A world view (or worldview) is a term calqued from the German word Weltanschauung ([ˈvɛlt.ʔanˌʃaʊ.ʊŋ] (help·info)) Welt is the German word for "world", and Anschauung is the German word for "view" or "outlook. In Linguistics, a calque (kælk or loan translation is a Word or Phrase borrowed from another Language by Literal, word-for-word The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. " It is a concept fundamental to German philosophy and epistemology and refers to a wide world perception. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Epistemology (from Greek επιστήμη - episteme, "knowledge" + λόγος, " Logos " or theory of knowledge Additionally, it refers to the framework of ideas and beliefs through which an individual interprets the world and interacts with it. In philosophy the World is everything that makes up Reality. While clarifying the Concept of world has arguably always been among the basic tasks of Western The German word is also in wide use in English, as well as the translated form world outlook. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States (Compare with ideology). An ideology is a set of beliefs aims and Ideas especially in politics

Contents 1 Origins of world views 1.1 Worldview and linguistics 1.2 Weltanschauung and cognitive philosophy 1.3 Worldview and folk-epics 1.4 Construction of worldviews 2 Impact of worldviews 2.1 Structural aspects 2.2 Other aspects 3 Worldviews in religion and philosophy 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Origins of world views

Worldview and linguistics

A worldview describes a consistent (to a varying degree) and integral sense of existence and provides a framework for generating, sustaining, and applying knowledge. In common usage existence is the world of which we are aware through our senses but in Philosophy the word has a more specialized meaning and is often contrasted with Knowledge is defined ( Oxford English Dictionary) variously as (i expertise and skills acquired by a person through experience or education the theoretical or practical understanding

The linguistic relativity hypothesis of Benjamin Lee Whorf describes how the syntactic-semantic structure of a language becomes an underlying structure for the Weltanschauung of a people through the organization of the causal perception of the world and the linguistic categorization of entities. In Linguistics, the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis ( SWH) (also known as the " Linguistic relativity hypothesis " postulates a systematic relationship In Psychology and the Cognitive sciences perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory Information. Categorization is the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood. As linguistic categorization emerges as a representation of worldview and causality, it further modifies social perception and thereby leads to a continual interaction between language and perception. A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them ^[1]

The theory, or rather hypothesis, was well received in the late 1940s, but declined in prominence after a decade. The word theory has many distinct meanings in different fields of Knowledge, depending on their methodologies and the context of discussion. A hypothesis (from Greek) consists either of a suggested explanation for a phenomenon (an event that is observable or of a reasoned proposal suggesting a possible In the 1990s, new research gave further support for the linguistic relativity theory, in the works of Stephen Levinson and his team at the Max Planck institute for Psycholinguistics at Nijmegen, The Netherlands [1]. The Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e Psycholinguistics or psychology of language is the study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable Humans to acquire use Nijmegen (ˈnɛɪmeɣən) (obsolete spellings Nijmwegen Nymegen Nieumeghen &mdash Nimwegen in local dialect and in German, Nimègue in French The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The theory has also gained attention through the work of Lera Boroditsky at Stanford University. Lera Boroditsky is a psychology professor at Stanford University in California doing research in Cognitive Science.

Weltanschauung and cognitive philosophy

One of the most important concepts in cognitive philosophy and generative sciences is the German concept of ‘Weltanschauung’. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language The generative sciences (or generative science) are the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary Sciences that explore the natural World and its complex behaviours Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. This expression refers to the "wide worldview" or "wide world perception" of a people, family, or person. The Weltanschauung of a people originates from the unique world experience of a people, which they experience over several millennia. The language of a people reflects the Weltanschauung of that people in the form of its syntactic structures and untranslatable connotations and its denotations. A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them In Linguistics, syntax (from Ancient Greek grc συν- syn-, "together" and grc τάξις táxis, "arrangement" is the This word has distinct meanings in other fields see Connotation (semiotics and Connotation and denotation. This word has distinct meanings in other fields see Denotation (semiotics and Connotation and denotation.

