This document provides a definition of what constitutes a worldview. It defines a worldview as a coherent collection of concepts that allows one to construct a global image of the world and understand many elements of experience. It identifies six fundamental philosophical questions that a worldview seeks to address: what exists, where it comes from, where it is going, what is good/evil, how we should act, and what is true/false. The document discusses how different academic disciplines relate to answering these questions and forming a worldview. It proposes that developing a scientific worldview could integrate different fields through systems theory, problem-solving approaches, and evolutionary theory.
A Contrast of the Mystical Elements of Buddism, Taoism, Judaism, and Christia...David Grinstead, MA
There are certain general characteristics of mysticism that are shared by Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, and Christianity. This common ground is a unifying principle that positions the Divine in the midst of all genuine mystical experiences.
A Contrast of the Mystical Elements of Buddism, Taoism, Judaism, and Christia...David Grinstead, MA
There are certain general characteristics of mysticism that are shared by Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, and Christianity. This common ground is a unifying principle that positions the Divine in the midst of all genuine mystical experiences.
Biblical Theology in Relation to Other Categories of TheologyRobert Munson
Introductory Presentation for courses on NT Biblical Theology. Draws from a perspective ,more in line with G. E. Ladd, especially since that was the textbook for the course..
This was the introductory presentation for a short-course I taught on Biblical Theology (OT). While not my specialty, I do love Biblical Theology. This presentation relates Biblical Theology to other theological categories.
This article proposes the concept ‘platformed racism’ as a way to interrogate the digital mediation of racism within and across social media platforms. Platformed racism has dual meanings: first, it evokes platforms as amplifiers and manufacturers of racist discourse; and second, it describes the modes of platform governance that reproduce (but that can also address) social inequalities. Both the dynamics of race and of platforms are highly situated. Race relations are unique to each national context and each social media platform has its own specificities. Accordingly, this study explores and elaborates the concept of platformed racism through one particular national race-related controversy—the booing of the Indigenous Australian Football League (AFL) star Adam Goodes; through the lens of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube respectively.
Biblical Theology in Relation to Other Categories of TheologyRobert Munson
Introductory Presentation for courses on NT Biblical Theology. Draws from a perspective ,more in line with G. E. Ladd, especially since that was the textbook for the course..
This was the introductory presentation for a short-course I taught on Biblical Theology (OT). While not my specialty, I do love Biblical Theology. This presentation relates Biblical Theology to other theological categories.
This article proposes the concept ‘platformed racism’ as a way to interrogate the digital mediation of racism within and across social media platforms. Platformed racism has dual meanings: first, it evokes platforms as amplifiers and manufacturers of racist discourse; and second, it describes the modes of platform governance that reproduce (but that can also address) social inequalities. Both the dynamics of race and of platforms are highly situated. Race relations are unique to each national context and each social media platform has its own specificities. Accordingly, this study explores and elaborates the concept of platformed racism through one particular national race-related controversy—the booing of the Indigenous Australian Football League (AFL) star Adam Goodes; through the lens of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube respectively.
Digital turn-what-next--pecha-kucha, Berlin--21-sept-5-2015Heiner Benking
EDUCAMP & OER2 & DIGITAL TURN & ELIG
check http://hochschulforumdigitalisierung.de Sept. 4-11
EduCamp Digital Turn, Wake-up call: What is the next "Turn" ? http://www.newciv.org/nl/newslog.php/_v396/__show_article/_a000396-000385.htm
EduCamp Digital Turn, Wake-up call: What is the next "Turn" ?
Proposal of an integrative, eclectic turn, call it a spacial/scaffolding turn which in form of macroscopic superstructures/supersigns allow to relate and integrate earlier "turns" consider GLocal integration of scales, sectors, cultures, times, media, ... in an overview, orientation mode, but also connecting to the micro-scales
see also: http://www.newciv.org/nl/newslog.php/_v396/__show_article/_a000396-000384.htm
Science v Pseudoscience: What’s the Difference? - Kevin KorbAdam Ford
Science has a certain common core, especially a reliance on empirical methods of assessing hypotheses. Pseudosciences have little in common but their negation: they are not science.
They reject meaningful empirical assessment in some way or another. Popper proposed a clear demarcation criterion for Science v Rubbish: Falsifiability. However, his criterion has not stood the test of time. There are no definitive arguments against any pseudoscience, any more than against extreme skepticism in general, but there are clear indicators of phoniness.
Post: http://www.scifuture.org/science-vs-pseudoscience
In two chapters provided on Course Reserves- Leganto (-The Origins of.docxlucilabevin
In two chapters provided on Course Reserves- Leganto ("The Origins of Darwinism" & "Darwinism: The Scientific Debate"), Peter Bowler tries to piece together an answer to the question: "What was Darwin's scientific method?" In Part A, using Bowler's two chapters and the materials presented in writing a two-part essay that outlines the main components of Darwin's scientific method to study "Evolution." Be sure to take into account the following considerations: Begin by outlining the key ideas of other theorists who wrote theories to explain "Evolution" as a biological process. As Kuhn tells us, scientists working on new scientific theories generally pick up unsolved problems to work on that other scientists didn't see or were unable to solve. So: Did Darwin pick up on where other scientists left off (i.e., unsolved problems) or did he see something or some things that other people working on the theory of Evolution hadn't before seen?
Using the evidence provided in the TIME magazine article "Why You Do What You Do" (August 1, 1977, Course Reserves-Leganto, CANVAS), determine why Sociobiology became controversial from a "Normal Science" perspective. Do not talk about what Sociobiology became after 1977. Be sure to take into account the following considerations:
(1) List and briefly explain the phases of Kuhn's Science Revolution Cycle. You can cut-and-paste the illustration (below). Kuhn Cycle-1.png 39672714
(2) Note how Sociobiology, in 1977, was part of a "scientific revolution" from a Kuhnian standpoint, i.e., the Darwinian revolution.
(3) What are the main concepts that make up sociobiological theory?
