Rescuing Objectivity: A Contextualist Proposal. Issue 4 (July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wright, Jack
• Other Names: Kwarcinski Tomasz guest-editor.; Bouvier Alban guest-editor.; Kaldis Byron guest-editor.; Montuschi Eleonora guest-editor.; Zahle Julie guest-editor.; Zamora Jesus guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Philosophy of the social sciences. Volume 48:Issue 4(2018)
• Page Start: 385
• Page End: 406
• Publication Date: 2018-07
• Subjects: objectivity -- contextualism -- pluralism -- useful -- practice -- abstraction; Social sciences -- Periodicals; Social sciences -- Methodology -- Periodicals; Sciences sociales -- Périodiques; Sciences sociales -- Méthodologie -- Périodiques; 300.1
• DOI: 10.1177/0048393118767089
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0048-3931

Abstract

Ascriptions of objectivity carry significant weight. But they can also cause confusion because wildly different ideas of what it means to be objective are common. Faced with this, some philosophers have argued that objectivity should be eliminated. I will argue, against one such position, that objectivity can be useful even though it is plural. I will then propose a contextualist approach for dealing with objectivity as a way of rescuing what is useful about objectivity while acknowledging its plurality.