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Thursday, September 22, 2011

WORLD VIEW - What is Your World View? Does World View Evolve?



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World View can be considered from many perspectives: philosophical, historical, political, and psychological.  It can can be both personal and societal; often the world view of a society cannot help but be part of an individual's personal world view.  The concept of world view first arose in Gernan philosophy, the German word,weltanschauung has been translated into the English word, world view.

Definition.  Many definitions of world view can be found on the internet. I found an excellent discussion of the concept at this URL:


The website posted above provides these two understandings of the concept.

1)  The over-all perspective from which one sees and interprets the world.
2)  A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or group.

It is important to note that worldview does NOT have to be connected to a specific religion, but it could be. Angelenos (citizens of Los Angeles) do not all share the same religion, butr many of them share a love of the Lakers, the Pacific Ocean, skill and acceptance of the inevitability of freeway driving, sophistication about celebrities, appreciation and patronage of 'dining out', etc.

New Yorkers, Chicagoans, San Franciscans, residents of Washington, D.C., Miami, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth all share an urban world view.  But, the geography, socio-economic, and ethnic characteristics of each of these cities creates a specific and unique world view.  Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists all have distinct world views.  Democrats, Republicans, Green Party, Tea Party, Independent voters all have distinct world views.

For a person committed to READING, it is important that she/he know what world view he/she is bringing to the content of the reading material.  Part of following Socrates's admonition about knowing oneself, is to reflect on one's own world view.  I took a world view survey on line, and got my personal world view profile.  I agree with the profile.  You might like to take this questionnaire for your own self-knowledge.  Or, you might want to have someone you met on a social network take the survey, to see, if your profiles are compatible.

The URL for the world view survey and personal profile is cited here.

http;//quizfarm.com/quizzes/new/eddxii/what-is-your-world-view/

As a former college history professor, I need to make this final reference to WeltanschauungThe Nazi party came to power because of a shared world view of many people in Germany. This world view did not originate in the twentieth century, the seeds for this political point of view pervaded Germanic culture long before Germany was even a nation.  As horrific as the Nazi party was, it was an example of an idea whose time had finally come in a specific nation, but the ideas can be found in prior centuries in the music, art and mythology of what would become 20th century Germany.

What do you think about the concept of World View?  How many world views do you have, religious, political, philosophical, social???  If you have the time and the inclination, take the World View Survey and analyze the profile it gives you.  What do you think??  Does individual WORLD VIEW evolve in the maturing adult??

Share your thoughts

Dr. CW

3 comments:

  1. Religious: People believe who their faith/belief tells them their maker is. This belief is developed early in life, based on your family values/upbringing. This belief is instilled in an individual until he/she changes his/her beliefs. This change can occur before/after marriage;fraternity/organizations joined and/or socio economic profile. There are various religious beliefs in our world today. Christianity is no longer the primary religion. Religion is a harder topic to discuss than sex.

    Political: People gain political insight during high school education. It starts with the political party your family supports. US/World History courses expose the mind to outside views you can only imagine. During college and/or after politics become more of an interest. When medical/social security benefits are threatened by our government, this makes politics a life long interest.

    Philosophical: Philosophy is how we view our world and the things in it that directly/indirectly affect our lives. This evolves from our family values and how and which part of the world we come from. This sets the direction we believe to be true/good. At some point in life, hopefully sooner than later, we realize that our philosophy on subjects differ from others beliefs/philosophy. If we never realize and respect that others have different views than ours, this is what causes war. A perfect example is Vietnam, and more currently Iraq. We were sent there to change something that that was not meant to be changed.

    Social: This view is established before elementary school. As infants you hear "play nice". This socialization process is a continuous learning process throughout life until change is warranted. Likes vs dislikes; wants vs needs; beliefs vs non beliefs. These all are part of the way we socialize. What we think is how we act. Actions speak louder than words. Yes, I believe inclined world views does evolve in the maturing adult.

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  2. I am not sure if the Nazi uprising was due to the references in music mythology or any other reference. I wonder if the allies after WW I would have supported Germany economically and socially as they did after WW II (supported both Germany and Japan), would the results have been completely different and could we have avoided WW II? Did the allies create the perfect environment for Hitler and the Nazi leadership to have an opportunity to rally a nation behind such a terrible cause? It seems history shows us that oppressed people can be rallied to support any cause that promises a better outcome than the current living standards. As I referenced before, are the Muslim radicals being misled with a promise for a better after life? The rise of socialism in Russia. It goes on and on. Even our independence came from the oppression caused by the King of England. Would we have this great country if England just backed off in the 1700's? Would the terrorists who were convinced that we are evil for supporting the oppressive royal family not even existed if we held true to our values of individual rights and freedom and not base on our decision making on benefiting economically from cheaper oil? We as a world, have a lot to learn. Tony Torok

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  3. The definition of evolve is to develop or achieve,my world view is broad in it's content.
    World view can evolve as a result of adverse experiences, it can evolve as we learn...
    There are so many things to express a view of.
    Politics, religion family economics.morality.
    An individual should be in motion which would cause evolution...I hope I do not want to compare myself to stagnant water rather as a river constantly flowing and moving and filtering and yes finally meeting at some point with the ocean of life.To answer the query yes world view does evolve.

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