(4) Describe the academics who were challenging the "normal science" that appears in the article, i.e., the Sociobiologists. What is the normal science they are challenging? What disciplines do they work in?
(5) Describe who were the academics who challenged Sociobiology that appear in the article - and what disciplines they work in.
(6) Describe what the sociobiologists presented in terms of anomalies and inconsistencies to the normal science of the Darwinian paradigm. State how they used the anomalies and inconsistencies to argue for a paradigm shift.
(7) State whether you believe there was a paradigm "crisis" to the Darwinian Revolution happening in 1977 (in the Kuhnian sense). If so, explain why sociobiology represented a "crisis."
(8) Based only on the evidence presented in the TIME article, conclude your essay by stating what you believe to be the likelihood that sociobiology would become normal science in the 21st century. Use a summary of the evidence from your essay to explain why you have come to this conclusion.
.
Worldviews and their (im)plausibility: Science and HolismJohnWilkins48
Since Kant used the word Weltanschaungen with reference to the mathematical sublime in the Critique in 1790, this notion of a foundational grounding that determines, or at least influences, our way of experiencing and comprehending the world has been taken up, at first by Fichte and Schilling and later by theologians, as a fact of cognition. Englert (2022) calls this the “worldview maneuver”, but by the end of the nineteenth century, this had become a doctrine, or theory, and I will call it the Worldview Theory (or WVT). Over a century after Kant, in 1908, James Orr wrote A Christian view of God and the world, which made the term and notion more or less ubiquitous.
"although the existence of something independent of the mind is conceded, everything that we can know about this mind-independent “reality” is held to be so permeated by the creative, formative, or constructive activities of the mind (of some kind or other) that all claims to knowledge must be considered, in some sense, to be a form of self-knowledge [Guyer and Horstmann, 2023)"
and this was echoed and amplified throughout the twentieth century, by linguists, anthropologists, psychoanalysts, educational theorists, political theorists of the Frankfurt School, and of course philosophy, with Wittgenstein in the Investigations and On Certainty one of the more influential amplifiers. And of course, in the philosophy of science, we have theory-dependence of observation, Kuhn’s “paradigms”, disciplinary matrices and their consequent incommensurabilities.
So a lot of weight is carried by the WVT. But just how plausible are worldviews? I will argue there is a spectrum ranging from hard determinism of beliefs and actions through to soft influences, and that WVT equivocates on this spectrum. I will argue further that the acquisition of belief structures inevitably occurs piecemeal, and that no overarching belief systems ever develop, or could. Finally, I will suggest that we actually acquire such views of the world as we typically have through the populating of our belief nets by picking prêt-à-porter beliefs from epistemic authorities.
Joint presentation by David Kernohan and Viv Rolfe at #OER16 Conference in Edinburgh 2016. They took a critical look at the open education publishing community including some interesting insights into citation metrics.
"The rise of black power had a profound effect upon the appearance of black theology. When Carmichael and other radical black activists separated themselves from King's absolute commitment to nonviolence by proclaiming black power, white Christians especially members of the clergy, called upon their black brothers and sisters in the gospel to denounce black power as unChristian. To the surprise of white Christians, the National Committee of Negro Churchmen (NNC); later to become NCBC) refused to follow their advice and instead wrote a "Black Power Statement" that was published in the New York Time, July 31, 1966.
The Theology of Spirituality: It's Growing Importance Amid the Transformation...Jonathan Dunnemann
Abstract: This article raises issues surrounding the theology of spirituality as a relatively new theological focus. It argues that, faced with a changing world and numerous new (or perceived as new) phenomena, the theology of spirituality, as a scholarly area examining spiritual experience, is becoming a branch of
theological research of increasing importance. The first part of this article focuses on the ever-growing areas of interest found within the theology of spirituality, a growth stemming from the core of the field itself (agere sequitur esse). The second part emphasizes the newer areas of interest within the theology
of spirituality. These new horizons arise from the pluralism of theology itself and the criteria used in differentiating theological disciplines, such as ethno-geographic, doctrinal, and ascetic-practical concerns. In particular, amid a fast-changing world in which information and mutual contact have become incredibly accessible, the interpenetration of cultures and traditions can not only be of great value but also carry the dangers of a chaotic eclecticism. As this accessibility becomes ever easier and more pervasive, contemporary human beings can thus become confused, not only about their worldviews but also concerning their spiritual and religious beliefs. Thus, research into the theology of spirituality is becoming increasingly more important.
Using an interdisciplinary approach and a phenomenological, hermeneutic, mystagogical methodology, this paper explores how children describe the deep fruits of meditation in their lives. Seventy children, aged 7 to 11, from four Irish primary schools were interviewed; all had engaged in meditation as a whole-school practice for at least two-years beforehand. The study sought to elicit from children their experience, if any, of the transcendent in meditation. It concludes that children can and do enjoy deep states of consciousness and that meditation has the capacity to nourish the innate spirituality of the child. It highlights the importance of personal spiritual experience for children and supports the introduction of meditation in primary schools.
ASSESSMENT OF CHARACTER STRENGTHS AMONG YOUTH: THE VALUES IN ACTION INVENTORY...Jonathan Dunnemann
Raising virtuous children is an ultimate goal not only of all parents and educators but also of all societies. Across different eras and cultures, identifying character strengths (virtues) and cultivating them in children and youth have been among the chief interests of philosophers, theologians, and educators. With a few exceptions, these topics have been neglected by psychologists. However, the emerging field of positive psychology specifically emphasizes
building the good life by identifying individual strengths of character and fostering them (Seligman, 2002). Character strengths are now receiving attention by psychologists interested in positive youth development.
African American spirituality provides a rich lens into the heart and soul of the black church experience, often overlooked in the Christian spiritual formation literature. By addressing this lacuna, this essay focuses on three primary shaping qualities o f history: the effects of slavery, the Civil Rights Movement under Dr. Martin Luther King’s leadership, and the emergence of the Black Church. Lour spiritual practices that influence African American spirituality highlight the historical and cultural context of being “forged in the fiery furnace,” including worship, preaching and Scripture, the community of faith and prayer, and community outreach. The essay concludes by recognizing four areas o f the lived experiences of African Americans from which the global church can glean: (1) persevering in pain and suffering, (2) turning to God for strength, (3) experiencing a living and passionate faith, and (4) affirming God’s intention for freedom and justice to be afforded to every individual.
