Tuesday, February 2, 2010

OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE CLAIMS

Objective claims are ones that can be either proven true or false, they are factual statements. Objective claims do not always have to be true they can be false; as long as they concern factual matters they are objective. Objective claims must use criteria and methods that both exist and are expected by the majority to determine if they are true or false. Subjective claims are statements/claims that express a belief, opinion, value, feelings, judgments or preference that a person or a group may have, they are not factual statements that can be verified. Subjective claims cannot be proven true nor can they be proven false, right or wrong by any general method.
An example of an objective claim that I have recently encountered is from an online news article I read this morning about a bombing that took place in South Carolina and what the authorities had to say about it. The article’s title, “Bomb blows up unoccupied truck in SC neighborhood” is the objective claim. The title is a fact that can be proven through policy records and investigation. There is a general method for determining whether something is a truly a bomb or not. A bomb is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as an explosive device fused to detonate under specified conditions. In addition, the state in which the incident happened can be tested as well as if the truck was unoccupied or not.
An example of a subjective claim that I have recently encountered is from over the weekend when I listened to my dad and brother discussed the 2010 Super Bowl. My brother said, “Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in the NFL right now.” This statement is an opinion; you can’t prove it right or wrong (it’s not a factual statement). There may be people that agree with what my brother said and there also may be people that strongly disagree with what he said. However, even if someone disagrees with his statement he still has a right to say it.

2 comments:

  1. Your definitions for objective claims and subjective claims were really strong. I like how detailed the explanations for the words were because you really distinguished the difference between the two. Both your examples were very clear and concise and helped me understand the concepts a little more. Your example of objective claim was really good and strong because you provided outside information from Merriman-Webster dictionary. Your example for a subjective claim was also very strong. It’s also nice that you related your example to football since the Super Bowl is this Sunday. Your examples were really detailed which helped clarify the points.

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  2. Your post really explains what objective and subjective claims are all about. I like how you go into detail when you explain the two types of claims. You clearly explain the differences between objective and subjective claims. You say that objective claims are factual and that subjective claims are more opinion based. The example you used an objective claim was really good. The title was a proven fact that the bomb blew up the truck and was not an opinion which made the claim objective. Your example of a subjective claim was also good. I hear many people make the subjective claim that Peyton Manning is the best.

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