It's easy to know how to define them, they are in the dictionary and the meaning is pretty clear.
sub·jec·tive (sb-jktv)
adj. Abbr. subj.
1.
a.Proceeding from or taking place within a person's mind such as to be unaffected by the external world.
b.Particular to a given person; personal: subjective experience.
2.Moodily introspective.
3.Existing only in the mind; illusory.
4.Psychology. Existing only within the experiencer's mind.
5.Medicine. Of, relating to, or designating a symptom or condition perceived by the patient and not by the examiner.
6.Expressing or bringing into prominence the individuality of the artist or author.
7.Grammar. Relating to or being the nominative case.
8.Relating to the real nature of something; essential.
I am using definition 1.b- and since we are all people, and we all have minds, what happens in our minds is probably subjective. I can't say that with absolute objective certainty, because this whole train of thought has been formed in my own paticular personal brain.
ob·jec·tive (b-jktv)
adj.
1.Of or having to do with a material object.
2.Having actual existence or reality.
3.
a.Uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices: an objective critic. See Synonyms at fair1.
b.Based on observable phenomena; presented factually: an objective appraisal.
4.Medicine. Indicating a symptom or condition perceived as a sign of disease by someone other than the person affected.
5.Abbr. obj. Grammar
a.Of, relating to, or being the case of a noun or pronoun that serves as the object of a verb.
b.Of or relating to a noun or pronoun used in this case.
n.
1.Something that actually exists.
2.Something worked toward or striven for; a goal. See Synonyms at intention.
3.Abbr. obj. Grammar
a.The objective case.
b.A noun or pronoun in the objective case.
4.The lens or lens system in a microscope or other optical instrument that first receives light rays from the object and forms the image. In this
sense, also called object glass, objective lens, object lens.
I use objective as the opposite of subjective. Since we are all persons, with minds, I don't know that anything is ever truly objective. We can't step outside of ourselves to verify objectivity. We are, I think, prisoners of the subjective. |