Strengths Building, Resilience, and the Bible: A Story-Based Curriculum for A...Jonathan Dunnemann
Depression is the leading cause of illness and disability in adolescents worldwide. Resilience training, founded on principles of positive psychology, is correlated with lower depression and
substance misuse in U.S. adolescents and military personnel. However, resilience training has focused primarily on secular interventions using western material. Religion is strongly correlated
with lower depression and also with well-being in developing countries. Ninety percent of adolescents live in developing countries, and at least two-thirds are oral learners who prefer
learning through stories and drama. This paper proposes a Bible story based curriculum that trains students in problem solving skills, character strengths, and both spiritual and secular
research-tested principles for resilience and well-being. The Bible is available by audio recording in 751 languages and offers a broad base of archetypal stories for teaching resilience. The
program is easily reproducible, culturally adaptable, respectful of all religions, and specifically crafted for oral learners. Through audio recordings to maintain fidelity, train the trainer programs
for dissemination and support of national and community leaders, the proposed curriculum for Global Resilience Oral Workshops (GROW) has potential to lower depression and lift well-being
in adolescents around the world.
Historical criticism attempts to read texts in their original situations, informed by literary and cultural conventions reconstructed from comparable texts and artifacts. African American interpretation extends this approach to questions about race and social location for the ancient text, its reception
history, and its modern readers. It arose as a corrective and alternative to white supremacist use of the Bible in moral and political arguments regarding race, civil rights, and social justice. Accordingly, African American interpretation has combined the
insights of abolitionists and activists with academic tools to demonstrate how biblical interpretation can function as an instrument of oppression, obfuscation, or opportunity. Of course, most of these developments have occurred in the larger framework of American Christianity. Yet, its analyses reach
beyond that specific setting, touching on the connections between the Bible and race in public discourse generally, whether in government, academia, or popular culture.
Appropriating Universality: The Coltranes and 1960s SpiritualityJonathan Dunnemann
The role of the Black Protestant Church has figured prominently in scholarly discussions of African American music culture, and to some extent its importance has been explored with respect to jazz. However, with the exception of the Nation of Islam, the influence of Eastern religious practices among black Americans has not been significantly researched nor have adequate connections been made between these spiritual pursuits and the musical innovations they inspired. Nevertheless, since the mid-’60s, black American artists have explored Yoga, Hinduism, various sects of Buddhism, Ahmadiya Islam, and Bahá’í. The
aesthetic impact of these pursuits has been multi-dimensional and far-reaching. In their study of Asian philosophy and religion, jazz musicians have been exposed to the sounds and musical processes they have discovered in the cultures from which these traditions have emerged. One can hear this influence in musical borrowings, such as the use of traditional instrumentation, the reworking of melodic material from folk and classical genres, and the incorporation of indigenous
improvisational and compositional techniques. Though less audible, Eastern spiritual traditions have also exerted a more abstract philosophical influence that has shaped jazz aesthetics, inspiring jazz musicians to dissolve formal and stylistic boundaries and produce works of great originality. Contextualizing the spiritual explorations of John and Alice Coltrane within American religious culture and liberation movements of the 1960s, this essay explores the way that
their eclectic appropriation of Eastern spiritual concepts and their commitment to spiritual universality not only inspired musical innovation, but also provided a counter-hegemonic, political, and cultural critique.
Who Is Jesus Christ for Us Today?
To say that Jesus Christ is the truth of the Christian story calls for further examination. It is one thing to assert that the New Testament describes Jesus as the Oppressed One who came to liberate the poor and the weak (Chap. 4); but it is quite another to ask, Who is Jesus Christ for us today? If twentieth-century Christians are to speak the truth for their sociohistorical situation, they cannot merely repeat the story of what Jesus did and said in Palestine, as if it were selfinterpreting for us today. Truth is more than the retelling of the biblical story. Truth is the divine happening that invades our contemporary situation, revealing the meaning of the past for the present so that we
are made new creatures for the future. It is therefore our commitment to the divine truth, as witnessed to in the biblical story, that requires us to investigate the connection between Jesus' words and deeds in firstcentury Palestine and our existence today. This is the crux of the christological issue that no Christian theology can avoid.
The pivotal role of religion and spirituality in the lives of African Americans marks this ethnoracial group as a particularly important target for attention in research on the psychology and sociology of religion. In this chapter we endeavor to achieve three ends: First, we briefly review literature on meanings of religiosity and spirituality among African Americans. Second, we review the literature on the link between religiosity, spirituality, and health among African Americans. Finally, we examine findings regarding the pathways by which religion and spirituality may achieve its ends.
Transformative Pedagogy, Black Theology and Participative forms of PraxisJonathan Dunnemann
"This formative analysis is... on the significant developments in religious education by and for Black people, principally in the US. ..., I describe my own participative approaches to Black theology by means of transformative pedagogy, which utilizes interactive exercises as a means of combining the insights of the aforementioned ideas and themes into a transformative mode of teaching and learning."
"..., I have attempted to combine the radical intent of transformative education arising from the Freirerian tradition with Black liberation theology in order to develop a more participative and interactive mode of theo-pedagogical engagement that moves intellectual discourse beyond mere theorizing into more praxis based forms of practice.
Development of a Program for the Empowerment of Black Single Mother Families ...Jonathan Dunnemann
The most rapid growing family type in the United States is the single parent family. It is the dominant family type in the African-American community. According to the United States Bureau of the Census (2010), 69% of all Black children are born to single mothers. Single mother families are at a dramatically greater risk for drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness, suicide, poor educational performance, teen pregnancy, and criminality (National Center for Health Statistics, 1993).
Black Males, Social Imagery, and the Disruption of Pathological IdentitiesJonathan Dunnemann
Throughout the history of the U.S., racialized groups have often had their experiences profoundly shaped by social imagery in ways that have created tremendous hardships in the quest for
self-actualization and a healthy sense of self.
The purpose of this article is to shed light on the manner in which Black males have been one of the primary victims of negative social imagery and how the remnants of these constructions continue to have contemporary influences, ....
The Chakra System in our body - A Portal to Interdimensional Consciousness.pptxBharat Technology
each chakra is studied in greater detail, several steps have been included to
strengthen your personal intention to open each chakra more fully. These are designed
to draw forth the highest benefit for your spiritual growth.
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian exile.
Lesson 9 - Resisting Temptation Along the Way.pptxCelso Napoleon
Lesson 9 - Resisting Temptation Along the Way
SBs – Sunday Bible School
Adult Bible Lessons 2nd quarter 2024 CPAD
MAGAZINE: THE CAREER THAT IS PROPOSED TO US: The Path of Salvation, Holiness and Perseverance to Reach Heaven
Commentator: Pastor Osiel Gomes
Presentation: Missionary Celso Napoleon
Renewed in Grace
The PBHP DYC ~ Reflections on The Dhamma (English).pptxOH TEIK BIN
A PowerPoint Presentation based on the Dhamma Reflections for the PBHP DYC for the years 1993 – 2012. To motivate and inspire DYC members to keep on practicing the Dhamma and to do the meritorious deed of Dhammaduta work.
The texts are in English.
For the Video with audio narration, comments and texts in English, please check out the Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF2g_43NEa0
In Jude 17-23 Jude shifts from piling up examples of false teachers from the Old Testament to a series of practical exhortations that flow from apostolic instruction. He preserves for us what may well have been part of the apostolic catechism for the first generation of Christ-followers. In these instructions Jude exhorts the believer to deal with 3 different groups of people: scoffers who are "devoid of the Spirit", believers who have come under the influence of scoffers and believers who are so entrenched in false teaching that they need rescue and pose some real spiritual risk for the rescuer. In all of this Jude emphasizes Jesus' call to rescue straying sheep, leaving the 99 safely behind and pursuing the 1.
What Should be the Christian View of Anime?Joe Muraguri
We will learn what Anime is and see what a Christian should consider before watching anime movies? We will also learn a little bit of Shintoism religion and hentai (the craze of internet pornography today).
The Good News, newsletter for June 2024 is hereNoHo FUMC
Our monthly newsletter is available to read online. We hope you will join us each Sunday in person for our worship service. Make sure to subscribe and follow us on YouTube and social media.
Homily: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Sunday 2024.docxJames Knipper
Countless volumes have been written trying to explain the mystery of three persons in one true God, leaving us to resort to metaphors such as the three-leaf clover to try to comprehend the Divinity. Many of us grew up with the quintessential pyramidal Trinity structure of God at the top and Son and Spirit in opposite corners. But what if we looked at this ‘mystery’ from a different perspective? What if we shifted our language of God as a being towards the concept of God as love? What if we focused more on the relationship within the Trinity versus the persons of the Trinity? What if stopped looking at God as a noun…and instead considered God as a verb? Check it out…
Homily: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Sunday 2024.docx
Vidal 2008 what-is-a-worldview
1. Cite as: Vidal, C. (2008) Wat is een wereldbeeld? (What is a worldview?), in Van Belle, H. &
Van der Veken, J., Editors, Nieuwheid denken. De wetenschappen en het creatieve aspect van de
werkelijkheid, in press. Acco, Leuven.
What is a worldview?
Clément Vidal.
Center Leo Aopstel
Free University of Brussels
Krijgskundestraat 33, 1160 Brussels, Belgium
Phone +32-2-640 67 37 | Fax +32-2-6440744
clement.vidal.philosophons.com
http://clement.vidal.philosophons.com
Abstract:
The first part of this paper proposes a
precise definition of what a worldview is,
and why there is a necessity to have one.
The second part suggests how to
construct integrated scientific
worldviews. For this attempts, three
general scientific approaches are
proposed: the general systems theory as the
endeavor for a universal language for
science, a general problem-solving approach
and the idea of evolution, broadly
construed. We close with some remarks
about limitations of scientific worldview.
Content:
Introduction.....................................................2
The worldview agenda....................................2
Leo Apostel ..............................................................2
What is a worldview? ..............................................3
Back to the fundamental questions.......................3
Examples of different worldviews........................5
Necessity to have a worldview...............................7
Scientific worldviews.......................................8
Systems theory as a universal language for
science........................................................................8
Problem-solving approach......................................9
Evolutionary theory...............................................10
Limitations of scientific worldviews...................11
Conclusion......................................................11
Acknowledgements.......................................12
Bibliography...................................................12
After all, what could be more important or influential than the way an individual,
a family, a community, a nation, or an entire culture conceptualizes reality? Is
there anything more profound or powerful than the shape and content of human
consciousness and its primary interpretation of the nature of things? When it
comes to the deepest questions about human life and existence, does anything
surpass the final implications of the answers supplied by one's essential
Weltanschauung? 1
1
D. K. Naugle, Worldview: The History of a Concept (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2002), 345.
1
2. Introduction
The term worldview (Weltanschauung in German) has a long and fascinating history going
back to Kant2
. It has been and is used not only in philosophy, but also among others in
theology, anthropology, or in education. David K. Naugle wrote a history of this concept
and the above quotation shows its central importance.
The term is unfortunately often used without any precise definition behind it. What is more
precisely a worldview? How can we define it? Even inside philosophy, many different
definitions have been provided (e.g. by Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Dilthey, Husserl, Jaspers,
Heidegger, etc.). Conducting a systematic historical comparison of the different worldview
definitions is outside the scope of this paper3
. Instead, we restrict our analysis to a clear and
fruitful definition proposed by Leo Apostel and Jan van der Veken that we will detail in our
first section.
The second part of our analysis starts from the fact that many of our profound age-old
philosophical questions can nowadays be tackled by scientific means. However, in trying to
build a comprehensive worldview, a problem arises, namely that different scientific
disciplines use different languages. This gap is especially important when we consider the
difference between exact and human sciences. What are the most suitable features of an
integrative scientific worldview? How could these features help to fill this gap? Three
general scientific approaches are proposed for this endeavour: systems theory as a universal
language for science, a problem-solving approach and the general idea of evolution, broadly
construed. We close with some remarks about the limitations of a purely scientific
worldview.
The worldview agenda
Leo Apostel
Great philosophers are so because of their ambition to build systems of thought answering
a maximum of our deepest philosophical questions. One of the last great attempts was
made by Rudolf Carnap. Nowadays, Carnap is almost always quoted in order to be bitterly
criticised -and on very strong grounds. However, one of his students, Leo Apostel
(1925-1995) kept the same ambition, the same grandeur, without the naive and
reductionistic presuppositions of the Vienna Circle. This led him among others to create an
interdisciplinary research group, The Worldviews group, and to write a short book together
with Jan Van der Veken4
, which can be compared with the manifesto of the Wiener Kreis5
.
2
Immanuel Kant, Kritik der Urteilskraft (Critique of Judgment), Ditzingen, Reclam, 1790. part one, book two,
section 26.
3
To approach this question, see for e.g. the work of Naugle cited above.
4
L. Apostel and Van der Veken, Wereldbeelden. Van fragmentering naar integratie (DNB/Pelckmans, 1991);
Translation: D. Aerts et al., World Views. From fragmentation to integration (VUB Press, 1994),
http://www.vub.ac.be/CLEA/pub/books/worldviews.pdf.
5
R. Carnap, H. Hahn, and O. Neurath, Wissenschaftliche Weltauffassung: Der Wiener Kreis, Wissenschaftliche
2
3. The difference between the two is that the latter had a recognition it did not deserve, and
the former deserves a recognition that it did not have.
What is a worldview?
The two concepts “philosophy” and “worldview” are closely related. Talking about "a
philosophy" in its broadest sense refers in fact to a worldview. It is the case for example
when we speak about the philosophy of the Inuit or the Maya. Wolters6
summarized the
relationships between worldview and philosophy. With the definition which will follow, our
position tends towards what he calls "worldview crowns philosophy", that is, constructing a
worldview is the highest manifestation of philosophy.
The term “worldview” is often used to emphasize a personal and historical point of view. In
this sense, the term can have a negative connotation for the philosopher, because
philosophy generally claims universal validity, as it has a clear association with rational
thought. It is however possible to define the class of philosophical worldviews, as rooted in
rationality and thus also aiming at a kind of universal validity. The next subsection will
expose six questions which constitute our precise definition of what a worldview is. Those
general philosophical questions are of paramount importance, constituting an enduring
philosophical agenda7
. The agenda defines the range of problems and issues that are
addressed by a philosophy. With Rescher8
, we can distinguish between the “procedural
agenda”, which is what we call here the worldview questions; and the “substantive agenda”,
which consists of the proposed answers to the questions, and are the worldview components.
The components articulated together form a worldview, that we define as a coherent
collection of concepts allowing us “to construct a global image of the world, and in this
way to understand as many elements of our experience as possible."9
Back to the fundamental questions
In this section we present the six worldview questions. These questions corresponds to the
“big”, “eternal”, or “age-old” philosophical questions. . The choice of the questions is
motivated in more details in the book by Apostel and Van der Veken10
; also reformulated by
Heylighen11
. We build on those two references for what follows. The traditional
philosophical disciplines can be seen as answering these questions, presented in the table 1
below.
Weltauffassung, Sozialismus und Logischer Empirismus., 1929.
6
“On the Idea of Worldview and Its Relation to Philosophy,” Stained Glass: Worldviews and Social Science (1989):
14-25, http://groups.apu.edu/theophil/Culp/Phil496%20Readings/Optional%20Wolters%20Ideas.pdf.
7
Vidal, C. An Enduring Philosophical Agenda. Worldview Construction as a Philosophical Method, Submitted for
publication, 2007. http://cogprints.org/6048/
8
N. Rescher, Philosophical Reasoning: A Study in the Methodology of Philosophizing (Blackwell Publishers, 2001), 33.
9
Apostel and Van der Veken, Wereldbeelden. Van fragmentering naar integratie, 17.
10
Apostel and Van der Veken, Wereldbeelden. Van fragmentering naar integratie.
11
F. Heylighen, “World View,” Principia Cybernetica Web, 2000, http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/WORLVIEW.html.
3
4. Question Philosophical Discipline
1. What is? Ontology (model of reality as a whole)
2. Where does it all come from? Explanation (model of the past)
3. Where are we going? Prediction (model of the future)
4. What is good and what is evil? Axiology (theory of values)
5. How should we act? Praxeology (theory of actions)
6. What is true and what is false? Epistemology (theory of knowledge)
Table 1: Summary of the worldview questions, with their corresponding traditional philosophical discipline.
The first question is the question of ontology; or a model of reality as a whole. It can be
typified with the question "What is?". It encompasses questions like, What is the nature of
our world? How is it structured and how does it function? Why is there something rather
than nothing? etc.
The second question explains the first component. Why is the world the way it is, and not
different? What kind of global explanatory principles can we put forward? How did the
Universe originate? Where does it all come from? The kind of explanation sought here is one in
terms of antecedents. Answers to these questions should be able to explain how and why
such or such phenomena arose.
The third question is complementary to the second one. Instead of focusing on the past, it
focuses on the future. Where are we going to? What will be the fate of life in the Universe? It is
about futurology, because this component should give us possible futures, with more or less
probable developments. But the fact that there remain uncertainties, i.e. that there is more
than one outcome possible, leaves us with choices to make. Which alternative should we
promote and which one should we avoid? For this, we need values.
This brings us to the fourth question. How do we evaluate global reality? What should we
strive for? What is good and what is evil? What is the meaning of life? Axiology traditionally
deals with those questions, including morality, ethics, and aesthetics. The component should
give us a direction, a purpose, a set of goals to guide our actions.