If it were possible to draw a map of the world on the basis of Weltanschauung, it would probably be seen to cross political borders — Weltanschauung is the product of political borders and common experiences of a people from a geographical region,^[2] environmental-climatic conditions, the economic resources available, socio-cultural systems, and the linguistic family. A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, Regions, and Themes "The world " is a proper noun for the planet Earth envisioned from an Anthropocentric or Human Worldview, as a place Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Geography (from Greek γεωγραφία - geografia) is the study of the Earth and its lands features inhabitants and phenomena See also Nature The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a terminology that is comprised of all living and Climate encompasses the temperatures humidity rainfall atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorogical factors in a given region over long periods of System (from Latin systēma, in turn from Greek systēma is a set of interacting or interdependent Entities, real or abstract List of language familiesA language family is a group of Languages related by descent from a common ancestor called the Proto-language of that family ^[2] (The work of the population geneticist Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza aims to show the gene-linguistic co-evolution of people). Population genetics is the study of the Allele frequency distribution and change under the influence of the four evolutionary forces Natural selection, Genetic Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza (born January 25, 1922) is an Italian population geneticist born in Genoa, who has been a professor at Historical linguistics (also called diachronic linguistics) is the study of language change eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008

If the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is correct, the worldview map of the world would be similar to the linguistic map of the world. In Linguistics, the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis ( SWH) (also known as the " Linguistic relativity hypothesis " postulates a systematic relationship However, it would also almost coincide with a map of the world drawn on the basis of music across people. Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. ^[3]

Worldview and folk-epics

As natural language becomes manifestations of world perception, the literature of a people with common Weltanschauung emerges as holistic representations of the wide world perception of the people. In Psychology and the Cognitive sciences perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory Information. Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter Representation is a term used in Cognitive psychology, Neuroscience, and Cognitive science to refer to a hypothetical internal cognitive Symbol Thus the extent and commonality between world folk-epics becomes a manifestation of the commonality and extent of a worldview.

Epic poems are shared often by people across political borders and across generations. An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation Examples of such epics include the Nibelungenlied of the Germanic-Scandinavian people, The Silappadhikaram of the South Indian people, The Gilgamesh of the Mesopotamian-Sumerian civilization and the people of the Fertile Crescent at large, The Arabian nights of the Arab world and the Sundiata epic of the Mandé people. The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well Silappatikaram ( Tamil: சிலப்பதிகாரம்; siləppəd̪iɡɑːrəm is one of the five great epics of ancient Tamil Literature South India is the area encompassing India 's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union Gilgamesh was the son of Lugalbanda and the fifth king of Uruk (Early Dynastic II first dynasty of Uruk ruling circa 2600 BC according to the Sumerian king Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding A Civilization is a society in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elements The Fertile Crescent is a Crescent -shaped region in the Middle East, originally incorporating the Levant and Ancient Mesopotamia, and often Sundiata is a given name or surname and may refer to Sundiata Keita (circa 1217-1255 founder of the Mali Empire and subject of the epic known as "Sundiata" Mandé is an Ethnic group of West Africa. Speakers of the Mande languages are found in Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau

See also: list of world folk-epics

Construction of worldviews

The 'construction of integrating worldviews' begins from fragments of worldviews offered to us by the different scientific disciplines and the various systems of knowledge. World folk-epics are those epics which are not just Literary Masterpieces but also an integral part of the Weltanschauung of a people It is contributed to by different perspectives that exist in the world's different cultures. This is the main topic of research at the Center Leo Apostel for Interdisciplinary Studies. The Center Leo Apostel for Interdisciplinary Studies (CLEA is an interdisciplinary research centre founded at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 1995 with the aim

It should be noted that while Apostel and his followers clearly hold that individuals can construct worldviews, other writers regard worldviews as operating at a community level, and/or in an unconscious way. In biological terms a community is a group of interacting Organisms sharing an environment. For instance, if one's worldview is fixed by one's language, as according to a strong version of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, one would have to learn or invent a new language in order to construct a new worldview. In Linguistics, the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis ( SWH) (also known as the " Linguistic relativity hypothesis " postulates a systematic relationship

According to Apostel, a worldview should comprise seven elements:

