Is subjectivity just a matter of context?

[Confused Ape]

Per my definition of "subjectivity" as a form of context-dependence, mental experiences are not subjective. Using "subjective" to mean "of the mind" appears to be the only accepted usage that is an exception. All other uses denote some sort of context-dependence for the meanings of statements.

Just my personal opinion here.

Your definition of the word still doesn't alter the fact that mental experiences are subjective. I'll give you one of my own experiences as an example.

The last time I visited Wigmore Castle on the Welsh border I was looking through a hole in the stonework. All of a sudden I felt a looming presence behind me but there wasn't anyone behind me. It was a creepy sort of sensation but I'm used to this kind of thing and just ignored it. The presence disappeared when I went to another part of the castle ruins.

Let's say I did a survey and published the results as "30% of adults report feeling disembodied presences." We can use your definition in this context. "Adults report feeling disembodied presences" is objectively true for 30% of adults and objectively false for the other 70%.

I'm now moving on to neuroscience which will require a little bit of preparation - How Ghosts Work.

In some haunted locations, researchers have measured magnetic fields that are stronger than normal or which exhibit unusual fluctuations. These may be localized phenomena that stem from electronic equipment or geological formations, or they may be part of the Earth's magnetic field.

Medical researchers have also studied the effects of electrical fields on people's brains. Electrical stimulation to the angular gyrus of the brain, for example, can cause the sensation of someone behind you mimicking your movements

Low-frequency Sound Waves

Several experiments have demonstrated that low-frequency sound waves, known as infrasound, can cause phenomena that people typically associate with ghosts. This includes feelings of nervousness and discomfort as well as a sense of a presence in the room.

There's another interpretation of the magnetic field idea, though.

Some paranormal investigators think of this as proof of a supernatural presence -- the ghosts create the field.

"Something is happening in the brains of people who feel disembodied presences" is objectively true.

"Infrasound and magnetic fields cause some brains to produce the feeling of disembodied presences." This seems to be objectively true going by research so far.

So, we could say that "Feeling disembodied presences is an objectively real phenomenon."

I'm going to adapt the scale of probability for this one. "Disembodied beings don't cause the feeling of presences because disembodied beings don't exist". This is probably true to 6.999 out of 7 on the probability scale. The 0.001 is the very remote possibility that somebody will find evidence for disembodied beings who can create magnetic fields so people can feel their presences.

Statistics and neuroscience are only talking about the experiences of feeling presences, though. They aren't the actual experiences that some people have. My own experience at Wigmore Castle felt as real as any other experience so it was subjectively real. From the neuroscience point of view I experienced an objectively real phenomenon.