The fifth question is about the theory of action, or praxeology. How should we act? What are
the general principles according to which we should organise our actions? It would help us
to implement plans of action, according to our values, in order to solve practical problems.
It is often said that a philosophy is of no use because it is too far from reality, that it does
not give any precise answer to concrete questions. This is often true and a praxeology
correctly developed should fill this gap.
4
5. The sixth question is about the theory of knowledge (epistemology). How are we to
construct our image of this world in such a way that we can come up with answers to
questions 1, 2 and 3? How can we acquire knowledge? The more abstract questions “what
are the principles of valid inferences or demonstrations?”, “How can we characterize truth,
deduction, existence, necessity, etc. ?” are main issues of logic and philosophy of logic. We
can also relate to this component the problem of language; what language should we use for
our purposes of knowledge acquisition, and what are its limitations?
There is in fact a seventh question, which is a meta-question, asking Where do we start in order
to answer those questions? It invites us to seek for partial answers found in the history of ideas
and civilizations, preferably being aware of their tradition of thought, and their more or less
hidden assumptions. This step is important for example to build a world philosophy12
. More
generally, philosophical anthropology and history of philosophy operate at this meta-level,
allowing a broader analysis of the evolution of different worldviews.
Examples of different worldviews
To illustrate the worldview components, we will now take four very different examples of
worldviews, by considering a scientific and a religious worldview but also the worldview of a
bacterium, and of a society (see table 2 below). The scientific and religious worldviews we
describe are caricatures. The purpose is not to be accurate in the worldview description, but
rather to give some examples of different kinds of worldviews.
12
e.g. Archie J. Bahm, The Philosopher's World Model (Greenwood Press, 1979); Comparative Philosophy: Western,
Indian, & Chinese Philosophies Compared, Revised edition. (World Book, 1995); P. Lévy, World philosophie: le marché,
le cyberespace, la conscience (Editions Odile Jacob, 2000).
5
6. (a) scientific (b) religious (c) bacterium (d) society
1. Ontology Materialism, no
God.
Two aspects:
matter/mind.
What it senses at
present.
Shared cultural
ontology.
2. Explanation Scientific models
of the Universe,
its evolution.
God. Answers in
sacred writings.
A kind of
memory. (Which
can be the
biochemical state
of the
bacterium.)
Explanation for the
present society.
3. Prediction Predictive models
of our world.
A form of life after
death.
Genetically-based
feedback system.
Political plans,
forecasting.
4. Axiology Very vague. Only
values for
scientific inquiry.
Concrete and fixed
values from the
“sacred writings”.
(e.g. Ten
Commandments)
Mainly
genetically
determined: find
food; reproduce.
Utopia, political and
economical values.
5. Praxeology No guide for
action.
Some precise and
concrete actions
proposed.
Move; eat and
digest.
Political actions,
normal people
actions.
6. Epistemology Interaction
between theory
and observation
to build
components 1, 2,
3.
Knowledge comes
primarily from the
“sacred writings”
and from the
religious experience.
Some basic
perceptions.
Information comes
from sociological
transmission of
culture (e.g. Schools,
media, etc.)
Table 2: Examples of four different worldviews with their corresponding components.
It might be surprising that it is indeed possible to analyse the actions and interactions of a
bacterium with the worldview model. The question is: what minimal agent can we conceive
as having a worldview? A bacterium is a possible candidate. This is also the opinion of
Stuart Kauffman:
In my Investigations (Stuart A. Kauffman, Investigations, Oxford University Press,
USA, 2000.) I sought to answer this by proposing that a minimal molecular agent is
a system that can reproduce itself and carry out at best one work cycle in the
thermodynamic sense. I will not go into the ramifications of this, which are
puzzling and I hope important. On this account, a bacterium swimming up a
glucose gradient and performing work cycles is an agent, and glucose has value and
meaning for the bacterium without assuming consciousness. Of course it is natural
selection that has achieved this coupling. But teleological language has to start
somewhere, and I am willing to place it at the start of life13
.
13
Stuart A. Kauffman, Beyond reductionism: Reinventing the Sacred, Zygon, 42(4) 2007, 909.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/files/ibi/BeyondReductionism9.pdf.
6
7. Speaking about the worldview of a society may also seem rather far-fetched, if we do not
use the metaphor of the society as an organism. Those two extreme examples have however
the benefit to show us the limits of the worldview concept. The bacterium as described in
the table gives an example of a very primitive worldview, which is in fact more similar to a
model than to a worldview. Now we can wonder, what is the difference between a
worldview and a model? A possible answer is that a worldview encompasses everything that
is important to an individual, whereas a model describes a specific aspect of a phenomena.
The "worldview of a society" example suggests that, even if a worldview is ultimately
carried by an individual, we should also not forget to analyse higher levels of systems or
organizations with the relevant analysis at that level. Of course, this higher analysis has to be
in fine reintegrated in a worldview of an individual14
.
This approach in terms of worldviews thus intricately links abstracts philosophical
questions, with an individual's personal experience. We do not simply seek the most perfect
model of the world; we also want it embodied in individuals, thus providing rules to live and
act meaningfully.
Necessity to have a worldview
In the section “The need for philosophy: humans as homo quaerens” Rescher15
already argued
in details from an evolutionary point of view that humans' strength is in their capacity to
acquire and use knowledge of the world. “We are neither numerous and prolific (like the ant
and the termite), nor tough and aggressive (like the shark). Weak and vulnerable creatures,
we are constrained to make our evolutionary way in the world by the use of brainpower.
”16
This leads to the practical need to acquire more knowledge, to be able to understand and
thus predict features of our world. There is accordingly
a need to have a worldview and to improve it.
