Our intrinsic narrowness of perspective, focused on our own needs and wants, merges with our group views as we are increasingly socialized and conditioned, over time, to see the world not only from our own point of view, but from the perspectives of our groups: family, gender, peers, colleagues, ethnic group, nationality, religion, profession, and indeed any groups in which we are members. Thus, we come to see the world as Japanese, American, Turkish, Korean, or Chinese persons. We see it as Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Agnostics, or Atheists. We see it as teachers, entrepreneurs, lawyers, doctors, judges, prosecutors, or police officers. We see it as women, men, people of a certain age, heterosexuals, homosexuals, people of a certain ethnic group, and so on.

Egocentric thought is a significant problem in every human’s thinking; it is the native propensity to see things from one’s own narrow, self-serving, self-validating perspective. It leads people to uncritically accept that which makes them feel good, and that which serves their selfish desires. To understand egocentric thinking is to begin with the assumption that the human mind is naturally trapped in pathological ways of looking at the world. Instead of being open-minded, we often tend to be narrow-minded. Instead of seeing situations fairmindedly, we often tend to see them from our own selfish perspectives. Instead of recognizing that complex issues require complex reasoning, we often oversimplify them.

Sociocentrism is a powerful force in every culture in the world. It is exemplified in widespread group selfishness (what we might term “groupishness”), conformity, and myopia. It threatens the well- being of humans, other species, and the planet. Due to technological advances, the capacity of human groups to cause great suffering among themselves, as well as to other sentient creatures, is now unprecedented. Sociocentrism, as a way of thinking, contrasts with that of the emancipated human mind (the mind that thinks beyond narrow group interests to the rights and needs of all humans, as well as other sentient species).