Neutrality
A scientist or politician may never be "neutral" (they may have a vested interest in particular theories or policies) but they might also take an objective approach in the sense of remaining open to alternative viewpoints and new evidence.
In a rational discourse, such an "open-minded" stance is important, especially because it may not be known in advance which facts and arguments are truly relevant to resolving an issue. A "closed" stance would foreclose discussion and debate, usually on the assumption that the relevant facts and arguments are already known and judged.
Read more about this topic: Objective Approach
Famous quotes containing the word neutrality:
“My father and I were always on the most distant terms when I was a boy—a sort of armed neutrality, so to speak. At irregular intervals this neutrality was broken, and suffering ensued; but I will be candid enough to say that the breaking and the suffering were always divided up with strict impartiality between us—which is to say, my father did the breaking, and I did the suffering.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)