

But the definitions of these words is must simpler: ‘objective’ is what pertains to an object, say the statement “This table is white”; ‘subjective’ is what pertains to a subject, say “I feel great,” or even “He feels great.”

Some statements are about objects, some about subjects. Some statements are valid and reliable, some invalid and unreliable. Moreover, statments about objects may be valid and reliable or invalid and unreliable, and likewise for statements about subjects. Based solely on the dual definitions of the words, there are four possiblities:

• Valid, reliable statements about objects
• Valid, reliable statements about subjects
• Invalid, unreliable statements about

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