This is the day to catch yourself
being …
Selfish
The source for this material and
our 25-Day CT Challenge is…
25 Days to Better Thinking and
Better Living: A Guide for
Improving Every Aspect of Your
Life, by Dr. Linda Elder & Dr.
Richard Paul, Pearson, 2006;
and the Center and Foundation
for Critical Thinking, CA.
Think fair-mindedly…
Drs. Elder and Paul remind us that,
“Human thinking is naturally self-serving,
or selfish. This is a native, not learned,
human tendency (though it can be
encouraged or discouraged by one’s
culture). Humans naturally tend to look
out for ‘number one.’ Unfortunately, that
often means we are unfair to persons ‘two’
and ‘three’.”
They suggest that we look closely at
the role of selfishness in our own lives.
(in 25 Days to Better Thinking…)
When you think fairmindedly, you…
• consider the rights and needs of
others as equivalent to your own
• forego the pursuit of your desires
when fair play requires it
• step outside your viewpoint, into
the viewpoint of others
• value fair-mindedness as a personal
characteristic worth pursuing
Be on the lookout for
selfishness
• “Note how difficult it is to
identify your own unfair
behavior (because the mind
naturally hides what it doesn’t
want to face).” (Elder and Paul)
Inconsistencies in “fair”
thinking…
Notice how often people justify their
selfishness,…
and how often they object to the
selfishness of others.
Just how hard is it for humans to be
fair-minded toward those they have
been taught, or have learned, to
consider “evil”? How difficult is it
for you?
(Drs. Elder and Paul, Ibid)
Foster fairness in your
thinking…
You need not
“cheat”
yourself to be
fair
It is possible to
develop as a
fair person
and thinker
You can learn to
give significant
attention to the
desires…
needs…
rights…
of others
Strategies…
Get
command
of your
selfcentered
tendencies
First - “Recognize,
anew, every day,
that you, like
every other
human, are
naturally selfcentered—that
you, like every
other human, are
primarily
interested in how
the world and
everything in it
can serve you.”
(from 25 Days to Better Thinking, Elder and
Paul)
Strategies, cont’d…
Take
command
of selfdeception
Second – “catch
yourself in the
mental act of selfdeception—e.g.,
ignoring another’s
viewpoint.”
Recognize this
human tendency
in yourself and
consistently work
to take command
of it. (Elder and Paul)
Strategies, cont’d…
Write it
down;
log it;
consider it;
Third - Log selfish
episodes:
Today I was selfish in the
following way…
My selfish thinking was as
follows: (avoid selfdeception here)
My selfish thinking affected
the following persons in
the following ways…
In the future, I can avoid
similar selfishness by
thinking and behaving in
the following rational
ways…
(Ibid)
Strategies, cont’d…
Take every
opportunity
to think
broadly
Fourth – Assume
your mind will
favor whatever
perspective(s) you
hold.
Force your mind
to consider other
relevant ways of
looking at the
issues (try to be
accurate, avoiding
distortion)
(Elder and Paul, Ibid.)
The authors tell us that…
We can never get full command
of our self-centered tendencies
until we routinely bring this
idea [of selfishness] to the
forefront of our thinking.
This is the day to catch yourself
being selfish…
“Selfishness is that detestable
vice which no one will forgive
in others, and which no one is
without in himself.”
-H.W. Beecher
Daily Reflection Notes
• Print the following slide, one
copy for each day of this week,
(remember to use “print current slide”).
• Reflecting and making some
notes on your thoughts and
experiences of the day help to
internalize this “challenge”, as
you know.
DAILY REFLECTION NOTES
•
Today I was successful in using the following ideas/strategies:
•
The key insights that emerged for me today were:
•
One problem in my thinking that I now realize is:
•
I plan to continue working on this problem using the following
strategy: