Chapter 7 & 8
NAMING THE ELEPHANT:
THE LAST TWO CHAPTERS
SIRE’S DEFINITION FOR WORLDVIEW

A definition for worldview proposed by Sire in
Chapter one was this:

A worldview is a set of presuppositions
(assumptions which may be true, partially true
or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or
subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently)
about the basic makeup of our world. (pg19)
CHAPTER BEFORE 7

In subsequent chapters, Sire tries to expound on this
definition by using the worldview notions developed by a
number of different thinkers

Secular (Ex. Dilthey, Nietzche, Wittgenstein, Foucault) and
Christian (ex. Orr, Kuyper, Dooyeweerd) thinkers hold
different presuppositions about what is real. (Chapter 2)

These pretheoretical (bone) concepts coexist with
presuppositional (flesh) concepts and become a foundation
for theoretical concepts.
(Chapter 4)


Epistemology (with the influence of
Enlightenment) is an attempt to explain how we
know what is real through the means of reason.
Sire insists that one cannot get to ultimate
reality (ontology) through reason (epistemology)
because what you believe to be true is at best a
human construct. Therefore, ontology should
always come before epistemology (Chapter 3)
ENLIGHTENMENT REASONING
Everything that is can be known through
reason.
 Therefore: Nothing that cannot be known
through reason can be.
 Therefore: Nothing that cannot be known
through reason can be.

WORLDVIEW AS A STORY
Sire makes an important point that as much as
a worldview is a set of beliefs one holds about
what is really real, it certainly is more than a
set of statements. He argues that it is the way
of life and it is couched in a story. Who you are
and how you live say more about your
worldview than what you claim it to be.
 (Chapter 5)

Chapter 7
WORLDVIEW: A REFINED DEFINITION
DEFINITION REVISITED

In chapter 7, Sire revisits his earlier definition of
worldview to make it more comprehensive.

A worldview is a commitment, a fundamental
orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a
story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which
may be true, partially true or entirely false) which we
hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or
inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality,
and that provides the foundation on which we live and
move and have our being.
WORLDVIEW AS COMMITMENT

(1) What worldview is not fundamentally:
a set of propositions
 a matter of intellect
 a matter of language


(2) What Worldview really is:
It involves them all but essentially lies deeply in the
inner self
 a matter of the soul
 spiritual orientation or disposition

WORLDVIEW AS A FUNDAMENTAL ORIENTATION OF HEART
We often think of heart as a seat of emotions and
emotions alone.
 But in biblical perspective, the heart is “the central
operating chamber of every human being. It is
from this heart that all one’s thoughts and actions
proceed“ (pg 124). In this perspective, hearts
includes mind, will, desires, spirituality and
emotion.
 See Proverbs 4:23

EXPRESSED AS A STORY OR IN A SET OF PRESUPPOSITIONS

Worldview is NOT a story or presuppositions BUT it can
be EXPRESSED in them. Each worldview can be
expressed in a master story

Naturalism: big bang, evolution, formation of galaxies,
appearance and disappearance of

Christianity: the creation, the fall, redemption make up
a master story

We each live a life that is a chapter of the master story
ASSUMPTIONS WHICH MAY BE TRUE

The presuppositions that express one’s commitments
may be true, partially true or entirely false.

For Christians, the fact that there is God is entirely true.
However, they are limited to grasp all the concepts of
God (trinity, omniscient, eternal..) fully nor accurately.

Sire suspects that “we can be only partially true about
most things that are possible for us to know...It is best to
acknowledge that all our presuppositions are limited in
their accuracy.” (129-130)
PRESUPPOSITIONS WHICH WE HOLD
CONSCIOUSLY OR UNCONSCIOUSLY
Though we think with our worldview, we don’t
always think about our worldview.
 A large portion of our worldview is held
unconsciously

PRESUPPOSITIONS WHICH ARE CONSISTENT OR INCONSISTENT

We often hold contradicting ideas without
noticing them
Ex. A Christian believing in re-incarnation
 Ex. A naturalist believing in a possibility of life
after death

PROVIDES THE FOUNDATION ON WHICH WE LIVE

Our worldview is not precisely what we may
state it to be. It is what is actualized in our
behavior. We live our worldview or it isn’t our
worldview. (pg. 133)
WHY REDEFINE?

