Person and perspective

Is someone separate from their perspective? How can we disentangle these two?

TL;DR

We habitually equate people with their perspectives, but perspectives are not permanent. When someone irritates you with a viewpoint, try to understand the perspective rather than judging the person. This applies to yourself as well – think about why you think what you think.

We often have some hard feeling towards someone because of the perspective of that person, but we equate the person to the perspective. They might have expressed something, which irritated you, because of their particular perspective.

A person’s perspective is not permanent. It changes for many reasons. It would be very easy to understand people once we understand this concept. Trying to understand the person’s perspective often opens the door to strengthen the relationship.

How do you separate the person from the perspective? Whenever you try to judge someone, take a pause and think why that person is thinking that way. This is applicable for ourselves as well. Think about why we are thinking what we think to open the door to a different level of understanding.

P.S. If you are interested, search for “metacognition” and go down the rabbit hole.

For more reflections like this, see Thoughts.

FAQ

Q: How do you separate a person from their perspective? A: Whenever you catch yourself judging someone, pause and ask why that person might be thinking the way they do. Their perspective is shaped by experiences you may not know about, and it is not permanent – it can and does change.

Q: Why do we equate people with their perspectives? A: It is a cognitive shortcut. When someone expresses a view that irritates us, it is easier to label the person than to engage with the complexity of their reasoning. But the person and their current perspective are not the same thing.

Q: What is metacognition and how does it relate to perspective? A: Metacognition is thinking about your own thinking. Applying it to perspective means asking why you think what you think, not just why others think what they think. This self-awareness is the foundation for understanding others more generously.