Point of view, viewpoint, standpoint, angle, slant denote the position or attitude that determines which aspect of an object of contemplation is seen or presented.
Point of view, viewpoint, and standpoint are often interchangeable, but point of view and viewpoint can suggest either a mental or a physical position and may permit the inference that there are other ways of looking at what is considered and therefore usually suggest lack of completeness in the vision, or one-sidedness in the views expressed or presented.
Standpoint may have connotations which tend to distinguish it from point of view and viewpoint; it is more often restricted to the mental point of view <consider totalitarianism from the German standpoint > and it more often connotes than definitely implies a fixed way of looking justified by one’s fundamental principles or one’s stock of information and not necessarily resulting in a limited understanding.
Angle (see also PHASE ) definitely implies one-sidedness or limitations in the scope of one’s vision.
Slant stresses bias, but it may be bias derived from temperament, mental habits, or experience rather than from prejudice.