objectivité

Objectivité, or objectivity in English, describes the quality of being impartial, not influenced by personal feelings or interpretations. It denotes an attempt to represent phenomena as they are, or as close as possible to the facts, and to allow independent verification by others.

In philosophy and the sciences, objectivity is central to credibility. It involves methods designed to minimize bias: standardized procedures, controlled observation, measurement, statistical analysis, and reproducibility. Scientific objectivity emphasizes intersubjective verification—that different observers using the same methods should reach compatible results. It does not require a claim of absolute truth, but durable, communicable knowledge.

Other domains extend objectivity to journalism, law, and ethics. In journalism, objectivity refers to factual reporting, verification, and balancing sources. In law, it implies weighing evidence impartially. In ethics and aesthetics, the idea of objective standards is debated; many argue that values or judgments are partially context-dependent or grounded in reasoning about reasons and consequences.

Critiques of objectivity highlight its limits. Constructivist and standpoint theorists argue that observers’ social positions influence what is observed and how it is interpreted. Data and algorithms can encode biases, making apparent objectivity illusory. Proposals to strengthen objectivity include transparency about methods, preregistration, blind assessment, replication, triangulation, and reflexivity about the researcher’s role.

Objectivity is therefore best understood as a methodological ideal: a commitment to minimizing bias, enabling verification, and acknowledging uncertainty, while remaining aware of the practical and epistemic constraints that shape any claim to objectivity.