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Principle: Egocentricity means confusing what we see and think with reality. When under the influence of egocentricity, we think that the way we see things is exactly the way things are. Egocentricity manifests* itself as an inability or unwillingness to consider others' points of view, a refusal to accept ideas or facts that would prevent us from getting what we want (or think we want). In its extreme forms, it is characterized by a need to be right about everything, a lack of interest in consistency and clarity, an all or nothing attitude ("I am 100% right; you are 100% wrong."), and a lack of self-consciousness of one's own thought processes. The egocentric individual is more concerned with the appearance of truth, fairness, and fair mindedness, than with actually being correct, fair, or fair minded. Egocentricity is the opposite of critical thought. It is common in adults as well as in children.
As people are socialized, egocentricity partly evolves into sociocentricity. Egocentric tendencies extend to their groups. The individual goes from "I am right!" to "We are right!" To put this another way, people find that they can often best satisfy their egocentric desires through a group. "Group think" results when people egocentrically attach themselves to a group. One can see this in both children and adults: My daddy is better than your daddy! My school (religion, country, race, etc.) is better than yours. Uncritical thinkers often confuse loyalty with always supporting and agreeing, even when the other person or the group is wrong.
If egocentricity and sociocentricity are the disease, self-awareness is the cure. We need to become aware of our own tendency to confuse our view with "The Truth". People can often recognize when someone else is egocentric. Most of us can identify the sociocentricity of members of opposing groups. Yet when we ourselves are thinking egocentrically or sociocentrically, it seems right to us (at least at the time). Our belief in our own rightness is easier to maintain* because we ignore the faults in our thinking. We automatically hide our egocentricity from ourselves. We fail to notice when our behavior contradicts* our self-image. We base our reasoning on false assumptions* we are unaware of making. We fail to make relevant* distinctions* (of which we are otherwise aware and able to make) when making them prevents us from getting what we want. We deny or conveniently "forget" facts that do not support our conclusions. We often misunderstand or distort what others say.
The solution, then, is to reflect*
on our reasoning and behavior; to make our beliefs explicit*,
critique*
them, and, when they are false, stop making them; to apply the same
concepts in the same ways to ourselves and others; to consider every
relevant*
fact, and to make our conclusions consistent with the evidence; and
to listen carefully and open mindedly to others. We can change
egocentric tendencies when we see them for what they are:
irrational*
and unjust. The development of children's awareness of their
egocentric and sociocentric patterns of thought is a crucial*
part of education in critical thinking. This development will be
modest at first but can grow considerably over time.
Something that is taken to be true without proof that it
is true. When 2 or more things cannot all be true at the same
time. Therefore, only one could be true. To carefully think about the good and bad points of
something Something that is absolutely required. To see what makes one thing different than another
thing. Clearly and obviously seen and understood. Not
hidden. Not logical or not reasonable To keep operating properly show, demonstrate, to make known To consciously and carefully think about something Of importance to the subject being considered at the
time. If irrelevant, then it doesn't matter.
.