objectiveadj.n.
/əbˈdʒɛktɪv/, U.S. /əbˈdʒɛktɪv/, /ɑbˈdʒɛktɪv/ A. adj.† II. Senses relating to objection.
I. Senses relating to objects, their function, and perception.† 1. Of or relating to an object. Obsolete. rare.† 2. Theology.† 5. Of a line, point, etc.: belonging to or being an object to be delineated in perspective. Obsolete.
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1490 W. Caxton tr. Eneydos xxvii. 104 The swete balle of the eye..is the verate receptacle interyor of lyght visible and Iuge of the colours by reflection obgectyf.
a. Associated with or considered in relation to its object; material as opposed to formal. Obsolete.
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the world > existence and causation > causation > [adjective] > of or relating to types of cause
nigh1551
next1581
procatarctical1601
procatarctic1603
objective1620
defective1624
univocala1640
proximate1641
propinque1649
proxime1649
proegumene1650
proegumenal1656
con-causal1660
proegumenical1663
propinquate1665
proegumenous1676
synectical1697
proegumenic1711
proximous1724
proximal1828
synectic1869
monocausal1937
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > materialism > [adjective] > of other doctrines and their advocates
objective1620
actualista1875
substantialist1878
activistic1907
activist1908
neo-realistic1909
neo-realist1912
new realist1947
1620 N. Brent tr. P. Sarpi Hist. Councel of Trent viii. 799 [He] added, that, when they were dedicated,..a worship did belong vnto them, besides the adoration due vnto the Saint worshipped in them, calling this adoration Relatiue, and the other Obiectiue [It. obiettiua].
1645 S. Rutherford Tryal & Trivmph of Faith (1845) vii. 85 Christ himself, the objective happiness, is far above a created and formal beatitude, which issueth from him.
a1674 T. Traherne Christian Ethicks (1675) 16 Objective happiness is all the Goodness that is fit to be enjoyed either in God or in his Creatures: while Formal Happiness is an active Enjoyment of all Objects by Contemplation and Love, attended with full Complacency in all their Perfections.
b. Of or relating to the end or purpose as the cause of action (see also objective cause n. at Compounds). Obsolete.
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1626 J. Yates Ibis ad Cæsarem ii. 25 God,..who doth..by a most sweet influence, and not by any coactiue violence, nor yet only by obiectiue allurements,..turne the wils of men at his pleasure.
3. Philosophy.† a. Existing as an object of thought or consciousness as opposed to having a real existence; considered as presented to the mind rather than in terms of inherent qualities. Opposed to subjective adj. 2. Obsolete.For a discussion of the change of meaning between this sense and sense A. 3b, see note at subjective adj. and n.
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the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > metaphysics > ontology > [adjective] > of or relating to entities or existence of entities
objective1645
beënt1865
ontic1907
ontical1942
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > metaphysics > ontology > [adjective] > of or relating to entities or existence of entities > of types of existence
supposital1656
external1667
objective1744
ejective1883
out there1965
1645 J. Arrowsmith Englands Eben-ezer 23 Man of all visible creatures is the onely musician that knows how to play upon this instrument. The rest can prayse God but Objective, by being the objects of mans meditation.
1647 Bp. J. Taylor Θεολογία Ἐκλεκτική 133 This confession was the objective foundation of faith; and Christ and his Apostles, the subjective.
1659 J. Pearson Expos. Apostles Creed ii. 168 In the beginning was the Word; there was must signifie an actuall existence: and if so, why in the next sentence, the Word was with God, shall the same verb signifie an objective being onely?
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Objective..is used in the Schools in speaking of a thing which exists no otherwise than as an Object known. The Esse, or Existence of such thing is said to be Objective.
