subject 
In the llrnt syllogism of transcendental psychology rea- 
son imposes upon us an apparent knowledge only, l>y rep- 
resenting the ronstant lou'ii-al *til>ji'<-t of thought as the 
knowledge of the real mbjrct in which that knowledge in- 
hcrcs. Of that Ktil>j t <(. hourver, we have not, and ramiot 
have, the slightest knowledge, because conseion- 
that which alone changes representations into (ImiiLrlif - 
and in which, therefore, as tin- transcendental xuhjrct. all 
our perceptions imi.-t lie found. Beside this logical IIH'UM- 
ing of tile I, we have no knowledge of the xuli/i-ct in itself 
which forms the substratum and foundation of it and of 
all our thoughts. 
h'tltlt, Critique of I'llle Kea-Mji, tr. by Mllller Vuti 
(nary ed.), 11.305. 
The particular modes In which I now feel, desire, and 
think atisr out, of tlie modes in which I have previously 
done so ; but the common characteristic of all these has 
been tliat ill them II subject wn.s coliBflous of itself as its 
own oi>jeet, and thus self-determined. 
T. II. (Jreen, Prolegomena to Ethics, i 102. 
The subject can bo conscious of itself only in relation to 
an object which it at once excludes and determines. 
K. Caird, 1'hilos. of Kant, p. S48, note. 
8. In music : (a) In general, the theme or me- 
lodic phrase on which a work or movement is 
based, consisting of few or many tones vari- 
ously combined anil treated; a motive. When 
two or more principal subjects are used, they 
are often known as firxt, second, etc. (6) In 
contrapuntal works, the theme given out at the 
beginning, to which (in fugue and canon) the 
uiixu-rr responds, and with which the contili r- 
mtbject is combined which is taken as the basis 
for thematic development, for imitation, ete. 
In a fugue, the subject is also called antecedent, dux, pro- 
posta, etc. ; in a canon, guida ; and in freer contrapuntal 
music, cnntus fmnug or canto fermo. 
9. In tho fine arts, the plan or general view 
chosen by an artist; tho design of a composition 
or picture ; the scheme or idea of a work of art : 
as, a historical subject; a genre xubject; a marine 
xubji'ct; a pastoral subject. 10. In decorative 
art, a pictorial representation of human figures 
or animals ; a picture representing action and 
incident. 
Vases painted with subjects after Watteau. 
Soc. Artt Report, Exhib. 1887. 
Diminished subject. See diminished. First subject. 
See first 1. -Intervening subject. See intervene. In- 
version Of subjects. See inversion. Mixed subjects 
of property, see mixtdi. Subject of Inhesion, a 
thing in which characters inhere. Subject of predica- 
tion, the subject of a proposition. Subject of rela- 
tion, that one of the correlates to which the others are 
referred as secondary ; the relate. To be in a subject, 
to be related to any thing somewhat as a predicate is related 
to its subject; to exist by virtue of that subject of which the 
attribute which is in the subject does not form a part. 
= Syn. 4. Subject, Theme, Topic, Point, Thesis. The first 
three of these words are often popularly used as exactly 
synonymous. Daniel Webster puts within a few lines of 
each other the two following sentences : [If an American 
Thucydides should arise,) "may his theme not be a Pelo- 
ponneslan war," and [American history] "will furnish no 
topic for a (Jibbon." Yet, strictly in rhetoric, and more 
often in general use, subject is the broad word for anything 
written or spoken about, while theme is the word for the 
exact and generally narrower statement of the subject. 
A topic is a still narrower subject; there may be several 
interesting topics suggested under a single subject. A 
point is by its primary meaning the smallest possible sub- 
division under a subject. Thesis is a technical word for a 
subject which takes the form of an exact proposition or 
assertion which is to be proved : as, Luther fastened his 
ninety-five theses to the church-door. The paper in which 
the proof of a thesis is attempted is also called a thesis. A 
student's composition is often called a theme. The mean- 
ing of the other words is not extended to the written or 
spoken discourse. See proposition. 
subject (sub-jekf ), r. [Now altered to suit the 
orig. L. form ; < ME. xugctten, < OP. "sujeter = 
Sp. subjectar, subjctar, sujetar = Pg. sujeitar = 
It. sugtjettarc, sot/gettare, subject, < ML. subjec- 
tare, subject, freq. of L. subjiccre, subicerc, 
throw under: see subject, a. and n.] I. trans. 
