Thinking for Yourself- Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Viewpoints

The ability to detach from one’s own point of view and assume another’s is an important skill; it enables us to communicate better with others and gain new perspectives.
In literature an author can choose a third person to tell the story with omniscient or limited understanding. Other choices of viewpoint include a first-person narrative told by character or the multiple points of view shared by several characters.
Viewpoints, like assumptions, opinions, and evaluations, may or may not be consciously recognized.
Unconscious viewpoints include the egocentric, ethnocentric, religiocentric, andocentric, and anthropocentric.
U.S. politics cannot be defined in terms of a simple left-to-left spectrum of viewpoints.
News framing describes the way an editor uses layout design, placement, and headlines to sensationalize, downplay, exaggerate, or convey importance.