Objectivity without Objects?

Should you think about your duty, or about the consequences of your actions? Or should you concentrate on becoming a good person?

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Veritas Aequitas
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Objectivity without Objects?

Post by Veritas Aequitas »

I have been questioned that what Objective must be supported by Object.

Putnam is his Ethics without Ontology in the Chapter Objectivity without Objects wrote the following;

" As it is very often interpreted, Plato’s theory of Ideas represents an early appearance of two persistent philosophical ideas: the idea that

i. if a claim is objectively true, then there have to be objects to which the claim “corresponds”—an idea which is built into the very etymology of the word “objective”—and the corollary idea that
ii. if there are no obvious natural objects whose properties would make the claim true, then there must be some non-natural objects to play the role of “truth-maker.”

As we saw, the same two ideas (plus some confusions of his own)1 figure in G. E. Moore’s idea that if there are truths as to the goodness of certain states of affairs, then there must be a “non-natural property” “good,” to account for this.
Accept these two ideas, and you are likely to accept a third, the idea that if a claim is true, then the claim is a description of whatever objects and properties make it true.

Accept all three ideas, and, if you regard some value judgments as objectively true, you will conclude that they are descriptions; and if you cannot construe them to your own satisfaction as descriptions of natural objects and properties, you will be forced to construe them as descriptions which refer to non-natural entities.

It is this very understandable, but I believe totally mistaken, line of thought ."
Veritas Aequitas
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Re: Objectivity without Objects?

Post by Veritas Aequitas »

I requested ChatGPT to explain in simpler terms:

ChatGPT [with reservations]
I'll break down the passage from Putnam's "Ethics without Ontology" in simpler terms:

Plato's Ideas and Objective Truth: Putnam talks about how Plato's theory of Ideas introduced two important philosophical ideas. The first idea is that when a statement is objectively true (meaning it's true no matter what people think), there must be actual things that the statement matches or corresponds to. This is where the term "objective" comes from. The second idea is that if there aren't any obvious natural things that the statement could be talking about, then there must be some non-natural things that serve as the basis for making the statement true.

G. E. Moore's Similar Idea: Putnam mentions that these same two ideas, along with some of Moore's own ideas, show up in G. E. Moore's thinking. Moore believed that if there are truths about whether certain situations are good or not, then there must be a special "non-natural property" called "good" that explains these truths.

Connection to Truth and Descriptions: If you agree with all three of these ideas, then you might also believe that if a statement is true, it must be describing actual things or properties that make it true. In other words, when you say something is true, you're saying that it's a description of real things that match up with what the statement says.

Link to Value Judgments: If you follow these ideas and believe that some judgments about what's valuable are objectively true, then you might think these judgments are descriptions too. If you can't understand them as descriptions of natural things and qualities, you might end up thinking they're descriptions of non-natural things.

Putnam's View: Putnam then says that this way of thinking is understandable but ultimately incorrect. He disagrees with this line of thought.

In essence, Putnam is discussing how certain historical philosophical ideas, related to the connection between objective truth, descriptions, and non-natural entities, have been influential. However, he disagrees with this line of thinking and finds it mistaken.
Veritas Aequitas
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Re: Objectivity without Objects?

Post by Veritas Aequitas »

I request ChatGPT to give example of Objectivity without Object:
Note the mentioned of Ethical Principles;

ChatGPT [with reservations]
"Putnam's concept of "objectivity without objects" refers to situations where something can be considered objectively true or meaningful, even when there are no tangible physical objects to which the truth or meaning corresponds. Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

Logic and Mathematics: .., logical statements and mathematical concepts often fall into this category. Statements like "If A is true, then B is also true" or mathematical equations like "2 + 2 = 4" are objectively true, but they don't necessarily correspond to physical objects. They are abstract concepts that have objective validity without being tied to specific objects.

Currencies: Currencies can be considered objective without having a direct physical counterpart. The value of a currency is based on economic factors, exchange rates, and people's trust in the currency's stability. Even though you can't touch or see the value of a currency, it's still objectively meaningful within the economic context.

Share Prices: Share prices in a stock exchange can be considered objective without being directly tied to a company's physical assets. The price of a share is influenced by various factors such as company performance, market sentiment, and investor expectations. While it might not directly correspond to the net tangible assets of a company, it still reflects the collective perception of the company's value in the market.

Ethical Principles: Ethical principles like "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" are considered objective by many people, even though they don't have a physical presence. These principles guide human behavior and interactions based on shared moral values, even though they aren't concrete objects.

Laws of Nature: Scientific laws, like the law of gravity, are objective without being physical objects. They describe consistent patterns and relationships in the natural world, and even though you can't see or touch the laws themselves, they have objective significance.

The common thread among these examples is that they demonstrate how concepts, principles, and ideas can hold objective meaning and truth even when they don't correspond to physical objects. This challenges the idea that objectivity always requires a concrete, observable counterpart."
Peter Holmes
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Re: Objectivity without Objects?

Post by Peter Holmes »

I think the premises that Putnam recycles rest on both an etymological fallacy about 'objects', and a demonstrably incorrect correspondence theory of truth - mistaking what we say for the way things are.
Veritas Aequitas
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Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 4:41 am

Re: Objectivity without Objects?

Post by Veritas Aequitas »

Peter Holmes wrote: Wed Aug 23, 2023 8:32 am I think the premises that Putnam recycles rest on both an etymological fallacy about 'objects', and a demonstrably incorrect correspondence theory of truth - mistaking what we say for the way things are.
Note the title of Putnam's book is Ethics without Ontology with the following chapters;
  • PART I
    Ethics without Ontology
    Lecture 1 Ethics without Metaphysics 15
    Lecture 2 A Defense of Conceptual relativity 33
    Lecture 3 Objectivity without Objects 52
    Lecture 4 “Ontology”: An Obituary 71

    PART II
    Enlightenment and Pragmatism
    Lecture 1 The Three Enlightenments 89
    Lecture 2 Skepticism about Enlightenment 109
Note the chapter “Ontology: An Obituary" I don't see Putman "mistaking what we say for the way things are."

Putnam stated,
  • " the metaphysical reasons which are offered for denying the very possibility of objective ethical judgment (as I have argued in a number of places, and briefly argued in this volume as well) would equally imply the impossibility of objective methodological value judgments, and thereby threaten the objectivity of science itself; "
In a way as with the above, Putnam approach is the same as my FSK approach which imply scientific objectivity which reinforces moral objectivity.

There are objectivity without objects [in logic, mathematics, currencies, share prices, laws of nature] in contrast to your claim objectivity must be grounded on a matter of fact which is absolutely mind-independent.
Do you deny this?
Objectivity without objects land support to moral objectivity without things which are absolutely mind-independent.

In your case, you are claiming objectivity based on an illusory object [thing], i.e. the noumenon.

Still waiting for you to counter my following challenge to you;
PH's What is Fact is Illusory
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=39577
PH's Philosophical Realism is Illusory
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=39992
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