1. To put, lay, or spread under; make subja- 
cent. 
In one short view subjected to our eye, 
Gods, Emperors, Heroes, Sages, Beauties lie. 
Pope, To Addison, 1. 33. 
The lands that lie 
Subjected to the Heliconian ridge. 
Tennyson, Tiresias. 
2. To expose; make liable or obnoxious: with 
to: as, credulity subjects one to impositions. 
Subject himself to anarchy within, 
Or lawless passions in him, which he serves. 
Milton, P. R,, li. 471. 
If the vessels yield, it subjects the person to all the in- 
conveniences of an erroneous circulation. Arbuthnot. 
3. To submit; make accountable, subservient, 
or the like ; cause to undergo ; expose, as in 
chemical or other operations: with to: as, to 
subject clay to a white heat. 
Subjected to his service angel-wings. 
Milton, P. L., Ix. 155. 
God is not bound to subject his ways of operation In the 
scrutiny of our thoughts. Locke. 
6021 
i'hiin-li discipline [In Germany) was subjected to State 
approval; and a power of expelling rebellious clergy from 
Hi. country was established. 
//. Spencer, Prlu. of Soclol., | 559. 
No gas is "atomic " in the chemist's sense, except when 
subjected to the action of electricity, or, in the case of hy- 
drogen, to a high temperature. 
J. N. Loctyer, Spect. Anal., p. 144. 
4. To bring under power, dominion, or sway; 
subdue ; subordinate. 
High loin; permits the sunne to cast his beames, 
\ii'l the moyst cloudes todrop downe plenteous streamer, 
Alike vpon the just it reprobate ; 
Yet are not both subjected by one fate? 
Time*' Whistle (E. E. T. S.X p. 6. 
Nriiher (!od nor the Lawes have subjected us to his will, 
nor sett his reason to be our Sovran above Law. 
MUtmi, Elkonoklastes, xi. 
II. t intrant. To be or become subject. 
When men freely subject to any lust as a new muter. 
T. Brookt, Works, II. 24i 
SUbjectable (sub-jek'ta-bl), n. [< subject + 
-oft/e.] To be subjected or submitted. [Bare.] 
It was propounded to these fathers confessors as a thing 
not subjectable to their penitential judicature. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1885), II. 108. 
SUbjectdom (sub'jekt-dum), M. [< subject + 
-</"/.] The state or condition of being a sub- 
ject. 
No clue to iU nationality, except in the political sense 
of subjectdom, therefore is available. 
(indwell, British Barrows, p. 60S. (Encyc. Diet.) 
subjection (sub-jek'shon), n. (< ME. subjec- 
tioun, subjection, subjeccioun,<. OF. (and F.) sub- 
jection = 8p. siijecion = Pg. sujeiySo, sogeicdo 
= It. sugge;ione, soggezione, < L. subjectio(n-), a 
placing under, substitution, reducing to obedi- 
ence, subjection, < subncere, subicere, throw 
under, subject: see subject, .] 1. The act 
of subjecting or subduing; the act of van- 
quishing and bringing under the dominion of 
another. 
The prophesie selth that the grete dragon shall come 
fro Rome that wolde distroie the reame of the grete 
Breteyne and put it in his subieccinn. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ill. 433. 
King Arthur . . . sailed with his fleet into Island, and 
brought it and the people thereof vnder his subiection. 
HaJduyts Voyayes, I. 1. 
After the conquest of the kingdom, and subiection of the 
n in I.-, enquiry was made who they were that, fighting 
against the king, had saved themselves by flight. 
Sir M. Hale. 
2. The state of being in the power or under 
the control or domination of another; service. 
Thel that marchen upon zou schulle ben undre zoure 
Subieccioun, as zee han ben undre hires. 