1744 G. Berkeley Siris (ESTC T72826) §292 Natural phænomena are only natural appearances. They are, therefore, such as we see and perceive them: Their real and objective natures are, therefore, the same.
b. That is or belongs to what is presented to consciousness, as opposed to the consciousness itself; that is the object of perception or thought, as distinct from the subject; (hence) (more widely) external to or independent of the mind.This sense is occasional in writers of the later 17th and early 18th centuries, these early examples being more or less transitional from sense A. 3a. The established use appears to be derived from Kant, occurring rarely in the late 18th cent., and more frequently from the early 19th cent. onwards (see quot. 1817). From the later 19th cent. onwards, this sense extends into more widespread general use, while retaining its specialist use in philosophical contexts.
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the world > existence and causation > existence > extrinsicality or externality > objectivity > [adjective]
utterc900
outerc1380
objectual1606
objective1648
selfless1651
external1667
non-egoistical1842
transgredient1904
1648 J. Cardell Gods Soveraign Power 15 We do not say, That God doth infuse any positive, objective malice, or wickedness into the hearts of men.
1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ iii. i. §3 The Idea may be considered in regard of its Objective Reality, or as it represents some outward object.
1692 T. Taylor Daniel ii. 167 If I can doubt whether that Object is not a Chimera, I cannot suppose it has an Objective Reality, but ought to fear it has an Objective Vanity, if I may be allowed so to speak.
1724 I. Watts Logick ii. ii. §8 Objective certainty, is when the proposition is certainly true in itself; and subjective, when we are certain of the truth of it. The one is in things, the other is in our minds.
1793 Monthly Rev. 11 498 Have the objects..in fact a real objective existence, independent of our mode of perceiving them?
1817 S. T. Coleridge Biographia Literaria I. x. 160 The very words objective and subjective of such constant recurrence in the schools of yore, I have ventured to re-introduce.
1856 T. De Quincey Confessions Eng. Opium-eater (rev. ed.) in Select. Grave & Gay V. 265 ‘Objective’—This word, so nearly unintelligible in 1821, so intensely scholastic, and, consequently, when surrounded by familiar and vernacular words, so apparently pedantic, yet, on the other hand, so indispensable to accurate thinking, and to wide thinking, has since 1821 become too common to need any apology.
1879 F. W. Farrar Life & Work St. Paul I. vi. xx. 372 This [sc. Christ's resurrection] was an historic objective fact.
1891 T. Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles II. xxxi. 138 Their condition was objective, contemplative.
1904 J. London Sea-wolf xxxviii. 357 To that intelligence there could be no objective knowledge of a body.
1952 Mind 61 131 The final outcome of ontically objective values.
1995 Fellowship Catholic Scholars Newslet. Apr. 22/1 For the objective truth generated in the mind by the latter's unconditional acceptance of an extramental reality evident to our sense and to our intellect.
4. attributive. Optics.
a. Designating or relating to the lens or combination of lenses in a refracting telescope, microscope, etc., that is nearest the object to be viewed. Frequently in objective lens. Cf. sense B. 3.
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the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > lens > [adjective] > object-glass
objective1671
1671 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 6 3047 The Eye is always more distant from the Convex Objective Glass, than its point of Concourse.
1719 Philos. Trans. 1717–19 (Royal Soc.) 30 1017 A B is the Object suppos'd at a vast distance from the Ojective [read Objective] Lens L L.
1762 Philos. Trans. 1761 (Royal Soc.) 52 375 The objective-glass of my 9 feet telescope.
1837 C. R. Goring & A. Pritchard Micrographia 154 So far as the objective part of the instrument is concerned.
1866 Sci. Amer. 3 Mar. 152/1 The objective lens of a microscope or telescope.
1922 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 9 p. vii (advt.) Patented solid objective mount, holding lenses in absolute alignment.
1962 Science 20 July 226/2 The cut part was immersed in a small pool of saline solution centered under the objective lens.
