OBJECTIVE KNOWLEDGE: CHARACTERISTICS AND CONCEPTS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The objective knowledge is one part of logic and is associated with the knowledge of reality. It is disconnected from subjectivity, so it does not take into account individual emotions, sensations or mental processes. For example, that the planets revolve around the sun is objective knowledge.

Objective knowledge is sometimes defined as an element that arises from the judgment in which experiences are articulated. Philosophically, it is linked to the conception of truth.

It is also a fundamental part of the scientific processes that seek “objective truth” as a form of maximum approach to reality that allows it to establish laws that explain the essential functioning of life.

Objective knowledge is open to levels of doubt and makes judgments that are not influenced by external factors. Objectivity is often associated with neutrality as well.

For its part, within the field of science, obtaining objective knowledge is the goal. This is seen as the most reliable knowledge of reality.

Characteristics of objective knowledge

Objective knowledge leans toward the search for evidence

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In the ideas of Karl Popper, an influential 20th century philosopher, objective knowledge is formed by the logic existing within our known theories. Well-known publications, books, magazines, discussions, and debates allow these same theories to be augmented or changed.

In this way, people can guide themselves with the purpose of increasing knowledge but not from personal experiences, but through all possible interventions that approach the validation of a theory. That is, objective knowledge is also achieved by a general consensus among people over time.

This is how objective knowledge is not related to the beliefs, feelings or actions of the subjects. "Knowledge in the objective sense is knowledge without a knower." Some of the main characteristics of objective knowledge are:

- You have immediate access to reality. It obtains knowledge of the environment directly from the objects that are placed in it.

- The truth within objective knowledge is external and independent of the subjective perception of people.

- Objective knowledge has a tendency towards judgment in order to give conceptual form to human experiences and adopt a position with respect to a formulated theory.

- The evidence collected by scientific knowledge is empirical, and is based on practice, experimentation and observation of phenomena and facts. Objective knowledge, for example, is related to scientific knowledge since both make use of the elaboration of theories.

Differences between objective and subjective knowledge

Subjective knowledge:

- It comes from mental processes related to the experience, emotions and individual perceptions of people.

- It is not open to doubt. Own and private knowledge is not oriented to the search for evidence since it is not possible to find it within what is captured or perceived individually.

- It has to do with what a person thinks they know about an event.

- Subjective knowledge cannot be shared by other individuals, since it comes from a particular perception that is not applicable outside of the person who experiences it.

- Within a scientific view, subjective knowledge is inaccurate, false, unscientific, and rejectable.

The objective knowledge:

Objective knowledge seeks to increase knowledge through the validation of theories

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- It is independent of any subjective process of people. It is generated through the act of judging, in which a conceptual form of ideas is created, a postulation of theories.

- It is related to the doubt. It is necessary to search for evidence.

- It can be shared and in turn work in different contexts for different groups of people. For example, in the world of science, mathematical laws can be applied in any context of the world and work in the same way.

- In the scientific view, objective knowledge is accurate, true, scientific and acceptable

Examples of objective knowledge

Objective knowledge is related to what can be seen and reproduced in reality. It also uses hard facts that are widely accepted by people, a consensus that has been built over time.

It has to do with what is currently known about a thing, but not with what is intended or believed to know. Some examples of what could be objective knowledge are:

- The height of an object. It is a verifiable factor that can be observed and even evidenced in reality.

For example, it can be stated that the Eiffel Tower measures 324 meters from its base to the top. However, it can also be said that it is "quite high", but this would no longer be part of an objective knowledge but of a subjective perception.

-Scientific experiments. The scientific method is based on the basis of objective knowledge, which is observable.

It is known that the temperature at which water boils is 100 ° C, for example, and it is a fact that, once scientifically experienced, has been proven over time, obtaining the same results and becoming objective knowledge.

- The location. Data about where a place is located, be it from a park or restaurant to a city or country, is considered objective knowledge.

In this way, for example, it can be affirmed that the White House, where the president of the United States lives, is located in Washington DC, the capital.

- The dates. In many documents you can see the dates on which the events occur. These data are also part of objective knowledge. Thus, for example, in birth certificates, a person's date of birth is considered a type of objective knowledge, because it is a recorded fact that does not depend on subjective perception.

- The weight. It is another aspect within the measurement units that is related to objective knowledge. The weight of an object is a factor that can be determined and highlighted by means of a scale.

For example, 1 kilogram of flour and 1 kilogram of lead have the same weight, however, their appearance in size and shape can be very different. From an objective point of view, both weigh the same when measured by a scale, however, subjectively someone could affirm at first glance that one is heavier than the other.

Themes of interest

Types of knowledge.

Subjective knowledge

Vulgar knowledge.

Rational knowledge.

Technical knowledge.

Intuitive knowledge.

Direct knowledge.

Intellectual knowledge.

Empirical knowledge.

References

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