1. An ontology, a descriptive model of the world
2. An explanation of the world
3. A futurology, answering the question "where are we heading?"
4. Values, answers to ethical questions: "What should we do?"
5. A praxeology, or methodology, or theory of action. In Philosophy, ontology (from the Greek, genitive: of being (part A mental model is an explanation in someone's Thought process for how something works in the real world An explanation is a description which may clarify causes context, and Consequences of a certain object and a phenomenon such as a process, a Futures Studies, Foresight, or Futurology is the science art and practice of postulating possible probable and preferable futures and the worldviews Ethics is a major branch of Philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life Praxeology is a framework for modeling human action. The term was coined and defined as "The Science of human action" in 1890 by Alfred Methodology (also called manner) is defined as "the analysis of the principles of methods rules and postulates employed by a discipline" In Philosophy, action has developed into a sub-field called Philosophy of action. : "How should we attain our goals?"
6. An epistemology, or theory of knowledge. Epistemology (from Greek επιστήμη - episteme, "knowledge" + λόγος, " Logos " or theory of knowledge Knowledge is defined ( Oxford English Dictionary) variously as (i expertise and skills acquired by a person through experience or education the theoretical or practical understanding "What is true and false?"
7. An etiology. The meaning of the word truth extends from Honesty, Good faith, and Sincerity in general to agreement with Fact or Reality Etiology (alternatively aetiology, aitiology) is the study of causation. A constructed world-view should contain an account of its own "building blocks," its origins and construction.

Impact of worldviews

Structural aspects

The term denotes a comprehensive set of opinions, seen as an organic unity, about the world as the medium and exercise of human existence. In Literature, Organic unity is a concept founded by the philosopher Plato. Weltanschauung serves as a framework for generating various dimensions of human perception and experience like knowledge, politics, economics, religion, culture, science, and ethics. Knowledge is defined ( Oxford English Dictionary) variously as (i expertise and skills acquired by a person through experience or education the theoretical or practical understanding Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Ethics is a major branch of Philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life For example, worldview of causality as uni-directional, cyclic, or spiral generates a framework of the world that reflects these systems of causality. Causality (but not causation) denotes a necessary relationship between one event (called cause and another event (called effect) which is the direct consequence A uni-directional view of causality is present in some monotheistic views of the world with a beginning and an end and a single great force with a single end (e. g. , Christianity and Islam), while a cyclic worldview of causality is present in religious tradition which is cyclic and seasonal and wherein events and experiences recur in systematic patterns (e. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. g. , Zoroastrianism, Mithraism, and Hinduism). Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings The Mithraic Mysteries or Mysteries of Mithras (also Mithraism) was a Roman mystery religion which became popular among the military in the late Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent.

These worldviews of causality not only underlie religious traditions but also other aspects of thought like the purpose of history, political and economic theories, and systems like democracy, authoritarianism, anarchism, capitalism, socialism, and communism. Causality (but not causation) denotes a necessary relationship between one event (called cause and another event (called effect) which is the direct consequence History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system Authoritarianism describes a Form of government characterized by an emphasis on the Authority of the State in a republic or union Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based

The worldview of linear and non-linear causality generates various related/conflicting disciplines and approaches in scientific thinking. The word linear comes from the Latin word linearis, which means created by lines. This article describes the use of the term nonlinearity in mathematics Scientific method refers to bodies of Techniques for investigating phenomena The Weltanschauung of the temporal contiguity of act and event leads to underlying diversifications like determinism vs. free will. A worldview of Freewill leads to disciplines that are governed by simple laws that remain constant and are static and empirical in scientific method, while a worldview of determinism generates disciplines that are governed with generative systems and rationalistic in scientific method. The question of free will A central concept in Science and the Scientific method is that all Evidence must be empirical, or empirically based that is dependent on evidence Determinism is the philosophical Proposition that every event including human cognition and behaviour decision and action is causally determined Dynamical systems theory is an area of Applied mathematics used to describe the behavior of complex Dynamical systems usually by employing Differential In Epistemology and in its broadest sense rationalism is "any view appealing to Reason as a source of knowledge or justification" (Lacey 286 Scientific method refers to bodies of Techniques for investigating phenomena

