Sober Philosophy: Subjectivity (Meryl presents on SIGNAL, AZF)

This meeting will be held on the messaging app Signal. You can download it from the App Store to install on your iPhone or Android phone. You can also use it from your computer but you must install it on your phone first as it uses your phone number as your identifier. Once you RSVP for the meeting I will send you the link for the event by Meetup message.

Subjectivity refers to the way personal perspectives, feelings, beliefs, and experiences influence how someone understands or interprets something. It means that an idea, judgment, or perception is shaped by the individual rather than being universally or independently true.
In contrast to objectivity (which aims to be unbiased and based on observable facts), subjectivity is inherently personal.
For example:

• Saying “this painting is beautiful” is subjective—it reflects your taste.
• Saying “the painting is 2 meters wide” is objective—it can be measured and verified.

In fields like philosophy, subjectivity is a major topic, especially when exploring questions like:

• Can we ever know reality without personal bias?
• How much of our perception is shaped by our minds?

Subjectivity isn’t “wrong”—it’s just different from fact-based claims. It plays a central role in art, ethics, and human experience.

AMAZON FORMAT (AZF):
We will begin the meeting by all raising our Signal ap hands and reading the above description of subjectivity silently together. Once each person has finished the description they can lower their hand on Signal and once all hands are down we will beging the Opening Roundtable.

2min OPENING ROUNDTABLE FORMAT (2ORF):

1. The topic presenter begins the discussion by spending up to 2 minutes explaining why they are interested in the topic and some introductory thoughts on it.
2. Each participant in turn going clockwise from the has up to 2 minutes to describe their general thoughts on the topic but not engage directly with other participants.
3. If one is not ready to speak they can just say “pass” and the next person speaks.
4. After we've gone around once anyone who passed will get a second chance to comment.
5. Once everyone has given opening remarks or passed twice, Opening Roundtable is completed and the meeting shifts into its main format.

TIMED DIRECTION FORMAT (TDRF>5):
If there are more than 5 people present we will use the format below.

1. We will divide up the timed direction discussion time by the number of participants plus one (for a buffer). A timer will be set for this amount of time.
2. Each participant in turn will become a Discussion Director and lead the group discussion.
3. If one is not ready to direct they dimply say “pass” and the next person becomes the Discussion Director.
4. Anyone who arrives after step 1 (above), may participate but will not get a turn as Discussion Director.
5. The Discussion Director can make statements or ask questions, or interrupt or redirect the discussion at their discretion.
6. The discussion participants can state their own opinions only when asked by the Discussion Director, not Interrupt others and accede to the Discussion Director’s interruptions or redirections.
7. When the timer goes off the person speaking finishes their thought and then the next participant clockwise becomes the next Discussion Director.
8. After we've gone around once anyone who passed will get a second chance to direct.

At the end of the meeting, participants will have an opportunity to vote on the topic and format for the following meeting.