Are Most People Arrogant About their views?

This is just something that struck me after reading something a kid wrote. But do you think people are arrogant about their views? Be it Christian, atheist, democrat, republican, or 49ers fan?

stonewall50 said:

This is just something that struck me after reading something a kid wrote. But do you think people are arrogant about their views? Be it Christian, atheist, democrat, republican, or 49ers fan?

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Its not that most people are arrogant about their views (some are of course, but I doubt its anything but a small minority). People tend to believe that they reach their views due to logic and rationality when its been shown over and over by psychological studies that people gravitate towards their views for emotional reasons. The reason and logic really comes in after the fact. Because of this, people tend to be dense and hard to convince to see things different and if you want to, you have to either befriend them or be accepted as their moral leader, mainly through charisma.

You stand behind what you believe in. To me, that's not arrogance, its conviction.

No one is arrogant about their views. Anyone who disagrees is an idiot.

stonewall50 said:

This is just something that struck me after reading something a kid wrote. But do you think people are arrogant about their views? Be it Christian, atheist, democrat, republican, or 49ers fan?

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Too broad a brush.

But I'll tell you when I notice it most often: When people are disparaging a class of people. For instance, last night on DP, people were calling seniors "takers" because they were collecting Social Security from, what they've determined, is a failed program. Another example might be people collecting food stamps...or even public pensions.

I'm guilty of it myself at times.

Lovebug said:

You stand behind what you believe in. To me, that's not arrogance, its conviction.

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I tend to agree. But there is a point where people become insulting. I would call that arrogance. I don't think anyone is safe from it though. I think everyone can be a little egotistical.

Lovebug said:

You stand behind what you believe in. To me, that's not arrogance, its conviction.

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Yeah, that's not called conviction nowadays, it's called bigotry...

stonewall50 said:

I tend to agree. But there is a point where people become insulting. I would call that arrogance. I don't think anyone is safe from it though. I think everyone can be a little egotistical.

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ChezC3 said:

Yeah, that's not called conviction nowadays, it's called bigotry...

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Perhaps so, but I can be firm without being confrontational, catching more flies with honey than vinegar as it were.

Lovebug said:

Perhaps so, but I can be firm without being confrontational, catching more flies with honey than vinegar as it were.

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Honey is always the lead card, I agree. However, it hs been my experience people don't like to be told "No." So when resistance is met, they tend to throw a hissy...

Lovebug said:

Perhaps so, but I can be firm without being confrontational, catching more flies with honey than vinegar as it were.

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I very much agree. It is much easier for me to be polite and nice in person. I tend to very much enjoy political and faith discussions. I had a roomate who was both atheist and liberal. we discussed things all the time. He bested me in many arguments regarding finance (go figure he is a tax law attorney now lol) and I always won the gun discussions. But we are very close friends.

MaggieD said:

Too broad a brush.

But I'll tell you when I notice it most often: When people are disparaging a class of people. For instance, last night on DP, people were calling seniors "takers" because they were collecting Social Security from, what they've determined, is a failed program. Another example might be people collecting food stamps...or even public pensions.

I'm guilty of it myself at times.

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Sounds like a winning strategy. Along with "poor people shouldn't be able to vote."

Arrogance = thinking you're all that.


Cockyness = Knowing you are.


We all have deeply held opinions, when these run counter to those of someone else....it can be seen as arrogant.

I only seem arrogant to you because MY opinions are better than yours.

I think a lot of people are arrogant wrt to their religious or philosophical views, but I think it's usually based in insecurity, rather than actual egotism. The most important questions in life are sometimes the most frightening.

I think it's important to differentiate DP and internet forums from real life. I notice that there is much more arrogance (myself included) when posting on the internet then there is in real life. There's a difference when face to face. There may still be conviction but it doesn't usually come across as ... final.

The internet and anonymity turns us all into assholes, some more than others.

stonewall50 said:

This is just something that struck me after reading something a kid wrote. But do you think people are arrogant about their views? Be it Christian, atheist, democrat, republican, or 49ers fan?

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First off, generalizations are generally untrue. (Please forgive the awful pun.)

Also note that I am describing my views on belief in general, not solely religion.

I, personally, think that it's a matter of introspection. Introspective people tend to be less arrogant, though nearly everyone who has any confidence can be considered arrogant to a degree. People with experience, age, or intelligence, which in some cases the first two are analogous, might think they know things that they don't because, according to their schema, that's just how the world works. Those with more experience or winters, unlike those with only intelligence, will know and usually acknowledge that there are possibilities beyond their own concepts of a subject. Those with little experience will think of an idea, decide that it is logical, and cling to it.

Introspective people don't usually assume they're right. They usually think about it, why they think about it, how it could be wrong, and the like. Non-introspective people think as "Me, the person," whereas their introspective counterparts think as "Me, a person." A person can always be wrong, but the person is different, better than others, and so is not likely to be wrong if a person would be right over them.