Subjectivism

Subjectivism advocates that the reality of objects depends completely on the observer’s consciousness of their being. Subjectivists generally argue this by focusing on the concept of reality by highlighting its fluid, not immutable, nature. Therefore, it suggests that reality can be altered based on the observer's perspective, resulting in multiple versions of reality. A branch of Subjectivism is Ethical Subjectivism. How Ethical Subjectivism differs from the former is essentially that it deals with morality and ethical dilemmas of an individual. It claims that statements passed by a person about a matter of moral conscience are solely that person’s views about the matter. For example, if Person X vehemently claims “Theft is unprincipled”, that does not make the act of stealing universally amoral nor is this claim mandatory for everyone to accept. However, what this does tell us about the said person (Person X) is that in their opinion stealing is nefarious and it may be wrong for them. Ethical Subjectivism is similar to Moral Relativism but the main distinguishing feature is that the former claims that morality is relative to the individual while the latter claims morality is relative to the culture one is brought up in. One of the problems with subjectivism is its failure to address how punishments can be established for behaviors that warrant reprimand if everything is relative to individual opinions. The 'Key Philosophers' section includes those who are part of both the metaphysical and moral subjectivism.