1990 Which? May 294/1 Binoculars are described by two numbers, e.g. 8 × 30 or 7 × 50... The second is the diameter, in millimetres, of the objective lens—the lens furthest from your eye.
b. Astronomy. Designating or involving a prism or a diffraction grating that is located in front of the objective of a refracting telescope, and disperses the incident light such that the image of any object is seen as a spectrum, thus enabling the spectra of a group of stars to be recorded in a single photograph. Esp. in objective grating, objective prism, objective spectroscope.
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1893 Proc. Royal Soc. 1892–3 52 326 The chief instrument employed in this work has been a 6-inch refracting telescope in conjunction with—at different times—objective prisms of 7½° and 45° respectively.
1896 Astrophysical Jrnl. 3 61 It is also of interest to consider..the question of the objective grating spectroscope or object glass grating.
1903 London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 6 121 This grating gives good definition at the centre of curvature, but when it was used as an objective spectroscope at Union Springs the definition was greatly impaired.
1964 ISA Trans. 3 223/1 In the objective grating or slitless spectrograph used, the spectrum is a series of curved monochromatic images of the solar limb.
1992 S. P. Maran Astron. & Astrophysics Encycl. 226/1 K-giant stars..are found from sky surveys made with an objective prism.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > perspective > [adjective] > belonging to object delineated
objective1706
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Line Objective (in Perspect.), is the Line of an Object; from whence the Appearance is sought for in the Draught or Picture.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Line Line Objective, in Perspective, is the Line of an Object, from whence the Appearance is sought for in the Draught or Picture.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Plane Objective Plane, in Perspective, is any Plane situate in the horizontal Plane, whose Representation in Perspective is required.
1738 E. Chambers Cycl. (ed. 2) at Perspective To exhibit the Perspective appearance, h, of an objective point, H.
6. That is an object of sensation or thought to a person, faculty, etc. (now rare). Also: Philosophy, †related as object to subject (see object n. 5) (obsolete).
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the world > existence and causation > existence > extrinsicality or externality > objectivity > [adjective] > that is the object of sensation
objective1762
1762 E. Gibbon Misc. Wks. (1814) IV. 148 Operations, which are made objective to sense by the means of speech, gesture and action.
1837 New Monthly Mag. 50 535 The inhabitants of this hostel were seldom ‘objective’ to the garish eye of day.
1841–8 F. Myers Catholic Thoughts II. iv. §13. 251 The Supreme Creator has..so separated Himself from His creation as to make it objective to Himself.
1900 N.E.D. at Intelligible Objective to intellect.
7. Grammar. Expressing, designating, or referring to the object of an action; (spec. of a case) indicating the object of a verb, esp. a transitive active verb, or of a preposition. See object n. 6.Modern standard English distinguishes an objective from a subjective case only in the pronouns me, him, her, us, them, whom, and the archaic thee. The objective case of these words reflects the accusative and dative cases of earlier English. No other pronouns, and no nouns, indicate in their form their use as object. objective compound n. a compound in which one element (in English normally the first) is related to the other as a grammatical object.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > case > [adjective] > accusative
accusative1625
objective1763
accusatival1842
object case1875
1763 R. Lowth Short Introd. Eng. Gram. (ed. 2) 32 A Case, which follows the Verb Active, or the Preposition..answers to the Oblique Cases in Latin; and may be properly enough called the Objective Case.
1795 L. Murray Eng. Gram. 31 The objective case follows the verb active, or the preposition, expressing the object of an action, or of a relation.
1830 N. Amer. Rev. Apr. 559 In the nouns, he admits but of two cases, the nominative and genitive, but in some of the pronouns, three, there being also an objective case, just as in English.
1845 W. E. Jelf Gram. Greek. Lang I. vii. 313 In the objective compounds (a substantive, with or without a preposition or with an adverb, standing in objective relation to the verb), not only do the two words coalesce into one, but the two notions into a new one.
1879 H. J. Roby Gram. Lat. Lang. iv. xi. §1312 [Genitive denoting] Object of action implied in substantives and adjectives. (Objective genitive.)
