ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a critical examination of the prevailing rhetoric of objectivity and objectivism in psychological science discourse. In the chapter, the authors contribute to and extend efforts of philosophers, meta-scientists, and theoretical and philosophical psychologists who have been critically examining the concept of objectivity and its relevance to psychological and other social inquiry. More specifically, the authors challenge the presumption that much of the rhetoric of objectivity that is encountered in mainstream psychological science discourse is justified—that is necessary, or even possible—for fruitful psychological inquiry. Brief overviews of both objectivity as a core scientific principle and of rhetoric and rhetoric of science are given. The authors then explore the prevailing rhetoric of objectivity (and objectivism), highlighting illustrative examples from different components of the standard psychological research report. Finally, the authors briefly explore an alternative framework, which is based in hermeneutic philosophy and discursive psychology, as an account for inquiries into the psychological dimensions of human life which does not fall prey to the pitfalls of objectivism.
