Objectivity

Objectivity is the quality of being objective: free from personal feelings, interpretations, and biases, and aiming to describe or appraise phenomena as they are, independent of the observer.

In science, objectivity refers to methodological aims: operational definitions, controlled experiments, calibrated instruments, and procedures designed to minimize bias; results should be reproducible and verifiable by independent observers.

In journalism and public discourse, objectivity is the attempt to report facts with fairness, balance, and transparency about sources and uncertainties; debates exist about whether complete neutrality is possible or desirable.

Philosophical debates: some traditions treat objectivity as an attainable condition of rational inquiry; others argue that all knowledge is influenced by social, cultural, and cognitive frameworks, making pure objectivity an ideal rather than a description of reality.

Contemporary practice emphasizes reflexivity and openness about biases, along with mechanisms such as peer review, replication, and statistical analysis to approach intersubjective objectivity.