A Clarification of the terms ‘Objectivity’, ‘Subjectivity’ and ‘Relativity’
The claim that morality is relative to the individual (or society) is a familiar one in the church. Moral relativism is the denial that there exists an objective moral system, i.e., independent of the moral agent. Sometimes moral relativism is also referred to as moral subjectivism since the morality is taken to be determined by the subject. Because of this, some pastors, Christian authors and thinkers are suspicious when the terms ‘relative’ and ‘subjective’ appear.
As absurd as it may sound, I was once told that the theory of relativity (which is a theory about bodies in inertial motion) couldn’t be true because the world isn’t relative. Likewise, authors such as Kierkegaard are avoided because of his emphasis on the one’s subjective experience. These and similar lines of thought rest on a misunderstanding of the range of applications of the terms. I want to briefly clarify some uses of the terms that are consistent with Christian doctrine and to encourage Christian leaders to analyze the exact use of the terms and concepts before dismissing the source altogether.
‘Objectivity’ is a concept connected to facts independent of the subject. To say “x is objective” is to say that x corresponds to a fact in the world. This concept appears to be well understood by Christian thinkers, so I won’t dwell on it here.
To say that ‘x is subjective’ is merely to say that x is in some sense dependent upon the subject. This idea is what Christian thinkers have found objectionable. But this dependency relation needn’t preclude an objective element. For instance, my experience of pain is a subjective experience, but saying that my pain is subjective doesn’t entail that the pain is entirely subjective. It is either true of false that I am experiencing a pain sensation, and hence the claim “I am in pain” corresponds to a fact about the world. The subjectivity arises because the experience is unique to me. You don’t feel my pain. But this doesn’t undermine the objectivity coupled to my subjective experience. So, to say that something is subjective is not to say that there is no fact of the matter, but only that truth or falsity of the claim is somewhat dependent on the agent. While it is true that extrapolating this concept to morality does lead to moral non-realism, one needn’t deny subjectivity of experience when rejecting moral subjectivism. So, when Kierkegaard is discussing the anxiety of our subjective experience, he isn’t implying that value judgements are relative or subjective, he is simply referencing a state-of-affairs that is unique to the individual. Hence, pastors, teachers and Christian thinkers needn’t fear the term ‘subjective’ but should examine the context in which it is used before dismissing the claim.
The term ‘relative’ has a similarity to subjectivity. To say that “x is relative” is to say that x is dependent and not universal. “It is sunny in Baltimore” doesn’t imply “it is sunny” is true universally. Rather it is sunny relative to Baltimore and perhaps raining relative to another location. Notice that this use of ‘relative’ is not inconsistent with the assertion being objective. It is a fact that it is sunny presently in Baltimore, but the fact is dependent or true of a specific time and place. Nothing in this concept implies non-objectivity, but rather the term implies a sense of non-universality. Of course, the use of ‘relative’ in the context of moral relativism does carry with it a connotation of the moral judgements being non-factive, but this connotation is not present for every use of the term ‘relative’.
In conclusion, the terms ‘subjective’ and ‘relative’ appear in a variety of contexts and some of these contexts are perfectly consistent with ‘objectivity’. To say that ‘x is subjective’ or ‘x is relative’ is not necessarily to assert that x lacks a truth value or is in some sense non-factive. So, the next time you encounter one of these terms, look carefully at what is being said. There may be no need to dismiss the claims, and in some cases (e.g., Kierkegaard’s writing), there may be valuable reflections to glean.