Some forms of Philosophical naturalism and materialism reject the validity of entities inaccessible to natural science. This article covers metaphysical naturalism as a worldview Naturalism (philosophy discusses methodological naturalism The Philosophy of materialism holds that the only thing that can be truly proven to exist is Matter, and is considered a form of Physicalism. In Science, the term natural science refers to a naturalistic approach to the study of the Universe, which is understood as obeying rules or law of They view the scientific method as the most reliable model for building and understanding of the world. Scientific method refers to bodies of Techniques for investigating phenomena Scientific modelling is the process of generating abstract, conceptual, Graphical and or mathematical models. Understanding (also called intellection) is a psychological Process related to an abstract or physical object such as Person, situation or "The world " is a proper noun for the planet Earth envisioned from an Anthropocentric or Human Worldview, as a place

Other aspects

In The Language of the Third Reich, Weltanschauungen came to designate the instinctive understanding of complex geo-political problems by the Nazis, which allowed them to act in the name of a higher ideal^[4] and in accordance to their theory of the world. LTI - Lingua Tertii Imperii Notizbuch eines Philologen ( 1947) is a book by Victor Klemperer, Professor of French at the University of Dresden Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German These acts perceived outside that unique Weltanschauung are now commonly perceived as acts of aggression, such as openly beginning invasions, twisting facts, and violating human rights. A fallacy is a component of an Argument which being demonstrably flawed in its Logic or form renders the argument invalid in whole Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled

Worldviews in religion and philosophy

Various writers suggest that religious or philosophical belief-systems should be seen as worldviews rather than a set of individual hypotheses or theories. A hypothesis (from Greek) consists either of a suggested explanation for a phenomenon (an event that is observable or of a reasoned proposal suggesting a possible The word theory has many distinct meanings in different fields of Knowledge, depending on their methodologies and the context of discussion. The Japanese Philosopher Nishida Kitaro wrote extensively on "the Religious Worldview" in exploring the philosophical significance of Eastern religions^[5]. Kitaro Nishida (西田 幾多郎 Nishida Kitarō; 1870 Ishikawa Prefecture &ndash 1945 was a prominent Japanese Philosopher, founder of According to Neo-Calvinist David Naugle's Worldview: The History of a Concept "Conceiving of Christianity as a worldview has been one of the most significant developments in the recent history of the church. Neo-Calvinism, a form of Dutch Calvinism, is the movement initiated by the theologian and former Dutch prime minister Abraham Kuyper. David Naugle is an author and professor He is considered an expert on the Christian Worldview. "^[6]

The Christian thinker James W. Sire defines a worldview as "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. James W Sire (born 1933) is a Christian author and speaker He wrote The Universe Next Door, a textbook on World views used at over one hundred colleges " and suggests that "we should all think in terms of worldviews, that is, with a consciousness not only of our own way of thought but also that of other people, so that we can first understand and then genuinely communicate with others in our pluralistic society. "^[7] The Rev. Professor Keith Ward bases his discussion of the rationality of religious belief in Is Religion Dangerous? on a consideration of religious and non-religious worldviews. The Reverend Professor (John Stephen Keith Ward (born 22 August 1938) is a British cleric philosopher theologian and scholar Is Religion Dangerous? is a book by Keith Ward examining the questions "Is religion dangerous? Does it do more harm than good? Is it a force for evil?" ^[8]

