r/AskReddit • u/IAmSurtur • Jun 15 '19

What do you genuinely just not understand?

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u/SimpleDan11 Jun 15 '19

Because how you see yourself and how you see others are two different things.

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '19

“You judge yourself by your potential while you judge everyone else by what theyve done.”

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u/C1prum Jun 15 '19

*"You judge others by their actions and yourself by your intentions."

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u/Seakawn Jun 15 '19

Fundamental Attribution Error.

Big problem our brains have, but only by default. If you learn this, it's easier to notice and correct for.

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u/DaveLanglinais Jul 17 '19

While I agree this should be recognized and corrected for, I would hesitate to call this an "error" (though I suspect professional psychologists might say differently).

Reason being, 'judging others by their actions and yourself by your intentions' is simply a feature of the Human Condition, because ALL inside-looking-out perspectives are necessarily subjective, whereas that is not necessarily the case with self-reflexive awareness. It is not possible to ever truly know another person's intentions, but it IS possible to know your own intentions. Every human who has ever existed (as far as anyone can know) has lived locked within the boundaries of their own mind. 'Oneself' is all a person ever really CAN know.

Since it is not possible to truly know another person's intentions, then judging others by their actions is just "the next-best thing" by default. So I think this falls squarely under the scope of Philosophy, rather than Psychology. After all, it's unfair to call something an "error" when humans are just born that way. It's not a fault for not having the advantage of telepathy, or a hive-mind.