There are also psychological and sociological needs for a good worldview. Sociological
research seems to indicate that the feelings of insecurity and distrust are stronger among the
people who least profess belief in a religious or philosophical worldview17
. Psychologists
researching life satisfaction, on the other hand, have found that having such beliefs increases
well- being, by providing a sense of life meaning, feelings of hope and trust, a long-term
perspective on life's woes, and a sense of belonging to a larger whole18
. If philosophy does
not answer those questions, other realms of our culture will take advantage of the situation,
and provide answers. These are principally religions, or, much more dangerously, cults,
extremist secular ideologies or fundamentalist interpretations of religion spreading irrational
beliefs.
We all need a certain worldview, even if it is not made fully explicit, to interact with our
world. There is a practical need to have at least an implicit, pre-ontological and for that
reason “naive” answer for each of the worldview questions.
14
The optimal worldview for each selfish individual (subsystem) will not lead to the optimal outcome for
society (system as a whole). Optimizing the outcome for a subsystem will in general not optimize the
outcome for the system as a whole. In systems theory this is known as the problem of suboptimization.
15
Rescher, Philosophical Reasoning, 6-10.
16
Ibid., 7.
17
M. Elchardus, Wantrouwen en Onbehagen (Brussels: VUB Press, 1998).
18
D. G. Myers, The pursuit of happiness (Avon Books, 1993).
7
8. Scientific worldviews
A scientific worldview is mainly concerned with modelling the world, that is answering
questions 1, 2, and 3 above. Furthermore, two common requirements for a scientific
worldview are to provide (a) explanatory power based and verified by (b) observational and
experimental support. The requirement of an explanatory power (a) includes for example
the ability to make predictions, but also the ability to connect consistently each new
scientific theory to the rest of science. The empirical dimension furthermore requires that
the predictions should be formulated in such a way that they can be tested, or falsified19
.
For most scientists, this leads to a critical realist worldview, “which believes that
experimental and empirical activity can lead us to truths about nature.”
In the last few decades there has been an explosion of the scientific activity. The total
number of papers in scientific journals increases exponentially. Along with this tendency of
information overload, new scientific disciplines spread out, leading to more specialization.
The scientific landscape becomes thus more and more fragmented. In this section we
address the problem of bridging the different sciences, from a worldview construction
perspective. What concepts should we emphasize to build a scientific worldview able to fill
the gaps between the different sciences?
Although such a question would deserve much analysis and development, we argue here
that three very general scientific approaches are keys for this endeavour; these are: systems
theory for an attempt towards a universal language for science; a general problem-solving
perspective and evolution broadly construed20
.
Systems theory as a universal language for science
Is it possible to find a universal language for science? Leibniz is famous for his program
towards a universal language for the sciences (scientia universalis), composed by a universal
notation (characteristica universalis) and a deductive system (calculus ratiocinator). However, this is
a logical approach which has the benefits of clarity and precision, but has the disadvantage
that classical logic does not model directly the time dimension. And our world is in time, we
thus need to understand its dynamic. Dynamical mathematical models have been and are
still widely used in science, but they often prove insufficient when dealing with complex
systems.
General systems theory and cybernetics aim to propose a universal dynamical language for
science21
. They provide general modelling tools (e.g. state-space approach) and concepts like
system, feedback, black-box, etc. which can be applied equally well in physics, chemistry,
biology, psychology, sociology... Those concepts have already proven their strength as they
were first successfully used (and are still widely used) in engineering.
Curt Ducasse22
criticized the statement that "philosophy is more general than science" by
noting that the philosopher does not make explicit the links between the different sciences.
19
K. R. Popper, The Logic of Scientific Discovery (Routledge, 2002).
20
Other conceptual approaches which could be used to this endeavour are for example: network modelling,
hierarchies, fractals, analogies (carefully used), mathematical models, etc.
21
See for example: L. von Bertalanffy, “General Systems Theory,” New York: Braziller (1968); K. E. Boulding,
“General Systems Theory-The Skeleton of Science,” Management Science 2, no. 3 (1956): 197-208,
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Books/Boulding.pdf.
22
Philosophy as a Science, Its Matter and Its Method (O. Piest, 1941), chap. 1.
8
9. However, this is not true anymore with the help of systems theory, which can provide a
common language for the different sciences. This philosophical endeavour to integrate the
different sciences can certainly very much progress rigorously by using systems theory.
Traditionally, mathematical models based on physical laws are used to predict the behaviour
of a system from a set of parameters, boundary conditions and initial conditions. These
models are in fact reductionist and developed with analytical methods (the problem is split
in easier subproblems). However, when the systems become more complex and the number
of interactions increases a simple analytic solution of the mathematical expressions is not
possible anymore. Computer simulations can then be used to predict the behaviour of
complex systems. These simulations are based on a discretisation of space (finite elements
methods) and/or time (simultion methods) . It is then possible to run a simulation many
times, varying parameters to try to understand a general trend. Computer simulations are
nowadays indispensable for the design of modern systems and structures.
The systems theory and the related modeling techniques and computer simulations are very
successful in engineering science. Nevertheless, they have limitations when dealing
with non-linear and very complex systems. In case of chaotic systems for instance, the
predictability of the behaviour is in practice very limited. More generally, if mathematical
models are not available, a qualitative approach is first suitable. The general problem-solving
perspective allows to logically structure and clarify this qualitative approach.
Problem-solving approach
In a system-theoretic and cybernetic perspective, a problem can be defined as a gap which is
experienced by an agent from the situation which the agent ideally would like to be in. A
problem is solved by a sequence of actions that reduce the difference between the initial
situation and the goal. Eliyahu Goldratt23
developed the “theory of constraints" (TOC)
providing tools for organizations to achieve their goals. It allows to map the logical structure
of problems, which considerably help to make clear where disagreements appear. Because it
is a very general problem-solving toolbox, it could also be applied with great benefit to
scientific problems.
Karl Popper already deeply understood the importance of a problem-solving perspective in
the rational enquiry: “every rational theory, no matter whether scientific or philosophical, is
rational in so far as it tries to solve certain problems. A theory is comprehensible and reasonable
only in its relation to a given problem-situation, and it can be rationally discussed only by
discussing this relation.”24
[italics by Popper]. Most of our problems have many dimensions,
and involve several layers of our “reality”. For example, an ecological problem must often
take into account knowledge about chemistry (pesticides, etc.), biology (genetics),
climatology, without mentioning political, economical, ethical and philosophical dimensions.
