WHAT IS A WORLDVIEW?
WORLD VIEWS: WHAT IS TRUE?
MEANING OF “WORLDVIEW”
• “An all-inclusive world-view or outlook. A
•
somewhat poetic term to indicate either an
articulated system of philosophy or a more or
less unconscious attitude toward life and the
world” (Hunter Mead, Types and Problems of
Philosophy).
“A set of presuppositions which we hold about
the makeup of our world” (James Sire,
Discipleship of the Mind).
MEANING OR WORLDVIEW…
• “A worldview is a set of presuppositions
(or assumptions) which we hold
(consciously or subconsciously) about the
basic makeup of our world. Everyone has
a worldview, whether he (or she) can
explain it or not. It can be likened to a
pair of glasses through which one views
the world” (Jerry Solomon, Probe)
DESCRIPTION OF WORLDVIEW
• A Deeper Understanding of Worldview
Includes…the sensing, thinking, knowing,
acting self that exists in the milieu of a
world or a universe…i.e., matter, energy,
information.
REALITY AND WORLDVIEW
BASIC TENETS AND QUESTIONS
REALITY AND WORLDVIEW: BASIC
TENETS
1. Something exists.
2. All people have absolutes.
3. No statement can be both true and false at the same
4.
time (law of non-contradiction)… a statement that
claims to be true cannot affirm and deny to “P” at the
same time and with the same respect (e.g., blue and
not blue).
All people (though perhaps not claiming to be
religious) exercise faith (or belief in/about something).
This is one’s “bank” or “library” of basic assumptions.
REALITY AND WORLDVIEW:
MAJOR QUESTIONS
1. Why is there something rather than nothing
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
(Ontology)?
How do you know that you know (Epistemology)?
How do you explain human nature (Anthropology)?
How do you determine what is right and wrong
(Ethics)?
What is the meaning of history?
What happens to a person at death?
WORLDVIEW IN CONTEXT
• The Self and its Worldview in the Context
of the World (i.e. our senses of sight,
sound, etc.; the ability to feel stimuli from
the world around us in a process by which
sensed stimuli and existing knowledge are
transformed into modified knowledge).
WORLDVIEW IN CONTEXT…
• Based on the Notion of Self and its
Interaction with the World, a Definition for
Worldview Emerges…
“A worldview is the set of beliefs about fundamental
Aspects of Reality that ground and influence all
one’s perceiving, thinking, knowing, and doing.”
WORLDVIEW AS ONE’S PERSONAL
PHILOSOPHY
• The Elements of One’s Worldview, the
Beliefs about Certain Aspects of Reality,
become One’s…
Epistemology
Beliefs about the nature and sources of
knowledge
Metaphysics
Beliefs about the ultimate nature of Reality
Cosmology
Beliefs about the origins and nature of the
universe
Teleology
Beliefs about the meaning and purpose of the
universe; its inanimate elements and inhabitants
Theology
Beliefs about the nature and existence of God
Anthropology
Beliefs about the nature and purpose of Man in
general and, oneself in particular
Axiology
Beliefs about the nature of value, what is good
(or, bad), what is right (or, wrong)
EPISTEMOLOGY
ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS
EPISTEMOLOGICAL ISSUES
• What is Knowledge?
• What is Knowing?
• What is the Basis for Knowledge?
• What is the Difference between
Knowledge and Faith?
• Is Certainty Possible?
EPISTEMOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
• Your epistemology, what you believe
about knowledge, affects what you
accept as valid evidence and therefore
what you’re willing to believe about
particulars.
METAPHYSICS
BELIEFS AND IMPLICATIONS
METAPHYSICAL BELIEFS
• What is the Ultimate Nature of Reality?
• What is Truth?
• What is the Ultimate Test for Truth?
METAPHYSICAL IMPLICATIONS
• Your metaphysical beliefs (assumptions)
will be affected depending upon whether
or not you are a naturalist, admit to a
spiritual dimension to life or to an ultimate
Reality (God), or depending on your
approach to truth.
COSMOLOGY
BELIEFS AND IMPLICATIONS
COSMOLOGICAL BELIEFS
• What is the Origin of the Universe?
• What is the Origin of life…Man?
COSMOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
• Your cosmological beliefs will dictate
whether or not you consider the universe
is the result of chance, whether or not life
has meaning and significance and in turn
human thoughts and actions; i.e., “Does
my life have meaning and significance in
the Big Picture or Grand Scheme of
things?”
TELEOLOGY
BELIEFS AND IMPLICATIONS
TELEOLOGICAL BELIEFS
• Does the Universe have a Purpose?
• If the Universe has a Purpose, whose
Purpose is it ?
• What is the Purpose of the Universe?
TELEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
• Your teleological assumptions (beliefs,
convictions) will be influenced by whether
or not you think you are accountable to
Someone-thing higher than yourself;
whether or not your consider your life as
in conformance to a Plan.
THEOLOGY
BELIEFS AND IMPLICATIONS
THEOLOGICAL BELIEFS
• Is there a God?
• What is God’s Nature?
• What is the Relationship of God to the
Material Universe?
• What is the Relationship of God to Man?
THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
• Your theological beliefs will affect your
sense of purpose and ultimately your
reactions to events (behavior),
interpretation of events (outlook), or your
sense of obligation to or need for a
relationship with God (Other).
ANTHROPOLOGY
BELIEFS AND IMPLICATIONS
ANTHROPOLOGICAL BELIEFS
• What is Man?
• What is Man’s Place in the Universe?
• Does Man have a Free Will?
• What ought Man to Do?
• Is Man Basically Good or Evil?
ANTHROPOLOGICAL
IMPLICATIONS
• Your anthropological beliefs will affect
whether or not you consider yourself and
others as mere mechanistic elements of
the universe, or as a stewards of God’s
creation; whether or not you are a moral
agent with the capacity for right and
wrong and needing to look to Someonething higher for forgiveness, redemption
and moral strength.
AXIOLOGY
BELIEFS AND IMPLICATIONS
AXIOLOGICAL BELIEFS
• What is Value?
• What Kinds of Value are There?
• Is Value Objective or Relative?
• Is Value Absolute or Relative?
• What is the Source of Value?
• What is the Highest Good?
• What is Right?
AXIOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
• It is impossible to overstate the importance of
your axiology in determining your behavior. It is
the foundation for all of your conscious
judgments and decisions and therefore the basis
for all purpositive thought and action (related to
designed activity, plans). Although some acts are
reflexive or instinctive (not ascribed to a
conscious reference to your beliefs), any action
based on even the most cursory reflection has
its foundation in your standards of what is good
or bad, right or wrong.
CONCLUSIONS
• In summary, your worldview is the set of beliefs
about fundamental aspects of Reality that
ground and influence all your perceiving,
thinking, knowing, and doing. Your worldview
consists of your epistemology, your metaphysics,
your cosmology, your teleology, your theology,
your anthropology, and your axiology. Each of
these subsets of your worldview is highly
interrelated with an affects virtually all of the
others.
Epistemology
Beliefs about the nature and sources of
knowledge
Metaphysics
Beliefs about the ultimate nature of Reality
Cosmology
Beliefs about the origins and nature of the
universe
Teleology
Beliefs about the meaning and purpose of the
universe; its inanimate elements and inhabitants
Theology
Beliefs about the nature and existence of God
Anthropology
Beliefs about the nature and purpose of Man in
general and, oneself in particular
Axiology
Beliefs about the nature of value, what is good
(or, bad), what is right (or, wrong)
THE MAJOR WORLD VIEWS
THEISM, NATURALISM,
PANTHEISM
THEISM
• Monotheism
• Creation Ex Nihilo
• Supernaturalism
• Revelation
• Man’s Nature
• Man’s Need
• Man’s Destiny
GOD
Man
Naturalism
1. Modernism
–
–
–
–
Evolution
Autonomy
Human Reason
Science
2. Postmodernism
Culture
– Truth is culturally based
– Reality if in the mind of the beholder
– We can’t think independently because we are defined by our
culture
– There is no “trans-cultural objectivity”
– There is no progress.
– Nothing is ever proven.
PANTHEISM
• Monism
• Pantheism
• Human Divinity
• Cosmic Consciousness
• Reincarnation
• Moral Relativism
god
WORLDVIEW TESTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
Consistent?
Coherent?
Comprehensive?
Correspondence?