Vinaire's Blog

Most people misunderstand the word VIEWPOINT. They give it a mathematical definition by quibbling about the meaning of “view” and “point”. The fact is that if you are aware at all you have a “view”. Awareness is not limited to visual perception alone, so the “view” in viewpoint refers to perception through all five physical senses, and also through the mental sense.

The “point” in viewpoint refers to a particular value on the scale of awareness. This is similar to a point on the temperature scale, which specifies a particular temperature. Therefore, a viewpoint refers to a particular state or level of awareness. Different viewpoints have different interpretations of what is actually there. The viewpoint goes deep into subjectivity when it is speculating. But it rises up into objectivity when it is viewing things as they are.

In the context of viewpoint, the word OBJECTIVITY is used in the sense of “seeing things as they are,” and not merely in the sense of “external reality.” Whether the reality is external or internal, it is objective if it is “appreciated for what it is” because there are no filters. Objectivity reduces to subjectivity to the degree a person is using filters (fixed ideas, prejudices and beliefs) to look at things.

Whether it is a tree or a forest, you must perceive it objectively first before you can consider or analyze it. In computer lingo, you say, “garbage in = garbage out”. In other words, if your data is faulty, then your conclusions are going to be faulty too. Objectivity means correctness of input, whether it is external or internal, top-down or bottom-up.

In a precise sense, a view is objective to the degree there are no unresolved anomalies (inconsistencies, disharmonies and discontinuities) in it. This depends on the context in which one is viewing, because, as the context broadens, more anomalies may become visible. The most objective view, therefore, has no anomalies in the universal context.

To summarize, a viewpoint is the very expression of our beingness at any moment. It lies on a scale of awareness that varies from deep subjectivity to complete objectivity.

Our viewpoint provides us with perspectives on situations that concern us.

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