Objectivity Is Appearance, Not Truth

Phenomenologically speaking, objectivity is the appearance of things to the subjective consciousness. This remains true always, even after science adds or subtracts data through critical analysis and calculation. As we are conscious subjects, objectivity is only the world seen through the mirror of our beliefs and purposes.?

Na?ve materialists imagine that objectivity equals truth, but this is merely a symptom of their lack of philosophical self-knowledge.?

If "objectivity" is only the appearance of things to the subjective consciousness, it has no authority, except for the individual or individual group for whom the object appears.?

The transference of the "objectivity" of an individual or individual group to others takes place in the educational process, a social process, but this second-hand objectivity, which has not been validated by those who accept it, has not the same value for the receivers that it has for the givers. It is like a skin graft or organ transplant that may or may not take. Such an educational process may be as alienating for some as merely inherited religious values are for others.?

As religious values may be imposed through authority, so is the social educational process typically based on beliefs and authority. The problem for the maturing individual is to decide how much of this inheritance is of actual value. The individual has the responsibility of doing an inventory, and re-considering what he or she believes. At this stage adult education begins.?

The belief in the rising and setting sun is based on experience and repeated observations. The belief in heliocentric astronomy is based, usually, on trust in the information handed down. In that sense, it is as faith-based as any religious doctrine.?

For those who have reviewed the evidence and done the calculations, the belief may have more solid foundations, but the same is true for the realizations of the spiritual world, the real basis of the exoteric religions. Some, for example, may have realized the non-dualism of Vedanta. For those without realization, the theory of a non-dual reality is false to the facts of psychological life.?

At best, the theory is a starting point on the path of realization, as it brings to the attention the possibility of an achievement. In this best case, the theory is presented by those who actually have the realization. A theory presented by someone without realization may have no value, or even a negative value.