Here is an extract from a post on my blog J delta rho about the importance of being self-critical in academia. This is, of course, also important in life. It is not enough for others to acknowledge your faults, you must acknowledge them for yourself and actively seek them out.
I recently finished my masters thesis and I would now like to do something that most people never do. I am going to critique my work. I believe that being self-critical is essential not only in research, but in life in general. In research it is necessary to further the truth. It is not enough that others are critical of you (though it is necessary). You must be critical of yourself – only then will you be willing to remedy your flaws, change your convictions and pursue truth and goodness rather than your own prejudiced agenda.
Read more of this post on my other blog, J delta rho, here….
Meditations of Lambchop 
#1 by Amyclae on 10/07/2013 - 5:14 am
Well, for one it’s good that the work is going to be (self) critiqued because if it’s like any other dissertation it’s going to be half-read by two other people, perhaps fully read by one person, and perhaps cherry-picked by another halfdozen before its digitized and stored in the university’s data center where it’ll exist as a forgotten, curious piece of detritus of the academic process. At least this way it’ll be read by someone who cares.
#2 by johandp on 12/07/2013 - 10:50 am
Yes, I would not be surprised if that is the end result of my thesis. Still, we need the critique of both ourselves and others.