1881 C. P. Mason Eng. Gram. (ed. 24) §368 When a verb, participle, or gerund denotes an action which is directed towards some object, the word denoting that object stands in the objective relation to the verb, participle, or gerund.
1914 L. Bloomfield Introd. Study Lang. 104 The same objective character of the word is responsible for the inclusion of objects standing in some relation to another object.
1938 Language 14 94 In objective compounds it [sc. the participle] is usually the second member.
1973 Word 1970 26 117 Before Chomsky raised the matter of me and myself, this use of the objective case instead of the reflexive had already been noticed and recorded by Sweet, Jespersen, Krusinga, and others.
1993 Eng. Today Apr. 52/2 Even the highly inflected Modern Icelandic uses one pronoun, sem, for both subjective and objective cases.
8.
a. Of a person or his or her judgement: not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts; impartial, detached. Also (formerly) (now rare): dealing with or laying stress upon that which is external to the mind; concerned with outward things or events rather than inward thoughts or feelings.
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the world > existence and causation > existence > extrinsicality or externality > objectivity > [adjective] > of a person, writing, etc.
objective1838
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > theory of psychoanalysis > libido > transfer of feelings > turning outwards > [adjective] > focusing on externals
objective1838
extrospective1909
allocentric1916
extraspective1925
1838 J. S. Mill in London & Westm. Rev. Aug. 496 An essentially objective people, like those of Northern and Central Italy.
1878 W. E. Gladstone Homer xiii. 153 Of all poets he [sc. Homer] is the most objective, and the least speculative.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. lxxv. 619 To complete the survey of the actualities of party politics by stating in a purely positive, or as the Germans say ‘objective’, way, what the Americans think about..their system.
1899 W. E. H. Lecky Map of Life ii. 8 English character on both sides of the Atlantic is an eminently objective one—a character in which thoughts, interests, and emotions are most habitually thrown on that which is without.
1931 Foreign Affairs (N.Y.) 9 499 A purely objective view of the facts hardly warrants calling the Sandinistas ‘bandits’.
1957 Economist 7 Dec. 867/2 The objective expert inquiry which Mr Eisenhower sought was swamped in the House when the advocates of easy money climbed aboard.
1989 R. Whiting You gotta have Wa (1990) vi. 136 He was too emotionally involved to be objective in his job.
b. Medicine. Designating a sign of disease that can be observed by another, as opposed to a symptom perceived only by the patient.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > symptom > [adjective] > observed by practitioner
objective1877
1877 F. T. Roberts Handbk. Med. (ed. 3) I. 19 The actual clinical phenomena observed, especially those of an objective character.
1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 871 He manifests the subjective and objective signs of valvular disease.
1980 Lancet 19 Jan. 121/1 No participant had any subjective or objective signs of cardiovascular or cerebrovascular distress.
1991 Pulse 6 Apr. 41 In sensory testing the most important and objective sign [of multiple sclerosis] is due to lack of proprioception.
9. Characterized by objecting; that states objections (cf. objectively adv. 1). Obsolete.
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the mind > language > statement > objection > [adjective] > of the nature of or characterized by
objectional1651
objective1814
1814 W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. 38 34 Let us examine Mr. Pilgrim's objective argument.
1833 H. Martineau Brooke & Brooke Farm (ed. 3) i. 14 ‘And what says Sergeant Rayne?’ ‘He too is of the objective school, sir’ ‘And were his objections listened to?’
B. n.
1. A thing or class of things external to or independent of the mind; an object of conscious thought; that which is objective (sense A. 3b).
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the world > existence and causation > existence > extrinsicality or externality > objectivity > [noun] > object or that which is outside the self
object1651
objective1817
otherness1821
unself1822
non-ego1829
not-self1829
outsetting1880
1817 S. T. Coleridge Biogr. Lit. I. xii. 255 During the act of knowledge itself, the objective and subjective are so instantly united, that we cannot determine to which of the two the priority belongs.