(1) The main contribution is the shift it makes from
propositions and stories to the heart that holds them. By
doing so, we respect the depth of its roots in each person
and avoid simple arguments or over glorifying temporal
change of mind.

(2) The lived-out character will be emphasized more than
statements one makes about his/her worldview

(3) “Because the mainstay of one’s worldview is ontological,
a commitment to a specific notion of fundamental reality, we
will take a person’s notion of God or nature or themselves to
be the most important aspect of their character.” 135
Why study worldview?
Worldview can be a tool of analysis
CHAPTER 8:
WORLDVIEW AS A TOOL FOR ANALYSIS
(1) SELF ANALYSIS: NAMING YOUR OWN ELEPHANT

It helps you know where you stand: what you
think you believe about the really real and what
your life tells you about your worldview

It allows you to live an examined life: involves
examining your intellectual and emotional
changes and developments
 “An
unexamined life is not worth living.” ~Socrates
(2) ANALYSIS OF THE WORLDVIEWS OF OTHERS

It helps us to know and understand where
others stand
 Reading
someone’s worldview essay helps us to
understand the thoughts of that particular
individual.
 Other writings completed by that person, how
he/she spends her day, what he/she enjoys
reading can increase our knowledge of that person.
(2) ANALYSIS OF THE WORLDVIEWS OF OTHERS
 Worldview
analysis encourages us to look beyond a
superficial reading.
 EX.
Matsuo Basho (a late 17th century poet)
An ancient pond
A frog leaps in
The sound of water
(2) ANALYSIS OF THE WORLDVIEWS OF OTHERS

Basho was a Zen Buddhist priest with a Zen mind. At
the heart of Zen mind is a Zen moment, a concentration
of attention on a chronologically dimensionless present.
Past, present and future meet at a timeless point. There
is consciousness but it is always changing. Nothing is
permanent. The only thing that is permanent is Void.
These notions are reflected in his poem. The “ancient
pond” carries the past to present; the “sound of water”
is not vivified like “plop” or “bloop” since there is no
sound when past and present intersect. Sound is
basically a vibration and it takes time. Therefore there
is no sound.
(3) CULTURAL ANALYSIS

Sire believes that it is extremely helpful to have a
basic understanding of the major worldviews
present today.

Every book, movie, TV show, and newspaper
article are written from a worldview whether it was
made obvious to us or not. We need to be critical
of the information we are getting from the media
by looking beyond its manifested storyline and
getting to the worldview which undergirds the
storyline.
(4) ACADEMIC ANALYSIS: WORLDVIEW IN AN
ACADEMIC SETTING

Here are some assumptions all academic disciplines,
including science hold: (pgs. 156-157)

Orderliness of universe: “If the universe is not law-like in its
operations, no theories can be tested even if they were able
to be formulated.”

Reliability on the capacity of the scholar: “The mind is
assumed to be able to understand what it investigates.”

Contingency of the universe: “The universe does not have to
be the way it is. It could have been otherwise.”
(4) ACADEMIC ANALYSIS: WORLDVIEW IN AN
ACADEMIC SETTING

These assumptions are accepted by all working
scientists and they do not notice that these
assumptions are not self-evident.

Also, the first assumption, the notion of
orderliness of universe, actually comes from
Christian worldview---The universe is orderly
because an omniscient and omnipotent God who
has created and keeps the universe in such way.
(4) ACADEMIC ANALYSIS: WORLDVIEW IN AN
ACADEMIC SETTING

Methodological naturalists: “Many Christian scientists
believe that as far as science is concerned, they do not
need the notion of God. Science deals with natural
explanations of natural phenomena. There may be
other explanations, but they belong in philosophy or
theology or history or psychology or sociology.” (158)

Methodological naturalistic approach was most popular
amongst the Christians in the field of science until
recently when it is being challenged by scientists and
philosophers who argue for design science.
ELEPHANT ALL THE WAY DOWN

“A worldview is a commitment, a fundamental
orientation of the heart, that can be expressed
as a story or in a set of presuppositions
(assumptions which may be true, partially true
or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or
subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently)
about the basic constitution of reality, and that
provides the foundation on which we live and
move and have our being.”

Sire knows that this worldview definition will not solve all the
problems presented to us by our differences, but hopes that
this helps us to make sense out of all the problems we face.


Who holds up the world?
“It is Elephant all the way down” the father said.

What is the name of that Elephant for you?

Christians should say, “The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the Elephant.”
“God is the name of the Elephant.”