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Chapter 3 - Objectivity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2019

James Conant
Affiliation:
University of Chicago
Sebastian Sunday
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
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Summary

A core philosophical use of the term “objectivity” is to talk about a central metaphysical ideal. The term is employed to pick out aspects of the world that are there in the sense that any thinker who fails to register them can be said to be missing something. If we speak in this connection of a guiding concept of objectivity, we can ask what can be said about the nature of the things that fall under it. We might then speak in this further connection of different possible conceptions of objectivity. Today, thought about objectivity is dominated by a conception on which objectivity is taken to have as its hallmark the exclusion of everything subjective. Starting from a description of the relevant conception of objectivity, this chapter criticizes the kinds of considerations most commonly adduced in the conception’s favor. Along the way, the chapter uses passages from the later philosophy of Wittgenstein as its main reference points. A notable virtue of this method is that it sheds light on the transformative significance of Wittgenstein’s thought for how we construe the concept of objectivity.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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  • Objectivity
  • Edited by James Conant, University of Chicago, Sebastian Sunday, University of Oxford
  • Book: Wittgenstein on Philosophy, Objectivity, and Meaning
  • Online publication: 15 August 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108151764.004
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  • Objectivity
  • Edited by James Conant, University of Chicago, Sebastian Sunday, University of Oxford
  • Book: Wittgenstein on Philosophy, Objectivity, and Meaning
  • Online publication: 15 August 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108151764.004
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Objectivity
  • Edited by James Conant, University of Chicago, Sebastian Sunday, University of Oxford
  • Book: Wittgenstein on Philosophy, Objectivity, and Meaning
  • Online publication: 15 August 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108151764.004
Available formats
×