Mandcvilte, Travels, p. 22S. 
Both in subjection now 
To sensual appetite. Milton, f. L, ix. 1128. 
A lofty mind, 
By philosophic discipline prepared 
For calm subjection to acknowledged law. 
Wordsicorth, Excursion, 111. 
3. In logic , the act of attaching a subject to a 
predicate: corresponding to predication. 
subjective (sub-jek'tiv), a. [= F. subjectif = 
Sp. subjective = G. subjeklir, < L. subjectirus, of 
or pertaining to a subject, < xubjectum, a sub- 
ject: see subject, n.] 1. Relating to or of the 
nature of a subject, as opposed to an object. 
In the older writers subjective is nearly synonymous with 
real, and still more closely so with the common modern 
meaning of objective. By Kant, following some of his 
earlier contemporaries, the word was restricted to the sub- 
ject of thought, or the ego. See objective. 
Certainty, according to the schools, is distinguished Into 
objective and subjective. Objective certainty is when the 
proposition is certainly true in Itself, and subjective when 
we are certain of the truth of it. The one is in things, 
the other is In our minds. WaUfp Logic, II. ii. { 8. 
The words subjective and objective are getting Into gen- 
eral use now. 
E. Fitzgerald, Letter, Mar. 21, 1841 (in Lit. Remains, I. 71). 
The uncivilized or semi-civilized man Is wholly unable 
to think of the maniac's visions as subjective illusions. 
H. Spencer, Prin. of Soclol., | 124. 
All knowledge on Its mbjtctice side is belief. 
./. Butty, Outlines of Psychol., p. 434. 
2. In literature and art, noting a production 
characterized by the prominence given to the 
individuality of the author or artist : as, the *&- 
jcctirr school of painting; also, relating to such 
individuality. The writings of Shelley and By- 
ron are essentially subjective, while the novels 
of Scott are objective. 
They [the Iliad and Odyssey] are so purely objective 
that they seem projected, as it were, into this visible di- 
urnal sphere with hardly a subjective trace adhering to 
them, and are silent as the stars concerning their own 
genesis and mutual relation. It'. I). Geddes. 
I am disposed to consider the Sonnets from the Portu- 
guese as ... a portion of the finest subjective poetry in 
our literature. Stcdman, Viet. Poets, p. 137. 
subjectivity 
3. Hclutingto a subject in a political sense; sub- 
missive; obedient. [A rare ami irregular use.] 
What eye can look, through clear love's spectacle, 
On virtue's majesty that shines in beauty, 
l;ui. a- to natMi r's divin'st miracle, 
Performs not to it all trubjrrtin- iluiy '' 
Sir J. Davit*, \v itt-' I'ilw'i image, slg. 1>. 2. (Latham.) 
Whii:b *:nl1y when they saw 
How tbo-e bud sped before, with most subjectire awe 
suMnit them to his sword. ttrni/t"ti, I'olyolbion, \ 
Subjective certainty. See certainty. Subjective col- 
ors. Same it.-s (irridental cotirrs (which see, under am'- 
dental). Subjective doubt, end, ens. &M ttu noons. 
Subjective idealism. Same as /'/,/,/. n idi-aHsm 
(which see, in.. 1. 1 /./. ,,/,,)._ Subjective method, pow- 
er, reason, etc. Sue the nouns.- Subjective part, si-,- 
extension, r,. Subjective perspective, ;i method of rep- 
resentation which looks right, tnongh It is geometrically 
false. This method is, in fact, usually practised by painter* 
who greatly exaggerate certain effects of perspective, as 
if the picture were Intended to be seen from a point of 
view much nearer than that usually chosen by the spec- 
tator, and are then obliged to modify certain consequences 
of tbls exaggeration. Subjective sensation, a sensa- 
tion which is not caused by an object outside of the body. 
Subjective symptoms, in i*iihnl., symptoms, as sen- 
sations, appreciable oy the patient, but not discernible by 
another observer. 
subjectively (sub-jek'tiv-li), arfc. In a subjec- 
tive manner; in relation to the subject ; as ex- 
isting in a subject or mind. 
