Perspectivism (also perspectivalism; ) is the philosophy that perception and knowledge are always bound to perspectives and interpretation . While perspectivism regard all perspectives  as being of equal truth or value, it holds that no one has access to an absolute view of the world cut off from perspective. Instead, all such occurs from some point of view which in turn affects how things are perceived. Rather than attempt to determine truth by correspondence to things outside any perspective, perspectivism thus seeks to determine truth by comparison of perspectives to each other .For the perspectivist distinction between truth and value, and its opposition to correspondence theories of truth, see: Including its pre-Nietzschean forms, perspectivism traditionally holds that: "All seeing occurs from some point of view, in accordance with our interests. There is neither a view from nowhere nor a view from everywhere; [...] Though we have no absolute view, cut off from the perspective, it does not follow that all perspectives are 'equally valid.' On the contrary, some perspectives are better than others. We know this not because we have the ability to compare perspectives to whatever lies outside any perspective, but because we can (and do) compare perspectives to one another." For concordance with scientific and contemporary forms of perspectivism, see: Perspectivism may be regarded as an early form of epistemological pluralism, though in some forms also includes treatment of value theory  and realist metaphysics.For the relation of perspectivism to realism, see the following (and their containing sources): particularly under the early influence of Ronald Giere, Jay Rosenberg, Ernest Sosa, and others. This contemporary form of perspectivism, also known as scientific perspectivism, is more narrowly focused than prior forms—centering on the perspectival limitations of scientific models, theories, observations, and focused interest, while remaining more compatible for example with Kantianism and correspondence theories of truth.For comparisons of contemporary scientific perspectivism with Nietzschean perspectivism, see: Furthermore, scientific perspecitivism has come to address a number of scientific fields such as physics, biology, cognitive neuroscience, and medicine, as well as interdisciplinarity and philosophy of time.  Precursors and cross-cultural variants In Western languages, scholars have found perspectivism in the philosophies of Heraclitus ( – ), Protagoras ( – ), Michel de Montaigne ( 16th century CE), and Gottfried Leibniz ( 17th century CE). In Asian languages, scholars have found perspectivism in Buddhist, Jain, and Daoist texts. Anthropologists have found a kind of perspectivism in the thinking of some indigenous peoples. Nietzsche Nietzschean perspectivism rejects a certain kind of objective metaphysics, claiming that no evaluation of objectivity can transcend cultural formations or subjective designations. Therefore, there are no objective facts, nor any knowledge of a thing-in-itself. Truth is separated from any particular vantage point, and so there are no ethical or epistemological absolutes.Mautner, Thomas, The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy, 2005, page 418 Rules (i. e. , those of philosophy, the scientific method, etc.) are constantly reassessed according to the circumstances of individual perspectives. Truth is thus created by integrating different vantage points together. People always adopt perspectives by default – whether they are aware of it or not – and the concepts of one's existence are defined by the circumstances surrounding that individual. Truth is made by and for individuals and peoples. Scott-Kakures, Dion (1993), HarperCollins College Outline History of Philosophy, 1993, page 346 This view differs from many types of relativism which consider the truth of a particular proposition as something that altogether cannot be evaluated with respect to an absolute truth, without taking into consideration culture and context. This view is outlined in an aphorism from  Nietzsche   's posthumously-assembled collection The Will to Power: The importance of perspective appears in Nietzsche's published works as early as The Gay Science, where he describes the effects of seeing things from different viewpoints. Interpretation Richard Schacht, in his interpretation of Nietzsche's thought, argues that this can be expanded into a revised form of objectivity in relation to subjectivity as an aggregate of singular viewpoints. These aggregated perspectives illuminate, for example, a particular idea in seemingly self-contradictory ways. Upon further consideration they reveal a difference of contextuality and a rule by which such an idea (that is fundamentally perspectival) can be validated. Therefore, it can be said each perspective is subsumed into and , taking account of its individuated context, adds to the overall objective measure of a proposition under examination . After Nietzsche In the 20th century, perspectivism was discussed separately by José Ortega y Gasset and Karl Jaspers. 
