In "This is Water," David Foster Wallace brings human nature into question, accusing humanity as a whole of being naturally egocentric. This assertion is incredibly narrow-minded, and frankly, a very American perspective. Humanity is naturally altruistic, and only craves experience and the pursuit of happiness.
It is true that being taught how to think, or how Wallace phrases it, “learning how to think” is a crucial part of the human psyche. Wallace even goes so far as to say that learning how to think means being able to choose how one “constructs meaning from experience,” which is very true. What he failed to recognize, however, is that learning how to think does not simply teach how not to be naturally self-centered, or in the “natural default-setting” as he liked to put it. Wallace was much more correct in saying that learning how to think enables people to draw meaning from experience, whether that be a very normal day-to-day experience, or a once in a lifetime kind of experience. This is because one of the very few things that humanity naturally craves is experience. Generally, people crave experience because experience leads to knowledge: an essential tool in the pursuit of happiness. And, in the grand scheme of things, all that people really want is to be happy. If something as trivial as a traffic jam or slow-moving line at a Walmart (even on a daily basis) regularly brings even the Author to such a state of self-pity and loathing as he so articulately described, then Wallace himself needs to experience other parts of the world, where many people often don't have SUVs and supermarkets at their disposal. He may then realize that seeing the positive, even while sitting in line at Walmart, is not a matter of choice. It is a matter of reason and human nature. Egocentrism has become a societal poison, especially in the U.S., and “This is Water” is the result.
While you make a good argument, I disagree and find Wallace to be very accurate in his description of human nature. We are naturally a self centered species. Being selfless is taught. Thankfully so, but it is not a natural born blessing. Even as children we are taught to share our toys because not to do so is considered selfish. Of course there are exceptions to any rule, but there is still the majority. Are you saying that after a long day of class you don’t get annoyed with someone in the quad trying to get your attention when all you want is to get to bed and sleep? Maybe at some point you think they're just doing what they have to do, but in that moment you just want them to leave you alone. Whether that is “bad” or “good” is up to personal judgement, but fact is fact. Humans are self centered, but again, the fact that humans are this way isn't necessarily a bad thing. I’d say it's just something that comes along with being a species that is self aware.
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