To find a good solution to such a complex problem, the necessary context of the problem
has to be taken into account, or what Popper calls the “problem-situation”. There is thus a
necessity of a multidisciplinary approach. For more and more problems it becomes very
limited if not impossible to restrict oneself to only one discipline or one layer of reality.
When one endorses this problem-solving perspective, the borders between the different
23
Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Jeff Cox, The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement, North River Press, 1984. ;Lisa J.
Scheinkopf, Thinking for a Change: Putting the Toc Thinking Processes to Use, CRC Press, 1999.
24
K. R. Popper, “On the status of science and of metaphysics,” Ratio 1, no. 2 (1958): 268-269.
9
10. sciences fades out. If we have a complex problem to solve, we should use every possible
resource at our disposal to tackle the problem. A main difficulty is then to be able to
communicate with scientists of other disciplines than of our discipline of origin. That is
why the endeavour of a universal scientific language we outlined above is so important.
Even a minimal knowledge in systems theory would already help scientists from very
different backgrounds to communicate.
Bridges between exact and human sciences can be constructed or deduced from the
endeavour to solve problems at the interface of the two. In this view, the scientific activity
can be drew as a map of challenges, or problems (theoretical or practical) being solved or
being tackled, instead of a traditional disciplinary map.
Evolutionary theory
The general idea of evolution, which Darwin expressed through the concept of natural
selection (variation and selection), has infiltrated almost every field of science. This can be
seen from the proliferation of disciplines like “evolutionary psychology” where mental and
psychological traits are explained through evolution25
; the closely related “evolutionary
ethics” which focuses on the apparition of moral traits; “evolutionary economics”, which
emphasize complex interactions, competition, and resource constraints26
; “evolutionary
epistemology” arguing that knowledge can be seen as a result of a natural selection
process27
; “evolutionary computation” inspired by evolutionary processes to design new
kinds of algorithms28
; “neural Darwinism” in neuroscience also has been proposed to
explain the evolution of the brain 29
and even in cosmology a theory of “cosmological
natural selection” has been hypothesized30
Evolution has thus largely crossed the border of biological evolution, and can be seen as a
general theory of change. For example, complexity theorist Eric Chaisson wrote a history
of our cosmos, based on scientific findings, where evolution is its core engine. He defines it
as "any process of formation, growth and change with time, including an accumulation of
historical information; in its broadest sense, both developmental and generative change. "31
In fact, we should not be surprised by this situation, since thinking in evolutionary terms
simply means thinking with time, and more precisely about how any kind of structures and
functions can emerge from interactions occurring in time.
Limitations of scientific worldviews
We should be aware of some limitations of purely scientific worldviews. We saw that the
mission of science is traditionally focused on modelling the world, i.e. on answering the
worldview questions 1, 2 and 3. We can note that a religious worldview is often weak when
25
e.g. J. H. Barkow, L. Cosmides, and J. Tooby, The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of
Culture (Oxford University Press, USA, 1992).
26
e.g. Boulding, “What is evolutionary economics?,” Journal of Evolutionary Economics 1, no. 1 (March 7, 1991):
9-17, doi:10.1007/BF01202334, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01202334.
27
e.g. D. T. Campbell, “Evolutionary epistemology,” The Philosophy of Karl Popper 1 (1974): 413-463.
28
e.g. D. B. Fogel, Evolutionary computation: toward a new philosophy of machine intelligence (IEEE Press Piscataway,
NJ, USA, 1995).
29
G. M. Edelman, Neural Darwinism: the theory of neuronal group selection (Basic Books New-York, 1987).
30
L. Smolin, “Did the Universe evolve?,” Classical and Quantum Gravity 9, no. 1 (1992): 173-191.
31
E. J. Chaisson, Cosmic Evolution: The Rise of Complexity in Nature (Harvard University Press, 2001), 232.
10
11. attempting to answer those three worldview questions because it is generally more focused
on the three others questions32
. On the other side, a scientific worldview should also pay
attention to integrate the model it constructs with the more philosophical problems
involving the nature and meaning of values, actions and knowledge (respectively questions 4, 5
and 6). Here too those questions are not exclusively philosophical, but it does not matter so
much in a problem-solving perspective. Indeed, we saw that there exists a field of
“evolutionary ethics” (thus addressing question 4), and “evolutionary epistemology”
(addressing question 6) and there is a lot of management literature addressing the question
of how to act (question 5).
As Charlie Dunbar Broad noted, we should also clarify the fact that being non-scientific
doesn't mean being therefore un-scientific:
We must distinguish between being non-scientific and being un-scientific. What I
have admitted is that philosophy is a subject which is almost certainly of its very
nature non-scientific. We must not jump from this purely negative statement to the
conclusion that it has the positive defect of being unscientific. The latter term can
be properly used only when a subject, which is capable of scientific treatment, is
treated in a way which ignores or conflicts with the principles of scientific
method.33
Conclusion
We exposed Apostel's definition of a worldview and gave examples of worldviews, arguing
that there is an evolutionary, psychological and sociological necessity to have one. We then
proposed three fundamental approaches needed when trying to build an integrated scientific
worldview. First, general systems theory provides concepts that are general enough so that
they constitute an important step towards a universal language for science. Second, a
problem-solving perspective on science allows us to naturally bridge the gaps between
sciences, focusing on the problem to solve, using as many scientific resources needed to
tackle the challenge at stake. Third, general evolutionary theory (not only biological
evolution) allow us to understand how systems change through time. We closed with some
remarks about the limitations of purely scientific worldviews, suggesting that such a
scientific worldview should also take into account the related philosophical dimensions of
any worldview.
Acknowledgements
I thank Hubert Van Belle and Jan Van der Veken for their stimulating feedback, and Piet
Holbrouck for introducing me to the theory of constraints.
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13