Where does the idea of "big I am" come from? I think it is something that is core to most of us, apart from maybe budhist monks. It seems to effect both sexes equally and appears to me to be something that we are born with.

Is it the ego? possible, but it certainly has a nasty twist which ego alone doesn't seem to allow.

Is it a product of our up-bringing? Competition as youngsters could be a launch pad for the mental condition. The winning at all costs scenario is a part of our society, as is the super hero mindset.

Is it a side effect of over confidence? Certainly over confidence is rife in this world and often leads to bad ideas being put into action, however the "big I am" can also be exhibitied by the insecure.

Most likely it is purely animal in nature, if you look at nature and to how different species deal with eachother, you always see a kind of social heirarchy, with the creature at the top being the biggest bully, followed by many lesser bullies.

It is a little different for us though, because the power struggle sometimes seems to be less important than being "right". People don't see that "right" is only a perspective, and actually it's often as good, if not better in life, to be wrong. For some inexplicable reason we shy away from being wrong at all costs. When we are found to be in error we go to extremes to either beat ourselves up, try to recover our pride, or pretend it didn't happen and just take it out on those around us.

So are we stuck with the "big I am" as a species? I certainly hope not, but I cannot offer a solution. There are a vast number of people not looking for answers in the first place, and it will have to be forced upon them before they'll realise.

This reminds me of another thought I had about dictatorships not actually being such a bad thing, if the leader is just and selfless. Democracy it seems to me, even if followed to the letter of the law, is never going to work as people are suffering from the "big I am" syndrome, and that makes it impossible to have fairness and equality. I'll have to do a follow up on that.