viewpoint

Viewpoint refers to a position from which something is observed or considered. It can denote a physical location for viewing a scene or a mental stance toward a topic. The term is used across disciplines, including art, literature, geography, philosophy, and media.

In art and visual media, viewpoint concerns the camera or viewer’s position relative to a subject, affecting composition, perspective, and shading. Traditional perspective drawing uses a vanishing point and a horizon line to establish how space is represented from a specific viewpoint.

In literature and storytelling, viewpoint (narrative point of view) describes the perspective from which a story is told: first person, second person, or third person, with distinctions between omniscient and limited viewpoints and considerations of reliability or focalization.

In geography and everyday language, a viewpoint or overlook is a place from which broad scenery can be observed. The term also appears in cartography and planning to denote a vantage for surveying or observation.

Philosophically and politically, viewpoint can refer to a stance or framework through which issues are evaluated. Standpoint theory and related discussions emphasize how social position and experience shape interpretation. The term is often used interchangeably with perspective or stance, though it can imply a more deliberate or systematic framework for understanding.