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Can someone explain Objectivism to me?

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I know that it touches up on subjective/objective truths, etc. but can you please provide some specific/simple examples of what Objectivism is? Also, how do I distinguish if something is an opinion, or a fact?

If I say, "my favorite color is blue" is that fact or opinion? But if I were to say "The best color in the world is blue", would that produce the same result as the former?

Also, what's the difference between the metaphysical philosophy of Objectivism, or the one proposed by Ann Rand?

@Diogenes phil,

Diogenes;161795 wrote:

I know that it touches up on subjective/objective truths, etc. but can you please provide some specific/simple examples of what Objectivism is? Also, how do I distinguish if something is an opinion, or a fact?

If I say, "my favorite color is blue" is that fact or opinion?

One view of objectivism is that an objective statement is one that is either true or false independently of what anyone believes is true or false.

That your favorite color is blue is, if it is true, a fact. But that does not mean it is not also an opinion, since you may also believe that your favorite color is blue. In that case it would be not only be your opinion, but if your favorite color was blue, it would also be a fact. A person can have an opinion (or a belief) and that opinion or belief, can be either true or false, depending on the facts of the matter.

I may say, "my favorite color is blue". In which case, I am expressing my opinion about blue. But, it may also be true that my favorite color is, in fact, blue, in which case I am expressing a true opinion.

There is something else, too. There is a difference between something being an opinion, and its being "only an opinion". If I say, that blue is the nicest color, but add, "of course, that is only my opinion", I am saying that is only what I happen to think, but that I don't expect anyone else to think that. That is the force of the term, "only" in the phrase, "only my opinion". When I say that something is "only my opinion" I am thereby saying that what is only my opinion is a subjective expression of my feelings or attitude, and that "there is no fact of the matter" There is no question of truth or falsity about it.

i am sorry it turns out to be so complicated. I wish I could put it more simply. I really do.

@Diogenes phil,

Diogenes;161795 wrote:

I know that it touches up on subjective/objective truths, etc. but can you please provide some specific/simple examples of what Objectivism is? Also, how do I distinguish if something is an opinion, or a fact?

If I say, "my favorite color is blue" is that fact or opinion? But if I were to say "The best color in the world is blue", would that produce the same result as the former?

Also, what's the difference between the metaphysical philosophy of Objectivism, or the one proposed by Ann Rand?

Sorry im no educated philosopher so I can only give you a subjective view of objectivity. The colour blue is not the best colour in the world. That is not enough information for you decide if its subjective or objective...
I would say being objective, defines a view that is generally accepted without prejudice. Sorry but thats my best shot but I am open to debate.

@Diogenes phil,

Diogenes;161795 wrote:

I know that it touches up on subjective/objective truths, etc. but can you please provide some specific/simple examples of what Objectivism is? Also, how do I distinguish if something is an opinion, or a fact?

If I say, "my favorite color is blue" is that fact or opinion? But if I were to say "The best color in the world is blue", would that produce the same result as the former?

Also, what's the difference between the metaphysical philosophy of Objectivism, or the one proposed by Ann Rand?

Well, you are actually asking some tough questions. The debate still rages about the difference between opinion and fact. Also the nature of the objective is still debated. I suggest viewing philosophy as a collision of contrary opinions about questions of objectivity, opinion, fact, etc.

I do have certain opinions, but I'm not going to drown you in them. I can only say that there is no shortcut. No easy answer.

As to Ayn Rand, I did study her once. She wanted to call her system "Existentialism" but that was already taken. In my opinion, she is a mixture of the great and the utterly absurd. She does come more from an objective point of view, but she especially focuses on ethics and politics, in the end. The rest of her philosophy seems to follow from that, despite protestations to the contrary. She's a hard core capitalistic individualist and yet surprisingly righteous despite this intense individualism. This is what makes her system questionable. She recommends a atheistic individualism and yet also a rigidly just and fair environment of competition and self-development. It has a certain poetry, but seems unrealistic. Why should selfish atheists obey the rules if they can get away with profitably breaking them? This is a bit of a digression, but it's some dirt on Rand.

@Diogenes phil,

Diogenes;161795 wrote:

I know that it touches up on subjective/objective truths, etc. but can you please provide some specific/simple examples of what Objectivism is? Also, how do I distinguish if something is an opinion, or a fact?

If I say, "my favorite color is blue" is that fact or opinion? But if I were to say "The best color in the world is blue", would that produce the same result as the former?

Also, what's the difference between the metaphysical philosophy of Objectivism, or the one proposed by Ann Rand?

kennethamy responded to the first part (seemingly before you edited your post to add the stuff about Rand), so I will respond only to the part he did not quote.

The difference between them is that the first is a generic sort of position (explained by kennethamy, and at your link), and Rand has a specific brand of the stuff in which she claims that various things are objective. In other words, one can be an objectivist in the first sense without being an Objectivist of Rand's type. The first does not directly entail being a capitalist or any other political position, nor does it entail any particular ethical position. Rand's "Objectivism" is a position that includes being an objectivist in the first sense of the term, but it also has quite a bit of other stuff that many other objectivists regard as false.

@Pyrrho,

Pyrrho;162555 wrote:

kennethamy responded to the first part (seemingly before you edited your post to add the stuff about Rand), so I will respond only to the part he did not quote.

The difference between them is that the first is a generic sort of position (explained by kennethamy, and at your link), and Rand has a specific brand of the stuff in which she claims that various things are objective. In other words, one can be an objectivist in the first sense without being an Objectivist of Rand's type. The first does not directly entail being a capitalist or any other political position, nor does it entail any particular ethical position. Rand's "Objectivism" is a position that includes being an objectivist in the first sense of the term, but it also has quite a bit of other stuff that many other objectivists regard as false.

Oh, I was not replying to the question, what is the philosophy called, "Objectivism" which is primarily identified with Ayn Rand. If that was what was being asked, I did not realize it . Sorry.

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