Why Are We Hypocritical

So much of human nature and action is hypocritical.  People will say that they want one thing while they really prefer the exact opposite.  This idea is explored in the article "Words Don't Mean What They Mean."  In the article, Steven Pinker shows us how humans say that they want complete and brutal honesty and direct when people are talking to them but are then offended when people don't say it in a nicer way.  In a similar fashion I have noticed that people are also hypocritical in the way that they say they want people to be selfless when they act but mostly only act in their own self interest.  One example of this is people always advocating for being green to save the planet from pollution and global warming.  The majority of people would agree with this claim but at the same time they probably also use many fossil fuels to get energy in their house and to power their cars.  They most likely don't even recycle to their fullest extent.  I know I am guilty of this and so many others are as well, but "such hypocrisy is a human universal."  It is a common thing for people to act selfishly even though we want others to do the opposite.  In a sense, the most likely cause for this is that the human mind only knows the thoughts and needs of its own self and has never experienced the thoughts and needs of others.  This causes a feeling that other people's needs are not as important as those of one's own.  So the reason that people are contradicts their words with their actions in this case is just a case of human psychology and the way we interpret our needs against others'.