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Worldviews

Page history last edited by Paul Hazelden 2 years, 11 months ago

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Worldviews

This page seeks to describe worldviews and how they are used; it is not aiming to promote any particular understanding or agenda.

 

Introduction

To take the easy route and start with Wikipedia: we can describe a worldview as a framework of ideas and beliefs through which an individual, group or culture watches, interprets and interacts with the world.

 

James Sire introduced many people to the subject in The Universe Next Door, and described a worldview as "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 construction of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being."

 

From Wikipedia: according to Michael Lind, "a worldview is a more or less coherent understanding of the nature of reality, which permits its holders to interpret new information in light of their preconceptions. Clashes among worldviews cannot be ended by a simple appeal to facts. Even if rival sides agree on the facts, people may disagree on conclusions because of their different premises." This is why politicians often seem to talk past one another, or ascribe different meanings to the same events.

 

The reason for considering worldviews is partly to help us understand ourselves, but mainly to help us understand other people - and to understand that other people really do see the world in a radically different way from us: they are not simply confused or mistaken about some details, but they may have beliefs and assumptions that would be utterly impossible for you to hold - and vice versa - because of your worldviews.  We cannot understand one another until we recognize not only what we have in common, but also where we differ.

 

 

Some Details

In his Lectures on Logic, Kant says there are three basic questions.

  1.  What can I know?
  2.  What ought I to do?
  3.  What may I hope for?

A worldview may answer these questions but, more importantly, it will provide the framework through which the individual (or group or culture) can seek answers to these basic questions, and navigate the journey which arises from asking them.

 

A character in William Boyd's Brazzaville Beach easily answers these questions.

  1.  What can I know?  Nothing for sure.
  2.  What ought I to do?  Try not to hurt anyone.
  3.  What may I hope for?  For the best (but it won't make any difference).

"There, he said, that's sorted out."  Except, of course, that it isn't.  Just for a start: if you can know nothing for sure, then how sure can you be, about how much?  The answer - any answer - opens up many more questions.

 

More recently, Leo Apostel has suggested that a worldview should comprise these six elements.

  1. An ontology, answering the question, "How did we get here?"
  2. A futurology, answering the question, "Where are we heading?"
  3. A morality, answering ethical questions, such as, "What should we do?"
  4. A praxeology, or methodology, a theory of action answering the question, "How should we attain our goals?"
  5. An epistemology, a theory of knowledgetiologye answering the question, "What is true and false?"
  6. An etiology, an account of its own "building blocks", its origins and construction.

 

It has been suggested that there are also 'cultural worldviews'.  Roland Muller has suggested that they can be broken down into three kinds.  Unlike the standard worldviews, a person can function within multiple cultural worldviews, each one in a distinct context, so a person may be raised in a Power–Fear society, in an Honor–Shame family, and go to school under a Guilt–Innocence system.  It may be the case that Power-Fear operates more as a potential modifier to the other two, rather than functioning alone.  These descriptions are taken from Wikipedia.

  • Guilt–Innocence: In a Guilt–Innocence focused culture, schools focus on deductive reasoning, cause and effect, good questions, and process. Issues are often seen as black and white. Written contracts are paramount. Communication is direct, and can be blunt.
  • Honor–Shame: Societies with a predominantly Honor–Shame worldviews teach children to make honorable choices according to the situations they find themselves in. Communication, interpersonal interaction, and business dealings are very relationship-driven, with every interaction having an effect on the Honor–Shame status of the participants. In an Honor–Shame society the crucial objective is to avoid shame and to be viewed honorably by other people. The Honor–Shame paradigm is especially strong in most regions of Asia.
  • Power–Fear: Some cultures can be seen very clearly in operating under a Power–Fear worldview. In these cultures it is very important to assess the people around you and know where they fall in line according to their level of power. This can be used for good or for bad. A benevolent king rules with power and his citizens fully support him wielding that power. On the converse, a ruthless dictator can use his power to create a culture of fear where his citizens are oppressed.

 

 

Comments (1)

markinpowys@... said

at 3:00 pm on Apr 8, 2021

Love this.

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