1841 Penny Cycl. XIX. 323/2 Schelling defines reason to be the identity of the subjective and the objective... God and reason are essentially of the same nature; they are identical.
1847 J. D. Morell Hist. View Philos. (ed. 2) II. v. 105 The idea of the objective arises from the self-limitation of our own free activity.
1884 Christian Commonw. 20 Mar. 536/2 The value and attraction of the externals and objectives.
1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage l. 254 It judges objectively, but the objective doesn't concern the artist.
1935 Mind 44 48 The last phrase suggests a less positive stand in regard to the non-inferential apprehension of the objective.
1991 M. Young Inside Job 63 To weld the subjective with the objective, my personal anthropology includes material culled from various observational and ranked positions within the institution of policing and from across the years.
2. Grammar. The objective case (see sense A. 7); a word in this case.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > case > [noun] > accusative
accusativec1400
accusative casec1400
objective1827
object case1875
1827 N. Amer. Rev. Oct. 452 The nominative and objective are..amalgamated. Inasmuch as they both are names of a thing, it is not thought fair, that the nominative alone should have the benefit of this circumstance in its title.
1858 G. Bush Notes Crit. & Pract. Bk. Numbers 190/2 The original presents the peculiar usage of two objectives or accusatives under the regimen of one verb.
1881 C. P. Mason Eng. Gram. (ed. 24) §80 (note) The fact that pronouns still distinguish the Objective from the Nominative..compels us to recognize three cases in English.
1904 H. Bradley Making of Eng. II. 47 Our modern ‘objectives’, him, her, 'em, represent the Old English datives him, hire, heom.
1991 Extropy 3 i. 35/1 Ne, the singular form of a genderless third-person pronoun which refers to a person who is of neither sex... Objective nem, possessive nes.
3. Optics. The lens or combination of lenses in a telescope, compound microscope, etc., that is nearest the object to be viewed; the object lens. Also: this together with its mount and any associated parts. Cf. sense A. 4.
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the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > lens > [noun] > object glass
object-glass1663
object plate1664
object lens1693
objective1835
Stanhoscope1866
projection lens1894
1835 J. Lindley Introd. Bot. (1848) I. 17 I commonly make use, in important investigations, of the three strongest of Plössl's objectives.
1879 S. Newcomb & E. S. Holden Astron. for Schools & Coll. 61 The construction of the achromatic objective.
1889 Nature 31 Oct. 648 An objective which can be adjusted to work as either a photographic or visual objective.
1922 L. Bell Telescope iv. 85 In cases of demand for extreme relative aperture, objectives composed of four cemented elements have now and then been produced.
1955 J. B. Sidgwick Amateur Astron. Handbk. (1958) xiii. 222 The colour corrections of different objectives..vary between certain accepted limits, while still rating as good.
1991 Lancet 9 Mar. 625/2 This fluorescent objective screws into the turret of any light microscope, and with an adaptor it becomes parfocal with the other objectives on the microscope.
4.
a. Military. The point towards which the advance of troops is directed; a military target. Cf. objective point n. (a) at Compounds.
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the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > end, purpose, or object
willeOE
errand?c1225
purposec1300
endc1305
emprisec1330
intentc1340
use1340
conclusionc1374
studya1382
pointc1385
causec1386
gamea1393
term?c1400
businessc1405
finec1405
intentionc1410
object?a1425
obtent?a1475
drift1526
intend1526
respect1528
flight1530
finality?1541
stop1551
scope1559
butt?1571
bent1579
aiming point1587
pursuitc1592
aim1595
devotion1597
meaning1605
maina1610
attempt1610
design1615
purport1616
terminusa1617
intendment1635
pretence1649
ettle1790
big (also great) idea1846
objective1878
objective1882
the name of the game1910
the object of the exercise1958
thrust1968
1878 J. B. Wheeler Course Elements Art & Sci. War iii. 33 The topographical features of the country through which the army must move to reach the objective.
