EveryoneThinks.org: Point of View

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POINT OF VIEW:

All thinking is done from some point of view.

How well do you understand your point of view? How well are you able to consider others' points of view?

Point of view is literally "the place" from which you view something. It includes what you are looking at and the way you are seeing it. Each of us has a point of view; but it is often difficult to see precisely what that point of view is.

We don't often see how our point of view is influenced by the many experiences of our lives and the people who have played a role in those experiences. We may not see, for example, how our thinking has been shaped by our parents, our country, our religious group, our peers, our place in history.

Examine Your
Point of View

Click Here to further examine Point of View and fairness. Lear strategies to identify points of view that are unfair or self-deceiving.

"We must see the lives of people in other countries as no less precious than the lives of people in our own country."

Linda Elder & Richard Paul

The concepts from this page are taken from and found in...

From the Bookstore
Thinker’s Guide to Understanding the Foundations of Ethical Reasoning

This guide provides insights into the nature of ethical reasoning, why it is so often flawed, and how to avoid those flaws. It lays out: the function of... Read More

Getting Beyond a Conformist Point of View

Our point of view can easily distort the way we see situations and issues. It can keep us from seeing things reasonably and rationally. It is important to understand where our point of view comes from. Much of it comes from our culture, from the ideas we have taken in from living in the culture.

To develop as an independent thinker, consider the following strategies...

Examine the extent to which you uncritically accept the taboos and requirements of your culture and social groups. Monitor your conformity. Begin a list of ways in which you can begin to think independently.

Make a list of problems that people experience as a result of mass conformity to arbitrary social rules. How do you contribute to those problems?

Ask yourself: What penalties exist for people who do not abide by social rules, even though their behavior doesn't hurt anyone?