Perspectivism (also perspectivalism; ) is the epistemological principle that perception of and knowledge of something are always bound to the interpretive perspectives of those observing it . While perspectivism regard all perspectives and interpretations as being of equal truth or value, it holds that no one has access to an absolute view of the world cut off from perspective. Instead, all such occurs from some point of view which in turn affects how things are perceived. Rather than attempt to determine truth by correspondence to things outside any perspective, perspectivism thus seeks to determine truth by comparison of perspectives to each other .For the perspectivist divergence between truth and value, and its opposition to correspondence theories of truth, see: Including its pre-Nietzschean forms, perspectivism traditionally holds that: "All seeing occurs from some point of view, in accordance with our interests. There is neither a view from nowhere nor a view from everywhere; [...] Though we have no absolute view, cut off from the perspective, it does not follow that all perspectives are 'equally valid.' On the contrary, some perspectives are better than others. We know this not because we have the ability to compare perspectives to whatever lies outside any perspective, but because we can (and do) compare perspectives to one another." For concordance with scientific and contemporary forms of perspectivism, see: Perspectivism may be regarded as an early form of epistemological pluralism, though in some accounts includes treatment of value theory , moral psychology, and realist metaphysics.For the relation of perspectivism to realism, see the following (and their containing sources): particularly under the early influence of Ronald Giere, Jay Rosenberg, Ernest Sosa, and others. This contemporary form of perspectivism, also known as scientific perspectivism, is more narrowly focused than prior forms—centering on the perspectival limitations of scientific models, theories, observations, and focused interest, while remaining more compatible for example with Kantianism and correspondence theories of truth.For comparisons of contemporary scientific perspectivism with Nietzschean perspectivism, see: Furthermore, scientific perspecitivism has come to address a number of scientific fields such as physics, biology, cognitive neuroscience, and medicine, as well as interdisciplinarity and philosophy of time. Studies of perspectivism have also been introduced into contemporary anthropology, initially through the influence of Eduardo Viveiros de Castro and his research into indigenous cultures of South America. Precursors and prefigurations In Western languages, scholars have found perspectivism in the philosophies of Heraclitus ( – ), Protagoras ( – ), Michel de Montaigne ( 1533 – 1592 CE), and Gottfried Leibniz ( 1646 – 1716 CE). In Asian languages, scholars have found perspectivism in Buddhist, Jain, and Daoist texts. Anthropologists have found a kind of perspectivism in the thinking of some indigenous peoples. Ancient Greek philosophy The Western origins of perspectivism can be found in the pre-Socratic philosophies of Heraclitus and Protagoras. In fact, a major cornerstone of Plato's philosophy is his rejection and opposition to perspectivism—this forming a principal element of his aesthetics, ethics, epistemology, and theology. The antiperspectivism of Plato made him a central target of critique for later perspectival philosophers such as Nietzsche. Montaigne Montaigne's philosophy presents in itself a less as a doctrinaire position than as a core philosophical approach put into practice. Inasmuch as no one can occupy a God's-eye view, Montaigne holds that no one has access to a view which is totally unbiased, which does not according to its own perspective. It is instead only the underlying psychological biases which views one's own perspective as unbiased. In a passage from his "Of Cannibals", he writes: Nietzsche In his works, Nietzsche makes a number of statements on perspective which at times contrast each other throughout the development of his philosophy. Nietzsche's begins by challenging the underlying notions of 'viewing from nowhere', 'viewing from everywhere', and 'viewing without interpreting' as being absurdities. Instead, all is attached to some perspective, and all viewers are limited in some sense to the perspectives at their command. In The Genealogy of Morals he writes: In this, Nietzsche takes a contextualist approach which rejects any God's-eye view of the world. This has been further linked to his notion of the death of God and the dangers of a resulting relativism. However, Nietzsche 's perspectivism itself stands in sharp contrast to any such relativism. In outlining his perspectivism, Nietzsche rejects those who claim everything to be subjective, by disassembling the notion of the subject as itself a mere invention and interpretation. He further states that, since the two are mutually dependent on each other, the collapse of the God's-eye view causes also the notion of the thing-in-itself to fall apart with it. Nietzsche views this collapse to reveal, through his genealogical project, that all that has been considered non-perspectival knowledge, the entire tradition of Western metaphysics, has itself been only a perspective. His perspectivism and genealogical project are further integrated into each other in addressing the psychological drives that underlie various philosophical programs and perspectives, as a form of critique. Here, contemporary scholar Ken Gemes views Nietzsche's perspectivism to above all be a principle of moral psychology, rejecting interpretations of it as an epistemological thesis outrightly. It is through this method of critique that the deficiencies of various perspectives can be alleviated—through a critical mediation of the differences between them rather than any appeals to the non-perspectival. In a posthumously published aphorism from The Will to Power, Nietzsche writes: While Nietzsche does not plainly reject truth and objectivity, he does reject the notions of truth, facts, and objectivity . Later developments In the 20th century, perspectivism was discussed separately by José Ortega y Gasset and Karl Jaspers. Philosophy of science
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philosophy that perception and knowledge
epistemological principle that perception of and knowledge of something
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perspectives and interpretation
the interpretive perspectives of those observing it
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and interpretations
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distinction
divergence
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forms also
accounts
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, moral psychology,
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Studies of perspectivism have also been introduced into contemporary anthropology, initially through the influence of Eduardo Viveiros de Castro and his research into indigenous cultures of South America.
