objective
    adj 1: undistorted by emotion or personal bias; based on
           observable phenomena; "an objective appraisal";
           "objective evidence" [syn: objective, nonsubjective]
           [ant: subjective]
    2: serving as or indicating the object of a verb or of certain
       prepositions and used for certain other purposes; "objective
       case"; "accusative endings" [syn: objective, accusative]
    3: emphasizing or expressing things as perceived without
       distortion of personal feelings, insertion of fictional
       matter, or interpretation; "objective art" [syn: objective,
       documentary]
    4: belonging to immediate experience of actual things or events;
       "objective benefits"; "an objective example"; "there is no
       objective evidence of anything of the kind"
    n 1: the goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to
         be attainable); "the sole object of her trip was to see her
         children" [syn: aim, object, objective, target]
    2: the lens or system of lenses in a telescope or microscope
       that is nearest the object being viewed [syn: objective,
       objective lens, object lens, object glass]

Object \Ob"ject\ ([o^]b"j[e^]kt), n. [L. objectus. See Object,
   v. t.]
   1. That which is put, or which may be regarded as put, in the
      way of some of the senses; something visible or tangible
      and persists for an appreciable time; as, he observed an
      object in the distance; all the objects in sight; he
      touched a strange object in the dark.
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   2. Anything which is set, or which may be regarded as set,
      before the mind so as to be apprehended or known; that of
      which the mind by any of its activities takes cognizance,
      whether a thing external in space or a conception formed
      by the mind itself; as, an object of knowledge, wonder,
      fear, thought, study, etc.
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            Object is a term for that about which the knowing
            subject is conversant; what the schoolmen have
            styled the "materia circa quam."      --Sir. W.
                                                  Hamilton.
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            The object of their bitterest hatred. --Macaulay.
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   3. That toward which the mind, or any of its activities, is
      directed; that on which the purpose are fixed as the end
      of action or effort; that which is sought for; goal; end;
      aim; motive; final cause.
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            Object, beside its proper signification, came to be
            abusively applied to denote motive, end, final cause
            . . . . This innovation was probably borrowed from
            the French.                           --Sir. W.
                                                  Hamilton.
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            Let our object be, our country, our whole country,
            and nothing but our country.          --D. Webster.
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   4. Sight; show; appearance; aspect. [Obs.] --Shak.
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            He, advancing close
            Up to the lake, past all the rest, arose
            In glorious object.                   --Chapman.
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   5. (Gram.) A word, phrase, or clause toward which an action
      is directed, or is considered to be directed; as, the
      object of a transitive verb.
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   6. (Computers) Any set of data that is or can be manipulated
      or referenced by a computer program as a single entity; --
      the term may be used broadly, to include files, images
      (such as icons on the screen), or small data structures.
      More narrowly, anything defined as an object within an
      object-oriented programming language.
      [PJC]

   7. (Ontology) Anything which exists and which has attributes;
      distinguished from attributes, processes, and
      relations.
      [PJC]

   Object glass, the lens, or system of lenses, placed at the
      end of a telescope, microscope, etc., which is toward the
      object. Its function is to form an image of the object,
      which is then viewed by the eyepiece. Called also
      objective or objective lens. See Illust. of
      Microscope.

   Object lesson, a lesson in which object teaching is made
      use of.

   Object staff. (Leveling) Same as Leveling staff.

   Object teaching, a method of instruction, in which
      illustrative objects are employed, each new word or idea
      being accompanied by a representation of that which it
      signifies; -- used especially in the kindergarten, for
      young children.
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Objective \Ob*jec"tive\ ([o^]b*j[e^]k"t[i^]v), a. [Cf. F.
   objectif.]
   1. Of or pertaining to an object.
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   2. (Metaph.) Of or pertaining to an object; contained in, or
      having the nature or position of, an object; outward;
      external; extrinsic; -- an epithet applied to whatever is
      exterior to the mind, or which is simply an object of
      thought or feeling, as opposed to being related to
      thoughts of feelings, and opposed to subjective.
      [1913 Webster +PJC]

            In the Middle Ages, subject meant substance, and has
            this sense in Descartes and Spinoza: sometimes,
            also, in Reid. Subjective is used by William of
            Occam to denote that which exists independent of
            mind; objective, what is formed by the mind. This
            shows what is meant by realitas objectiva in
            Descartes. Kant and Fichte have inverted the
            meanings. Subject, with them, is the mind which
            knows; object, that which is known; subjective, the
            varying conditions of the knowing mind; objective,
            that which is in the constant nature of the thing
            known.                                --Trendelenburg.
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            Objective has come to mean that which has
            independent existence or authority, apart from our
            experience or thought. Thus, moral law is said to
            have objective authority, that is, authority
            belonging to itself, and not drawn from anything in
            our nature.                           --Calderwood
                                                  (Fleming's
                                                  Vocabulary).
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   3. Hence: Unbiased; unprejudiced; fair; uninfluenced by
      personal feelings or personal interests; considering only
      the facts of a situation unrelated to the observer; -- of
      judgments, opinions, evaluations, conclusions, reasoning
      processes.
      [PJC]

            Objective means that which belongs to, or proceeds
            from, the object known, and not from the subject
            knowing, and thus denotes what is real, in
            opposition to that which is ideal -- what exists in
            nature, in contrast to what exists merely in the
            thought of the individual.            --Sir. W.
                                                  Hamilton.
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   4. (Gram.) Pertaining to, or designating, the case which
      follows a transitive verb or a preposition, being that
      case in which the direct object of the verb is placed. See
      Accusative, n.
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   Note: The objective case is frequently used without a
         governing word, esp. in designations of time or space,
         where a preposition, as at, in, on, etc., may be
         supplied.
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               My troublous dream [on] this night doth make me
               sad.                               --Shak.
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               To write of victories [in or for] next year.
                                                  --Hudibras.
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   Objective line (Perspective), a line drawn on the
      geometrical plane which is represented or sought to be
      represented.

   Objective plane (Perspective), any plane in the horizontal
      plane that is represented.

   Objective point, the point or result to which the
      operations of an army are directed. By extension, the
      point or purpose to which anything, as a journey or an
      argument, is directed.
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   Syn: Objective, Subjective.

   Usage: Objective is applied to things exterior to the mind,
          and objects of its attention; subjective, to the
          operations of the mind itself. Hence, an objective
          motive is some outward thing awakening desire; a
          subjective motive is some internal feeling or
          propensity. Objective views are those governed by
          outward things; subjective views are produced or
          modified by internal feeling. Sir Walter Scott's
          poetry is chiefly objective; that of Wordsworth is
          eminently subjective.
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                In the philosophy of mind, subjective denotes
                what is to be referred to the thinking subject,
                the ego; objective what belongs to the object of
                thought, the non-ego.             --Sir. W.
                                                  Hamilton
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Objective \Ob*jec"tive\, n.
   1. (Gram.) The objective case.
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   2. An object glass; called also objective lens. See under
      Object, n.
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   3. Same as Objective point, under Objective, a.
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