Fooled by Objectivity Theory

A framework revealing how the ideal of objectivity can mislead—by pretending that anyone can occupy a "view from nowhere," by hiding the subjective choices that shape all observation, and by using "objectivity" to dismiss perspectives that don't fit dominant frameworks. Fooled by Objectivity Theory shows how claims to objectivity often mask particular interests, how the appearance of neutrality can be a weapon against the marginalized, and how the pursuit of objectivity can become a form of blindness. We are fooled when we think we're objective, when we mistake our perspective for reality itself.

Fooled by Objectivity Theory "I'm objective; you're biased." Fooled by Objectivity: treating one's own perspective as neutral, others' as partial. The speaker didn't see their own position, their own history, their own interests. Objectivity fooled them into thinking they had none. But everyone has a somewhere; pretending you don't is the surest way to be fooled by where you stand."

by Dumu The Void March 8, 2026

Projection of Objectivity

A cognitive bias where one projects the claim of objectivity onto one's own perspective while denying it to others—assuming that one's own views are simply "how things are" while everyone else is biased, ideological, or subjective. Projection of objectivity operates when someone says "I'm not biased, I just see things clearly" while describing opponents as hopelessly biased; when they present their own position as neutral and others' as partisan; when they claim to speak from nowhere while everyone else speaks from somewhere. The projection lies in the blindness to one's own situatedness—the assumption that one's own perspective is the perspective, that one's own values are just common sense, that one's own framework is simply reality. It's the deepest form of bias: the bias of believing oneself unbiased.

Example: "He described his own views as 'objective' and everyone else's as 'biased'—projection of objectivity, assuming that his perspective was the view from nowhere while everyone else was hopelessly situated."

by Dumu The Void March 19, 2026

Law of Absolute and Relative Objectivity

The principle that objectivity operates in two modes: absolute objectivity (a perspective from nowhere, free of all bias and particularity) and relative objectivity (the best approximation of neutrality achievable within a given context). The law acknowledges that pure objectivity may be an ideal we can approach but never reach—like a horizon that recedes as we advance. Relative objectivity is what we actually achieve: perspectives that are as free as possible from obvious bias, while still being situated in a particular time, place, and culture. The law of absolute and relative objectivity reconciles the aspiration to neutrality with the reality of situatedness.

Law of Absolute and Relative Objectivity Example: "He claimed his news source was 'completely objective.' She invoked the law of absolute and relative objectivity: absolute objectivity is impossible (no view from nowhere), but relative objectivity is achievable (minimizing bias, disclosing perspective). His source had relative objectivity at best; his claim to absolute was the problem. He kept watching anyway, which is what people do."

by Abzugal February 16, 2026