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cross-cultural variants
prefigurations
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16th century
1533 – 1592
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17th century
1646 – 1716
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Nietzsche Nietzschean perspectivism rejects a certain kind of objective metaphysics, claiming that no evaluation of objectivity can transcend cultural formations or subjective designations. Therefore, there are no objective facts, nor any knowledge of a thing-in-itself. Truth is separated from any particular vantage point, and so there are no ethical or epistemological absolutes.Mautner, Thomas, The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy, 2005, page 418 Rules (i. e. , those of philosophy, the scientific method, etc.) are constantly reassessed according to the circumstances of individual perspectives. Truth is thus created by integrating different vantage points together.
Ancient Greek philosophy
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People always adopt perspectives by default – whether they are aware of it or not – and the concepts of one's existence are defined by the circumstances surrounding that individual. Truth is made by and for individuals and peoples. Scott-Kakures, Dion (1993), HarperCollins College Outline History of Philosophy, 1993, page 346 This view differs from many types of relativism which consider the truth of a particular proposition as something that altogether cannot be evaluated with respect to an absolute truth, without taking into consideration culture and context.
The Western origins of perspectivism can be found in the pre-Socratic philosophies of Heraclitus and Protagoras. In fact, a major cornerstone of Plato's philosophy is his rejection and opposition to perspectivism—this forming a principal element of his aesthetics, ethics, epistemology, and theology. The antiperspectivism of Plato made him a central target of critique for later perspectival philosophers such as Nietzsche.
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This view is outlined in an aphorism from
Montaigne
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Montaigne's philosophy presents in itself a less as a doctrinaire position than as a core philosophical approach put into practice. Inasmuch as no one can occupy a God's-eye view, Montaigne holds that no one has access to a view which is totally unbiased, which does not according to its own perspective. It is instead only the underlying psychological biases which views one's own perspective as unbiased. In a passage from his "Of Cannibals", he writes:
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In his works, Nietzsche makes a number of statements on perspective which at times contrast each other throughout the development of his philosophy. Nietzsche's begins by challenging the underlying notions of 'viewing from nowhere', 'viewing from everywhere', and 'viewing without interpreting' as being absurdities. Instead, all is attached to some perspective, and all viewers are limited in some sense to the perspectives at their command. In The Genealogy of Morals he writes:
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In this, Nietzsche takes a contextualist approach which rejects any God's-eye view of the world. This has been further linked to his notion of the death of God and the dangers of a resulting relativism. However, Nietzsche
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posthumously-assembled collection The Will to Power:
perspectivism itself stands in sharp contrast to any such relativism. In outlining his perspectivism, Nietzsche rejects those who claim everything to be subjective, by disassembling the notion of the subject as itself a mere invention and interpretation. He further states that, since the two are mutually dependent on each other, the collapse of the God's-eye view causes also the notion of the thing-in-itself to fall apart with it. Nietzsche views this collapse to reveal, through his genealogical project, that all that has been considered non-perspectival knowledge, the entire tradition of Western metaphysics, has itself been only a perspective. His perspectivism and genealogical project are further integrated into each other in addressing the psychological drives that underlie various philosophical programs and perspectives, as a form of critique. Here, contemporary scholar Ken Gemes views Nietzsche's perspectivism to above all be a principle of moral psychology, rejecting interpretations of it as an epistemological thesis outrightly. It is through this method of critique that the deficiencies of various perspectives can be alleviated—through a critical mediation of the differences between them rather than any appeals to the non-perspectival. In a posthumously published aphorism from The Will to Power, Nietzsche writes:
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The importance of perspective appears in Nietzsche's published works as early as The Gay Science, where he describes the effects of seeing things from different viewpoints.
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Interpretation Richard Schacht, in his interpretation of Nietzsche's thought, argues that this can be expanded into a revised form of objectivity in relation to subjectivity as an aggregate of singular viewpoints. These aggregated perspectives illuminate, for example, a particular idea in seemingly self-contradictory ways. Upon further consideration they reveal a difference of contextuality and a rule by which such an idea (that is fundamentally perspectival) can be validated. Therefore, it can be said each perspective is subsumed into and , taking account of its individuated context, adds to the overall objective measure of a proposition under examination
While Nietzsche does not plainly reject truth and objectivity, he does reject the notions of truth, facts, and objectivity
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After Nietzsche
Later developments
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Philosophy of science