One of the purposes of objectivity, in practice, is to avoid coming to a moral conclusion. Objectivity, considered a mark of great learning and the highest enlightenment, loves to identify itself by such pronouncements as the following: "You may be right, but on the other hand so may your opponent," or "Everything is relative," or "Whatever is happening is inevitable," or "Let me be the devil's advocate." (The part of devil's advocate is surely one of the most sought after in all the precincts of the modern intellect. Anywhere you go to speak in defense of something worthwhile, you are apt to encounter a smiling savant writhing in the estrus of objectivity: "Let me play the devil's advocate for a moment." As if the devil's point of view will not otherwise be adequately represented.)Ironic, isn't it, that those who consider themselves most objective say things like "Everything is relative?"
--Wendell Berry, "The Way of Ignorance" in The Way of Ignorance and Other Essays, p.55
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12 July 2009
Moral Ignorance
Why not another nugget from Berry? "Moral ignorance," he says, is "self-induced" and comes with the "excuse" of "objectivity."
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2 comments:
That was a hard read for me. I found the devil's advocate part entertaining!(: But what exactly is objectivity?
Yes! That part about the devil's advocate is wonderful.
"Objectivity" can mean very different things in different contexts. In this case, it means something like "utter neutrality" or "complete non-commitment" or "without a point of view" or "perspective-less." Does that help at all?
Berry means to criticize this sort of objectivity because he thinks that, when it comes to certain moral questions at least, one should have an opinion. One shouldn't, for example, be afraid to say that it is wrong for some radical Muslims to kill their daughters for shaming the family.
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