Worldviews Part 1: What are Worldviews?

An introduction to the construction of worldviews, the home of foresight.

Overview

Worldviews frame the way we make sense of the world. They represent our beliefs, values, and assumptions about what matters, what we define as ‘real’ and what is not, what we accept as ‘right’ and what we reject. Koltko-Rivera (2004) provides the following definition:

A worldview is a way of describing the universe and life within it, both in terms of what is and what ought to be. A given worldview is a set of beliefs that includes limiting statements and assumptions regarding what exists and what does not (either in actuality, or in principle), what objects or experiences are good or bad, and what objectives, behaviors, and relationships are desirable or undesirable … Worldviews include assumptions that may be unproven, and even unprovable, but these assumptions are superordinate, in that they provide the epistemic and ontological foundations for other beliefs within a belief system.

We all hold a worldview that shapes our perspectives on, and how we make sense of, the present …