Subjective.
Synonym:
objective.
Subjective and objective are synonyms in but one point of view, being, for the most part, strictly antonyms. Subjective signifies relating to the subject of mental states, that is, to the person who experiences them; objective signifies relating to the object of mental states, that is, to something outside the perceiving mind; in brief phrase it may be said that subjective relates to something within the mind, objective to something without. A mountain, as a mass of a certain size, contour, color, etc., is an objective fact; the impression our mind receives, the mental picture it forms of the mountain, is subjective. But this subjective impression may become itself the object of thought (called "subject-object"), as when we compare our mental picture of the mountain with our idea of a plain or river. The direct experiences of the soul, as joy, grief, hope, fear, are purely subjective; the outward causes of these experiences, as prosperity, bereavement, disappointment, are objective. That which has independent existence or authority apart from our experience or thought is said to have objective existence or authority; thus we speak of the objective authority of the moral law. Different individuals may receive different subjective impressions from the same objective fact, that which to one is a cause of hope being to another a cause of fear, etc. The style of a writer is called objective when it derives its materials mainly from or reaches out toward external objects; it is called subjective when it derives its materials mainly from or constantly tends to revert to the personal experience of the author. Compare INHERENT.