self-scrutiny
Looking inward critically
Self-scrutiny is the act of examining one's own thoughts, motives, or behavior.
It implies honest, sometimes uncomfortable assessment rather than casual reflection: The scandal forced a period of institutional self-scrutiny.
Where introspection suggests gentle inward looking, self-scrutiny carries a harder edge—searching for flaws or errors that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Observing one's own mind
- insightDeep perceptive understanding
- mindfulnessAwareness of the present
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- metacognitionAwareness of own reasoning
Internal moral sense
- guiltMoral self-reproach
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
- repentanceRemorseful rejection of past wrongs
atonement · scrupulosity · remorse · contrition · penitence · rectitude
Relating to elenctic inquiry
- navel-gazingExcessive inward contemplation
- phenomenologyStudy of subjective experience
- dialecticLogical argument through opposition
- meditationFocused attention practice
Regular personal writing practice
- therapyCurative mental treatment
- processingSystematic operation on data
- healingRestoration of health
- recoveryRegaining what was lost
growth · breakthrough · catharsis · reframing · integration
introspection
Observing one's own mind
- insightDeep perceptive understanding
- mindfulnessAwareness of the present
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
conscience
Internal moral sense
- guiltMoral self-reproach
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
repentance · atonement · scrupulosity · remorse · contrition · penitence · rectitude
Socratic
Relating to elenctic inquiry
- navel-gazingExcessive inward contemplation
- phenomenologyStudy of subjective experience
- dialecticLogical argument through opposition
journaling
Regular personal writing practice
- therapyCurative mental treatment
- processingSystematic operation on data
- healingRestoration of health
recovery · growth · breakthrough · catharsis · reframing · integration
- contemplationcontemplation, meditation, reflection, pondering, musing
- introspectionintrospection, soul searching, looking inward, soul-searching, inner dialogue
- timiditybashfulness, shyness, timidness, timorousness, meekness
self-scrutinyfinger-pointing
Assigning blame openly
projection · scapegoating · externalization · blame-shifting · fault-finding
self-scrutinydenial
Refusal to accept reality
deflection · self-deception · avoidance · willful blindness · defensiveness
self-scrutinyself-delusion
Believing comfortable falsehoods
self-satisfaction · complacency · smugness · self-congratulation · narcissism
self, scrutiny, selves, selfish, selfless, selfhood, selfishly, selfishness, selflessness