Your worldview is like a lens that you see
the entire world through
 This means that there are many different
types of worldviews in the world
 What does the phrase “He sees the
world through rose coloured glasses”
mean to you?

Worldview comes from your life experiences
 This means that your worldview is shaped
by:

› Your parents & siblings
› Your extended family
› Your friends
› Your school, teachers, & classmates
› Your work colleagues
› In the future your spouse and their family, friends
and colleagues

In general terms worldview helps us
answer questions such as:
› What is reality?
› Where did I come from?
› What if anything is wrong with the world?
› If something is wrong with the world how do
we fix it?
› What is my purpose in life?
› What is right and wrong? How will I know?

What does this mean for you or me?
› worldview
Given that there are many different types
of worldview that exist we can’t possibly
study them all so we will focus on two:
1. First Nation’s worldview at the time of
contact with Europe
2. European worldview at the time the
America’s were “discovered”
 It is important to note that these worldviews
are not specific to any one person or even
nation

European


First Nations


Time – time is seen as linear, moving from
one thing to the next in a straight line
Man and nature – man was seen as being
at the top of nature’s pyramid with all of
the rest of nature existing to be used by
man
Time – time was seen as circular, always
repeating itself
Man and nature – man was seen as being
a part of nature and not any more
important than another part
European


First Nations


Men and women – men were seen as
superior to women and in some cases
women were nothing more than property
Government – in most cases there was a
monarch whose right to rule was
determined by God
Men and women – men and women
were seen to be equal and in some cases
women held greater power
Government – many first nations’ were
governed by some form of democracy
European


First Nations


Knowledge – knowledge is seen as being
broken down into sections or chunks
Property ownership – everything, including
land is seen as belonging to specific
people
Knowledge – knowledge is seen as being
holistic and often hands on
Ownership – many first nations had no
concept of private ownership of goods
and land was not something anyone
could own you were just responsible for it
European


Justice – was seen as both sides trying to solve
the problem created for the community.
Offenders often had to repay the victim,
death penalty was used only in the most
extreme cases
 Child rearing – children tended to be raised in
such a way that the child choose what they
would become, guided by their parents and
the community. Corporal punishment was
not used for children

First Nations
Justice – was seen as us vs. them, and
punishment of the offender as the goal.
Death penalty was often used, only later
replaced by prison.
Child rearing – children tended to be
raised to follow in their parents’ footsteps.
Corporal punishment was used frequently