A standpoint is the position you are thinking from — the place you stand when you look at a question, which decides what you can see. It is used almost always in the phrase from the standpoint of, or from a ... standpoint: from the standpoint of a parent, from a legal standpoint, from an economic standpoint. The word does not mean your opinion itself; it means the angle that produces the opinion. That is a real difference. If two people disagree, saying they have different standpoints is gentler and more analytical than saying one is wrong — it says each is standing somewhere different, and each sees a true part of the thing. Compare point of view, which is the everyday word and slightly warmer; viewpoint, which is very close; and perspective, which is the most common in academic writing today. Standpoint sounds a little formal and a little older, and it is at home in essays, reports, and serious discussion.