Is the ‘neutral’ of the pH scale based on something scientifically objective, or simply what is ideal for humans?
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If “neutral” means pH of 7, then it is arbitrary. Water will then be basic or acidic depending solely on temperature! But if one instead defined neutral as having the same amount of H^+ as OH^-, then pure water is neutral at all temperatures (okay, only up to very high temperatures). Defining neutrality at having an equal amount is not random or arbitrary.
In the end, pH (respectively electronegativity) describes how much a substance is willing to give a proton (resp. electron) to another one. Protons and even more so electrons are the most basic objects in chemistry and are essential for how most of it works. So having special nomenclature for both is a good idea.
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