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Dialectics of Objectivity
A subject is something capable of experience, or of making decisions. Something which is subjective is something which cannot be considered correct or incorrect. An object, on the other hand, is something which is incapable of experience or choice. Something objective is only capable of following rigid laws, and an objective statement can be considered correct or incorrect.
Materialism is the belief that absolute reality, and therefore absolute truth, exists in the external (material) world. Every concept and all knowledge, therefore, stem from posteriori sensory information. Conversely, is the belief that absolute reality only exists in concepts, which are reflected in our observation of reality. The only absolute knowledge for an idealist is pure theory.
The Subject-Object Dialectic
Superficially, these definitions present a dualism of subject and object. They are opposed, and each is the negative of the other. Nonetheless, the basic structure of the relationship between subject and object, whether taken materialistically or ideally, embodies a simple dialectical form with two simultaneous actions.
The first component of this dialectic is the transformation of subjective experience into objective information – the existence of each containing that of the other as subjective assumption or experience instantaneously creates objective information. The second component of the dialectic is the objectification of the subject; objective imperatives eliminate their own source by ‘narrowing down’ the possibility-space of a conscious being, rendering the subject as objective and unconscious as a river or a rock.
This seems unintuitive but it can easily be demonstrated in both idealist and materialist philosophy.
For an idealist, basic theoretical axioms are subjectively assumed, and immediately imply a range of objective truths. This is most obvious in the field of mathematics, which comprises the purest idealist philosophy. Take as an example the proof that the sum of one and one equals two, which in full form constitutes 379 pages of set theory:
Assume zero exists, assume numbers A, B exist, assume a function S exists which can be applied to A to transform it into B, and assume that S(A) = A + 1.
Assume that natural numbers are S(0), S(S(0)), … , assume that if A and B are natural numbers A+S(B)=S(A+B) [1], and that A+0=A [2]. Therefore:
1+1 = 1+S(0) = S(1+0) [1] = S(1) [2] = S(S(0)) = 2
From this basic principle every summation, and much of the rest of mathematics, follows. Instantaneously once 1+1=2 and higher numbers exist, every sum has a single, objective, correct answer. A mathematician no longer has a subjective choice in the correct answer of a given sum: The logician who experiments with different idealistic structures is transformed into the mathematician who performs this function as an object, no better than a simple calculator.
For a materialist, the only difference is the source of subjective information. Rather than assumed principles, information comes from posteriori knowledge of the outside world. F=ma is measured in nature, and with a few other observations the rest of Newtonian mechanics follows as objective truth. The source of information is taken to be (literal) objects existing in the outside world, but the source of basic natural laws is still mediated through subjective experience – sensory data. A natural philosopher who interprets through nature the subjective will of God is transformed into a physicist who must provide objectively correct predictions.
In both cases objective truths are constructed from subjective information, whether the source is internal assumption of basic ideals, or extrinsic sensory information. However, these fields do not adequately demonstrate the full scope of ‘objectivity production’. To fully understand the omnipresent power of this dialectic, its existence can be demonstrated in practical philosophies of both major 20th century economic systems: Marxism-Leninism (as synthesised by Stalin) and market liberalism.
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