Navigating the Divide: Understanding the Contrast Between Objective and Subjective

In today’s era of widespread and intense disagreements, the ability to distinguish between facts and opinions has become increasingly crucial. Persuasive arguments consist of both factual observations and value judgments based on those facts.

Within arguments, there exist both objective and subjective statements. However, how can we differentiate between the two?

It is essential to note that objective and subjective have multiple meanings. In this article, I will focus on their usage as they pertain to the concepts of objectivity and subjectivity in the philosophy of knowledge, or simply put, facts and opinions.

Given that this platform revolves around writing and language usage, it would be incomplete without discussing the grammatical aspects of objective and subjective.

Understanding the Contrast: Objective vs. Subjective

This article aims to compare and contrast objective and subjective. Each word will be exemplified in a sentence to demonstrate its appropriate context. Additionally, a helpful mnemonic will be provided to assist in determining whether something is objective or subjective.

When to Use Objective

What does objective mean? Objective is an adjective indicating something not influenced by personal feelings or bias. It can be considered synonymous with impartial or neutral.

Here are some example sentences:

• The journalist made a concerted effort to engage in objective reporting.
• “Before we can proceed, we require an objective assessment of the case’s facts,” stated the detective.
• “I expect an objective analysis of our cash flow issues on my desk by Monday morning,” demanded the board chair.
• In other words, the model is entirely objective and disregards external factors such as personnel, coaching, and motivation. –The Wall Street Journal

From a grammatical perspective, objective refers to nouns or pronouns used as the object in a sentence. Refer to the article on objective pronouns for more information.

When to Use Subjective

What does subjective mean? On the other hand, subjective implies being based on individual opinion or experience.

For instance:

• “In my subjective opinion,” wrote the columnist, “the pasta was not particularly delicious.”
• Journalists should ensure that subjective views do not taint objective news reporting.
• “The article suffers from subjective interpretations of data, and we reject its publication in this journal,” wrote a peer reviewer.
• Measuring corruption is challenging and subjective, but in 2015, the group compiled a Corruption Perceptions Index that ranks 168 countries based on public sector corruption perceptions. –The New York Times

In terms of sentence-level grammar, subjective refers to nouns or pronouns used as the subject of a sentence. See the article on subjective pronouns for further details.

Memory Trick to Differentiate

Various writing genres demand either an objective or subjective voice. Regarding the words themselves, objective is used for an unbiased observation, independent of personal views, while subjective reflects a biased evaluation influenced by personal opinion.

Here’s a useful memory trick to distinguish between subjective and objective. Since both objective and observation start with the letter “O,” you can connect these words in your mind using this common letter.

Additionally, both subjective and feelings contain the letter “S,” which serves as an extra mnemonic.

Summary

Is it objective or subjective? Objective and subjective are adjectives used to describe unbiased observations and biased evaluations, respectively. They also have a grammatical sense where they refer to the function and placement of nouns and pronouns in sentences.

• Objective pertains to something uninfluenced by feelings or personal biases.
• Subjective involves personal interpretation and is influenced by personal feelings.

Given that both subjective and feelings share the letter “S,” you can use this common feature as a mnemonic to remember which word is which.

If you still need assistance, remember to refer back to this site for a quick refresher whenever you encounter difficulties with challenging writing topics.