Foreword to ‘Objects of Objectivity’

Taylor and Francis Ltd SEP_Foreword.sgm 10.1080/ 0 00-0 00 (pri t)/0000-0000 (online) Original Article 2 4 & Francis Ltd 8 002004 Objectivity has fruitfully been explored in last two decades, manifested by the many studies on ‘objectivity’ in various scientific disciplines. Due to the variety of contexts studied, the focus on where claims of objectivity can be found varies in each case: canon, experiment, expertise, formalism, instrument, measurement, method, procedure, standard, technology, testing, etc., etc. In other words, each discipline seems to define its own ‘object of objectivity’. This diversity is not merely an academic elaboration. Knowledge is becoming ever more important in economy, polity, and society. Legitimacy of various styles of governance involves expectations about the objectivity of the information on which policy decisions are made, which in turn can mean lack of bias of expertise, independence of the source of the information, rigor of the analytical methods used, and disinterestedness of the expert. Activities such as large-scale metaanalysis, evidence-based policy and the role of science as ‘motor’ or resource of the knowledge economy may imply very different notions of objectivity. Besides this diversity of objects, the terms in which ‘objectivity’ is discussed reflect the same kind of diversity: accountability, accuracy, assessment, authority, boundaries, coalition, elasticity, engagement, expertise, governance, legitimacy, precision, regime, regulation, reliability, representation, rhetoric, robustness, situatedness, transparency, truth, validity, etc. And besides this diversity, the literature on objectivity witnessed a shift from a predominant focus on objectivity discussed in terms of the subjectivityobjectivity pole, to a broader palette of perspectives. This increasing interest in objects of objectivity parallels recent developments in philosophy of science. From a traditional emphasis on theories, current philosophers shifted their focus to ‘mediators’ between theories and the world: instruments, experiments and technology. Due to this shift from theories to scientific practice, studies on objectivity have moved from assessments of theories towards studies of the construction of objects and objectivity.