Figments:
"Meism"

“Meism” is the error of exaggerating the value of one’s own point of view. It’s at the core of countless fallacies.

Geocentrism—My point of reference is the universe’s point of reference.

Racism—My race is the good or pure one.

Homocentrism — Humans are the pinnacle of creation or evolution.

Patriarchy—We men are better than women.

Creationism—My world is the way the world has always been.

End Times — The time I'm living in is the end time, the most important time in over a thousand years.

Religion—My people are God’s chosen. My religion is the right one.

Afterlife, Reincarnation—I’m immortal.

Ethics—My good deeds are important. My misdeeds are not.

Paranoia — People are conspiring against me (how important I must be).

It’s perfectly natural to exaggerate your own point of view. We evolved consciousness not in order to apprehend objective reality but in order to succeed better. Any would-be ancestors that accepted others’ points of view as equal to their own were out-competed by our actual ancestors that saw to their own needs first.

A good deal of modern subjectivity is an attempt to get past meism. The first lesson of skepticism is to question self-serving beliefs.

—JoT
January 2006

For more fallacies and myths, see the Figments hub.

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