Talk:Objectification

Does someone know the origin of this term? Two rather different concepts of "object" seem to be mixed up in its usage; I'd love to find out what was originally indicated, and by whom.

The simpler meaning seems to be "treating a living being as if it were an inanimate object"--particularly an object for which there is low regard, minimizing any sense of ethical responsibility. (Of course some people treat things better than they treat other people; with them, "objectification" might be a step upward!) The other, perhaps more subtle meaning seems to be "treating another person as a foil, a role-defined 'other' to whom we relate in terms of our agenda and desires," i.e. as the opposite of "subject". The latter definition has more of a psychological than an ethical emphasis. A person for whom we feel consuming passion may be someone we choose to treat rather well--at least as long as we have some hope of satisfaction. In the latter sense we might also say that newborns "objectify" their parents to some extent, and that good parents are happy to oblige (one hopes temporarily).

If the first meaning is the original one then objectification is always an ethical lapse--while if the second meaning is authentic, objectification is a facet of human life with inevitable risks and dangers, with the biggest risk of all being to deny how prevalent it is. Thus I'd really like to know whether one or the other definition (or both!) comes from some kind of revisionism. DSatz 19:10, August 8, 2005 (UTC)

Objective

What about the deciding on objectives. 87.194.35.230 05:54, 12 November 2006 (UTC)