The philosophical importance of Worldviews became increasingly clear during the 20th Century for a number of reasons, such as increasing contact between cultures, and the failure of some aspects of the Enlightenment project, such as the rationalist project of attaining all truth by reason alone. The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century In Epistemology and in its broadest sense rationalism is "any view appealing to Reason as a source of knowledge or justification" (Lacey 286 Mathematical logic showed that fundamental choices of axioms were essential in deductive reasoning^[9] and that, even having chosen axioms not everything that was true in a given logical system could be proven^[10]. Mathematical logic is a subfield of Logic and Mathematics with close connections to Computer science and Philosophical logic. In traditional Logic, an axiom or postulate is a proposition that is not proved or demonstrated but considered to be either self-evident, or subject In formal logic, a formal system (also called a logical system, a logistic system, or simply a logic Formal systems in mathematics consist Some philosophers believe the problems extend to "the inconsistencies and failures which plagued the Enlightenment attempt to identify universal moral and rational principles"^[11]; although Enlightenment principles such as universal suffrage and (the universal declaration of) human rights are accepted, if not taken for granted, by many. Universal suffrage (also universal adult suffrage, general suffrage or common suffrage) consists of the extension of the right to vote to Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled ^[12]

A worldview can be considered as comprising a number of basic beliefs which are philosophically equivalent to the axioms of the worldview considered as a logical theory. In Foundationalism, basic beliefs (also commonly called foundational beliefs) are the Axioms of a Belief system These basic beliefs cannot, by definition, be proven (in the logical sense) within the worldview precisely because they are axioms, and are typically argued from rather than argued for^[13]. In traditional Logic, an axiom or postulate is a proposition that is not proved or demonstrated but considered to be either self-evident, or subject However their coherence can be explored philosophically and logically, and if two different worldviews have sufficient common beliefs it may be possible to have a constructive dialogue between them^[14]. On the other hand, if different worldviews are held to be basically incommensurate and irreconcilable, then the situation is one of cultural relativism and would therefore incur the standard criticisms from philosophical realists. Compare Moral relativism, Aesthetic relativism, Social constructionism, Cultural relativism, and Cognitive relativism. Contemporary philosophical realism is the belief in a Reality that is completely Ontologically independent of our conceptual schemes linguistic practices beliefs ^{[15] [16][17]}. Additionally, religious believers might not wish to see their beliefs relativized into something that is only "true for them"^[18][19]. Subjective logic is a belief reasoning formalism where beliefs explicitly are subjectively held by individuals but where a consensus between different worldviews can be achieved^[20]. Subjective logic is a type of Probabilistic logic that explicitly takes uncertainty and belief ownership into account

A third alternative is that the Worldview approach is only a methodological relativism, that it is a suspension judgment about the truth of various belief systems, but not a declaration that there is no global truth. For instance, the religious philosopher Ninian Smart begins his Worldviews: Crosscultural Explorations of Human Beliefs with "Exploring Religions and Analysing Worldviews" and argues for "the neutral, dispassionate study of different religious and secular systems - a process I call worldview analysis. Professor Roderick Ninian Smart (May 6 1927 &ndash January 29 2001 was a Scottish writer and university educator "^[21]

See also

References

External links

• "World View article on the Principia Cybernetica Project - Another article on World View complementary to this one. Professor Roderick Ninian Smart (May 6 1927 &ndash January 29 2001 was a Scottish writer and university educator
• Apostel, Leo and Van der Veken, Jan. (1991) Wereldbeelden, DNB/Pelckmans.

• Aerts, Diederick, Apostel, Leo, De Moor, Bart, Hellemans, Staf, Maex, Edel, Van Belle, Hubert, Van der Veken, Jan. 1994. "World views. From Fragmentation to Integration". VUBPress. Translation of (Apostel and Van der Veken 1991) with some additions. - The basic book of World Views, from the Center Leo Apostel.

• "Worldviews--An Introduction" from Project Worldview
• Wikibook:The scientific world view
• "You are what you speak"PDF (5. 15 MiB) - an essay on current research in linguistic relativity (Lera Boroditsky)
• Cobern, W. World View, Metaphysics, and EpistemologyPDF (50. A mebibyte (a contraction of me ga bi nary byte) is a unit of Information or Computer storage, abbreviated MiB. 3 KiB)
• inTERRAgation.com - A documentary project. Collecting and evaluating answers to "the meaning of life" from around the world.
• Cole, Graham A., "Do Christians Have A Worldview?" A paper examining the concept of worldview as it relates to and has been used by Christianity. A kibibyte (a contraction of ki lo bi nary byte) is a unit of Information or Computer storage, established by the International Contains a helpful annotated bibliography.

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