Our True Default Setting

David Foster Wallace presents the idea that we are all inherently self-centered and egocentric, and that we “see and interpret everything through this lens of self” (233). But is being self-centered truly our “default setting”? As humans, we are some of the most social animals and we constantly crave recognition and attention from other people. We have a desperate desire to conform to societal norms, even disregarding our personal opinions just to fit in with society. Sometimes, we are so fixated on other people, such as the popular kid at school, that we struggle to focus on ourselves. We are also driven by competition in almost all our endeavors, as opposed to focusing on our individual performance.

For example, after school tests, we fervently ask around to find out who scored the highest, eager to determine how we performed in relation to our peers. If we scored higher than a so-called intelligent person, we feel especially accomplished. We overlook the fact that we probably could have studied harder or performed better on the test. We only evaluate ourselves in relation to that intelligent student; our satisfaction is derived solely from a comparison to another student rather than our true understanding of the subject material.

In addition, many of our interests provide no significant personal gains for us. We watch professional sports and idolize the athletes when we actually have little in common with them. We may think that we play the same sport as our favorite athletes, but in reality, our sports have little semblance to the sports the professionals play. Although the rules are the same, the professionals run at an almost unimaginable speed and are blessed with razor-sharp reflexes that we could only dream of having. Despite being so different from these athletes, we still have a strong investment in our sports teams. Even though I rarely watch the Lions play and have little personal attachment to them, I still feel genuinely excited whenever they win a game because everyone around me feels the same way.

We are deluded to think that any of our thoughts and opinions are truly our own. With 7 billion other people in the world, there will surely be someone else who shares the same beliefs. We have not had one original thought; we just respond to what society deems as moral and correct. We are immediately shaped by our interactions with the most important people in our lives, especially our parents and teachers. We will constantly remember their sayings and stories even though these stories have no personal meaning for us. Even Wallace and Thoreau, who have unique views on many topics in life, have opinions that follow directly from those of other great thinkers and philosophers. Our personalities will forever be defined by the teachings of others, and as much as we value the self, we tend to value the people around us even more.