AnalPhilosopher

Michael Kinsley confuses objectivity (which contrasts with subjectivity) and impartiality (which contrasts with partiality). Umpires in baseball aren't supposed to be objective. They're supposed to be impartial. They're supposed to prevent their personal preferences (if any) from influencing their calls. Judges are supposed to be impartial. They must not take sides in the cases they hear. Why is this such a hard concept to grasp? The idea is not that umpires and judges lack preferences, opinions, or values. It's that they're to keep their preferences, opinions, and values from influencing their judgments. Journalists are supposed to be impartial in this sense. Nobody expects journalists not to have opinions. We expect them to keep their opinions out of their news stories. It may be difficult to do this, but it's not impossible. The stronger your opinion on the matter at hand, the harder you have to work to keep it from coloring your description or analysis.