Difference Between Objective and Subjective

Main Difference – Objective vs Subjective

Subjective and objective are two adjectives that often describe views, information, and arguments. Subjective implies that something biased, or influenced by personal feelings and opinions. Objective is the opposite of subjective; it means that something is not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts. This is the main difference between objective and subjective. This difference between objective and subjective is similar to that of fact and opinion; facts are objective and opinions are subjective. It is very important to discern the difference between objective and subjective when you are acquiring new information; knowing the difference between these two may also help you to understand the difference between truth and falsehood. Let’s see in depth, what is objective, what is subjective, what is the difference between objective and subjective, and how knowing this difference help us.

Objective – Meaning and Usage

Objective information, argument, views, etc. are unbiased and are always based on facts. They are not colored by personal feelings, opinions or tastes. They can be verified by proof and evidence. Objective information is measurable and factual. They can also be described as facts.

Objective information can be found in textbooks, news reporting, encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc. When a person is making a judgment or a decision, he is supposed to be objective and unbiased. An objective viewpoint is also required in technical and academic writing. When an author is being objective, he is merely stating facts and observations; he cannot usually insert his own comments and opinions. However, the author can introduce his own theories, if he can back them with facts.

Subjective – Meaning and Usage

Subjective is the opposite of objective. Subjective information and views are always influenced by personal experience, feelings, and opinions. Moreover, they cannot be verified by concrete evidence. Although they may be based on reality, they reflect the attitudes and perspectives of the writer or speaker.

Subjective information can be found in editorials, feature articles, biographies, and other fictions. An individual’s opinion is naturally subjective. Being subjective is appreciated when appreciating literature. You cannot appreciate and properly critique a piece of literature without being subjective. It is because of this subjectivity that different people have different views on the same piece of literature.

Objective vs Subjective – Examples

“More than 40% of the oil was exported from Middle Eastern countries such as Algeria, Iraq, Libya, and Angola, former Soviet states such as Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, and Nigeria and Angola in Africa.” – (The Guardian)

The above excerpt contains facts; it is unbiased and can be verified by concrete evidence. Therefore, this information is objective.

“Every time a black person is killed and nothing is done about it or there are no repercussions, rather, that come out of it, or whenever children are witnessing this in their family as well and just seeing that trauma, they are being told: ‘Black lives do not matter.” – (Times)

This excerpt reflects the opinion of the author. Although the information may be based on reality, this opinion is influenced by her experience and ideas. Since this is an opinion, this cannot be verified by concrete evidence. Therefore, it is subjective.

“A 600-pound woman has given birth to a 40-pound baby at Perth’s King Edward Memorial Hospital, a record-breaking weight that could possibly make the newborn the largest baby ever born.” – (World News Daily Report)

The underlined section contains factual information and therefore can be termed as objective, but the second part of the section contains the opinion of the author. The phrase ‘could possibly make’ implies that the author is not sure about the facts. Thus, it can be taken as subjective information.