1882 Standard 14 July The objective must be Cairo,..the most useful strategical point.
1930 S. Sassoon Mem. Infantry Officer iv. 61 Rose Trench..and Willow Avenue, were among the first objectives in our sector [of the Somme attack].
1978 R. V. Jones Most Secret War (1979) I. xxii. 245 The former would result in increased precision, so that it would be possible to attack selected objectives, such as oil plants.
b. gen. A thing aimed at or sought; a target, goal, or end.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > end, purpose, or object
willeOE
errand?c1225
purposec1300
endc1305
emprisec1330
intentc1340
use1340
conclusionc1374
studya1382
pointc1385
causec1386
gamea1393
term?c1400
businessc1405
finec1405
intentionc1410
object?a1425
obtent?a1475
drift1526
intend1526
respect1528
flight1530
finality?1541
stop1551
scope1559
butt?1571
bent1579
aiming point1587
pursuitc1592
aim1595
devotion1597
meaning1605
maina1610
attempt1610
design1615
purport1616
terminusa1617
intendment1635
pretence1649
ettle1790
big (also great) idea1846
objective1878
objective1882
the name of the game1910
the object of the exercise1958
thrust1968
1882 Times 10 Feb. Servian Railways..have been for years past the objective of innumerable financial attempts.
1894 Dublin Rev. Apr. 391 The king had for his objective the divorce, and contingently the religious policy..subsequently engrafted upon it.
a1911 D. G. Phillips Susan Lenox (1917) II. xxiii. 519 He was the sort of man who must have an objective.
1937 W. Lippmann Good Society ii. vi. 94 There is a specific purpose to be achieved..and to this concrete objective all other needs must conform.
1990 Times Educ. Suppl. 15 June a. 17/3 There is no question about our objective that all pupils should study literature written in English from other countries and cultures.
Compounds
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > ancient Greek philosophy > post-Socratic philosophy > [noun] > Aristotelianism > elements of
material cause1393
matterc1395
matter subjecta1398
predicamenta1425
quality?1537
first substance1551
predicable1551
property1551
proprium1551
transcendent1581
final cause1587
category1588
habit1588
ante-predicament?1596
postpredicament1599
entelechy1603
transumption1628
secondary1656
objective cause1668
transcendental1668
general substance1697
third man1801
thought-form1834
posterioristic universal1902
ousia1917
1668 J. Howe Blessednesse of Righteous v. 68 Its causality it is that of an objective cause..that operates onely as it is apprehended.
1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. iii. 170 Aristotle's First Mover, is not properly the Efficient, but only the Final and Objective Cause, of the Heavenly Motions.
1888 Dict. National Biogr. XVI. 217/2 A figment has nothing corresponding to it in the objective world, and this the universal has, viz. a cause moving the mind to the formation of the concept. This objective cause is likeness.
objective complement n. Grammar = object complement n. at object n. Compounds 2.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > syntactic unit or constituent > [noun] > complement > specific
objective complement1870
object complement1898
recipient1899
1870 C. P. Mason Eng. Gram. (ed. 14) 127 When the verb is transitive, and in the active voice, the complement of the predicate stands in the attributive relation to the object of the verb; as, ‘He dyed the cloth red.’.. This kind of complement may be termed the Objective Complement, inasmuch as it is closely connected with the object of the verb.
1945 M. M. Bryant Functional Eng. Gram. xii. 132 In the sentence ‘The frost turned the leaves red’, the objective complement is of a somewhat different nature, since here the word red is an adjective rather than a noun.
2000 Independent (Nexis) 9 Nov. They have to memorise long passages explaining the difference between ‘direct objective complements’ and ‘indirect objective complements’.
objective function n. Mathematics (in linear programming) the function that it is desired to maximize or minimize.
