@Erimitus Said 
---------------------------
Eagle: Why is objectivity instantly of more value than subjectivity?
E: In science objectivity is important.
Eagle: …in some cases [Bias’ are] necessarily built in to the human mind for defense and should remain so.
E: I do not know. Are you saying that bias’ are inherent?
E: How are we defining bias?
________________________________________
Eagle: You mention vestigial biases in another post above, I'm not sure I know what you mean by those,
E: Biases change. Some biases remain after they no longer serve any purpose.
________________________________________
Eagle: I believe biases are at least in part a product of personal experience.
E: I do not know. I have been thinking of biases as learned and had not considered the possibility of genetic bias.
________________________________________
Eagle: Sometimes [Biases] lead to things like racism
E: Possibly primitive society (i.e., tribal unit) competing with another tribal unit for limited resources would be xenophobic. I am not sure what the origin of racism is but have been thinking of it as a learned cultural bias.
E: I can see that distrust of that which is foreign could be genetic but I am still skeptical.
Eagle: sometimes [biases] lead to things like a young woman avoiding a suspicious looking, much larger and stronger man who she does not know. That sort of bias is beneficial to her.
E: yes
Eage: She does not objectively know the man's character or anything about his history, but does that matter in her case if she sees him on a dark street with no one else around?
E: assessment of another’s character is subjective. Man is objective. Large is relative, based on experience and subjective. Fear of large men (as I understand it) is learned.
Eagle: Does objectivity count as much [when encountering a threat]?
E: yes
Eagle: Maybe I am taking the question in a direction you didn't intend and if so...ignore me.
E: we go where it takes us….
I need a refresher in reading comprehension. I had failed to notice this was in the science forum and have grown used to you posting in the philosophy forum. If there was a need for demonstration of biases and a lack of objectivity leading to error, at the very least I have served a useful purpose in that vein.
When I referred to an inherent bias, what I really meant was the biases we form based on our experience serving the instinct to survive. Humans are tribal animals and I believe that to be instinctual and a part of our biological nature, the same as altruism can ultimately be claimed to be based in our biology. Those tendencies toward tribalism and altruism (the sacrifice of ourselves for the sake of our progeny) can manifest in biases we have about others.
@chaski Said
With the exception of some extreme survival situations, it (IMO) is better for the adult to be rational and objective.
Subjective action based on a personal history of objective thought....once one has
learned, one's response is no longer objective, but rather subjective based on the previously gathered objective
data.
Or something like that.
Isn't it possible to be rational and subjective?
The woman who crosses the dark street to avoid interacting with a perceived threat (the large, suspicious looking man) is acting both out of subjective observation and in a way that many (myself included) would call rational. It is completely reasonable for her to do so. I would certainly ascribe that action to a survival instinct, but I wouldn't call it an extreme one.
Jan 22, 2018 @ 19:15:10
Moderator