I do not see how we can successfully guard against the 
danger of considering as both objectively and subjectively 
evident things which, In fact, are only subjectively evi- 
dent. Slirart, Nature and Thought, p. 68. 
subjectiveness (sub-jek'tiv-nes), M. The state 
of oeing subjective ; subjectivity. 
subjectivism (sub-jek'tiv-izm), n. [< subjective 
+ -t#!.] 1. The doctrine that we can imme- 
diately know only what is present to conscious- 
ness. Those who adhere to this opinion either regard it 
as axiomatical, or fortify ft by arguments analogous to 
those by which Zeno sought to prove that a particle can 
have only position, and not velocity, at any Instant ar- 
guments which appear, upon logical analysis, to beg the 
question. Those who oppose the opinion maintain that it 
would lead to the absurd corollary that there can be no cog- 
nition whatever, not even of a problematical or Interroga- 
tory kind, concerning anything but the immediate present. 
The philosophical principle of subjectivism. 
Ueberweg, Hist. Philosophy (trans, by Morris), I. 
2. The doctrine, sometimes termed relativism, 
that "man is the measure of things" that is, 
that the truth is nothing but each man's settled 
opinion, there being no objective criterion of 
truth at all. This is an opinion held by some English 
philosophers, as well as by Protagoras in antiquity. It is 
a modification of subjectivism in sense 1, above. 
3. Same as subjcctirity, 3. 
subjectivist (sub-jek'tiv-ist), n. and a. [< *6- 
jective + -ist.~\ I. n. In metaph., one who holds 
the doctrine or doctrines of subjectivism. 
II. a. Same as subjectivistic. Bnbjectivlst 
logic. See logic. 
subjectivistic (sub-jek-ti-vis'tik), a. [< svbjec- 
tictst + -io.] Pertaining to or characterized by 
subjectivism. 
subjectivistically (sub-jek-ti-vis'ti-kal-i), orfr. 
With subjectivistic reasoning; from the point 
of view of subjectivism. 
subjectivity (sub-jek-tiv'i-ti), n. [= F. n6- 
jectivite= (5. subjektiritdt,t ML. subjectivita(U)s, 
< L. stibjeetivus, subjective: see svbjectire.] 1. 
The absence of objective reality; illusiveness; 
the character of ansing within the mind, as, for 
example, the sensation of a color does. 
We must, In the first place, remember that analysis and 
subjectivity on the one hand, and synthesis and objectivity 
on the other hand, go together in Kant's mind. 
E. Caird, Phllos. of Kant, p. 413. 
Belief in the subjectivity of time, space, and other forms 
of thought inevitably involves Agnosticism. 
./. Martitteau, Mind, XIII. 59. 
2. The private, arbitrary, and limited element 
of self ; that which is peculiar to an individual 
mind : as, the subjectivity of Byron or Shelley. 
There are two ways of looking at subjeetiritn. We may 
understand by it, in the first place, only the natural and 
Unite subjectivity, with its contingent and arbitrary con 
tent of particular interests and inclinations. ... In this 
sense of subjectivity, we cannot help admiring the tranquil 
resignation of the ancients to destiny, and feeling that 
It is a much higher and worthier mood than that of the 
moderns, who obstinately pursue their subjective aima, 
and when they find themselves constrained to give up the 
hope of reaching them, console themselves with the pros- 
pect of a reward in some shape or other. But the term 
subjectivity is not to be confined merely to the bad and 
finite kind of it which is contradistinguished from the 
fact. In Its truth subjectivity Is Immanent In the fact, 
and as a subjectivity thus infinite is the very truth of the 
fact. . . . Christianity, we know, teaches that God wishes 
all men to be saved. That teaching declares that sub- 
jectivity has an infinite value. 
Hegel, Henning's notes of his lectures, tr. in Wallace's 
(Logic of Hegel, ( 147. 
It Is surely subjectivity and Inferiority which are the no- 
tions latest acquired by the human mind. 
IT. James, Prin. of Psychology, H. 43. 
