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Everyone is biased?

  • 18-09-2017 8:06pm
    #1
    Fathom
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 9,330 CMod ✭✭✭✭


    Max Weber in Economy & Society (1922) suggested that no one was value free. Everyone was biased. Does this suggest that court judges were biased too, and not impartial? Were football referees, police officers, and scientific researchers biased? Was there anyone you can think of that was not biased in some way? Comments? Arguments?


Comments

  • #2
    seagull
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,342 ✭✭✭seagull


    Is it possible to be biased, but impartial? I know when acting as a match official in games involving my own club, I'd be naturally biased towards my own side, but I tried to act in an impartial way. In some cases, I probably went too far the other way because I was aware of my natural bias.


  • #3
    Fathom
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 9,330 CMod ✭✭✭✭Fathom


    seagull wrote: »
    Is it possible to be biased, but impartial?
    A troublesome ethics question. Affecting many judgment structures in society.


  • #4
    mzungu
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,309 Mod ✭✭✭✭mzungu


    Fathom wrote: »
    Max Weber in Economy & Society (1922) suggested that no one was value free. Everyone was biased. Does this suggest that court judges were biased too, and not impartial? Were football referees, police officers, and scientific researchers biased? Was there anyone you can think of that was not biased in some way?

    Comments? Arguments?
    I think bias does have an impact, but it does vary. This is why peer review is so important (assuming no groupthink is taking place, which does happen). Likewise with court cases where you can appeal a decision and now in football where the video camera becomes a referee aid (not introduced yet but will be on the way). Bias will always be there, it all depends on how it is dealt with. So I do think pretty much everybody has some form of bias in one way or another, but that does not necessarily mean it manifests itself in all cases. Different individuals can have a handle on it. Awareness of one's own biases being key here.


  • #5
    lazybones32
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,647 ✭✭✭lazybones32


    Feral children who were not raised in human society would imo be the only humans capable of non-biased thinking/judgement.
    The rest of us are.

    I guess A.I. could be considered free from bias but is it limited by its code parameters?


  • #6
    Fathom
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 9,330 CMod ✭✭✭✭Fathom


    mzungu wrote: »
    I think bias does have an impact, but it does vary.
    Subject to variation in human behavior.
    mzungu wrote: »
    This is why peer review is so important (assuming no groupthink is taking place, which does happen).
    Intersubjectivity to increase reliability.
    mzungu wrote: »
    Likewise with court cases where you can appeal a decision
    "Money talks and OJ walks." Dream Team and socio-economic status bias.
    mzungu wrote: »
    and now in football where the video camera becomes a referee aid (not introduced yet but will be on the way).
    NFL football ref decisions reversed today due to vid replays.
    mzungu wrote: »
    Awareness of one's own biases being key here.
    Ethnographic fieldwork notes of self-bias one approach.
    lazybones32 wrote: »
    Feral children who were not raised in human society would imo be the only humans capable of non-biased thinking/judgement.
    Interesting observation. Would you please consider expanding upon it?
    mzungu wrote: »
    I guess A.I. could be considered free from bias but is it limited by its code parameters?
    What about programmer content and context bias. Storyboarding bias?


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