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the world > relative properties > number > algebra > [noun] > expression > function
function1758
exponential1784
potential function1828
syzygy1850
permutant1852
Green function1863
theta-function1871
Greenian1876
Gudermannian1876
discriminoid1877
Weierstrassian function1878
gradient1887
beta function1888
distribution function1889
Riemann zeta function1899
Airy integral1903
Poisson bracket1904
Stirling approximation1908
functional1915
metric1921
Fourier transform1923
recursive function1934
utility function1934
Airy function1939
transfer function1948
objective function1949
restriction1949
multifunction1954
restriction mapping1956
scalar function1956
Langevin function1960
mass function1961
1949 Econometrica 17 207 The optimum feasible program is that feasible program which maximizes a specified linear objective function.
1958 V. Riley & S. I. Gass Linear Programming i. 5 The linear-programming problem has a linear function of the variables to aid in choosing a solution to the problem. This linear combination of the variables, called the objective function, must be optimized by the selected solution.
1991 C. Tomkins Corporate Resource Allocation (BNC) 166 Examination of the model shows that managers are asked to form an objective function with numerical weights attached to critical success factors.
objective idealism n. [after German objektiver Idealismus (1800 or earlier as †objectiver Idealismus)] any of various forms of idealism according to which the objects of knowledge are constituted not by the individual knower but by a universal, absolute, or transcendent mind; spec. a form of idealism associated with Friedrich Schelling (1775–1854).
ΚΠ
1839 Princeton Rev. Jan. 58 It is said by the Hegelians, that in contradistinction from that of Fichte, which was a subjective idealism, and from that of Schelling, which was an objective idealism, the scheme of Hegel takes the true position as an absolute idealism.
1868 J. H. Stirling in tr. A. Schwegler Handbk. Hist. Philos. (ed. 2) 420 Then Schelling, who gave to the object an equal basis beside the subject, but still under an idealistic point of view, is said to have given rise to the objective idealism.
2002 I. Niiniluoto Crit. Sci. Realism ii. 22 In objective idealism, there is a superhuman and all-embracing ‘objective mind’ outside and above the subjective finite human minds... Objective idealism is represented by the omnipotent and spiritual God of many religions, Plato's ideas, Plotinos' One, Spinoza's substance, and Hegel's absolute spirit.
objective point n. (a) Military = sense B. 4a; (b) (in general use) a place or goal aimed at (rare).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > attack > [noun] > object of attack
target1756
objective point1846
civilian target1915
1846 United Service Mag. Apr. 572 In the operations of modern war, the capital, the centre of power, is naturally the objective point of an invader.
1865 Spectator 4 Feb. 117 No light as to his next ‘objective point’, as the slang phrase goes, has yet been gained.
1890 Times 27 Dec. 9/1 When the railway is extended to Mafeking, the objective point in Mashona-land is still 800 miles from the base.
1917 E. R. Burroughs Princess of Mars viii. 74 It seems that each green warrior has certain objective points for his fire under relatively identical circumstances of warfare.
objective reference n. Philosophy reference to an object; the property of a mental act or state in virtue of which it is related to a state of affairs in the external world.
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1863 Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. 12 551 So far as the categories are the representatives of ideas that we have received, they belong to our Motivity, and therefore have an objective reference as to their origin.
1882 Mind 7 274 What induced me to give my subjective sequence of perceptions an objective reference?
1921 B. Russell Anal. of Mind xiii. 272 The objective reference of a belief is not determined by the fact alone, but by the direction of the belief towards or away from the fact.
1956 G. Ryle in A. J. Ayer Revol. in Philos. 7 Both [Frege and Bradley] saw that it is..intrinsic to a thought to be true or false, or to have ‘objective reference’.
1998 Proc. Amer. Philos. Assoc. 72 75 Trust in the objective reference of judgments made using these systems is warranted in so far as we agree each with ourselves in these judgments: if p then p.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1490