Egocentrism and Sociocentrism

Ego
 Latin meaning “self” or “I”
One of the three major parts of
personality
Operates on the principle to get the
demands of our “id” (pleasure principle)
met
Inflated feeling of pride and superiority
Formed by past experiences of reality
Socio
Known as “social”
It could be in the scope of:
◦ Cultural
◦ Psychological
◦ Political
◦ Anthropological
◦ Economical
A person facing a
mirror sees an image
of himself or
herself. Similarly,
when one is thinking
critically, he or she
is looking in the
elements of his or
her own thoughts.
While a person in
front of a mirror
sees his or her own
physical reflection,
an individual
thinking encounters
what is going inside
his or her own
mind.
Thus, when a person thinks critically,
he or she how his or her mind works
in terms of its abilities and
incapabilities and how these can be
improved to help him or her decide
more effectively and act more
appropriately in a given situation.
Plato believed
that self
awareness is
key to living a
meaningful
life.
As for Socrates,

“Gnothi seauton”
Know thyself
Therefore, it is inaccurate to conceive
critical thinking as a purely cognitive or
intellectual activity, detached from or
irrelevant to the realities of life.

On contrary, thinking may be the most vital

of all human activities since an individual’s
interaction with and interpretation of the
world, including the values and meanings
attached to it , depends on the activity and
state of human mind
The first step towards gaining mastery
over thinking is to be conscious of two
basic tendencies that often hinder people
from thinking critically.
And these are identified as
◦ EGOCENTRISM
◦ SOCIOCENTRISM
Egocentrism
Is the tendency of an individual to regard
his or her own personal opinion, belief, or
conviction as a sole basis for asserting the
truth of a claim.

Something is true for an egocentric

thinker because he or she thinks it is
true.
An egocentric thinker….
◦ Neither recognizes nor entertains the opinion
of others particularly those who contradict his
or her claim.
◦ He or she thinks of his or her opinion alone
matters and all other opinions fare less in
comparison with his or her.
◦ He only thinks
Sociocentrism
Egocentrism when applied on a wider
context, leads to sociocentrism.

In this case, an entire community, or

social group rather than an individual,
imposes its own worldview on others and
compels its adherents to follow such
orientation without question as a means to
advance group’s interest.
Sociocentrism may occur among…
◦ Rival religious group
◦ Warring social or political factions.

These opposing groups illustrates how

certain groups who feel strongly about their
causes are sometimes easily swayed by
their passionate advocacy to the point of
becoming intolerant and sometimes
outright hostile, to those whose points of
view are dissimilar to theirs.
Scapegoating
The practice of singling out a person or
group for unmerited blame and
consequent negative treatment.
Effect of Sociocentrism
Propaganda
Emotional warfare
Mutual shaming
Scapegoating
Engaging in a debate
The practice of critical thinking requires
overcoming egocentrism and sociocentrism.
Critical thinking begins as an individual
realizes the errors in his or her thought
process.

Like any other skill, a person’s

advancement or failure in critical thinking
highly depends on his or her constant
practice of his cognitive process.
Activity