Class 2

World Views
Class #2

Prof. Ken L. Sarles

THEISM II Page 1

1A. Introduction

1B. Worldview

1C. Concept of a Worldview

1D. Essence

"A set of presuppositions (or assumptions) that we hold

(Consciously or subconsciously) about the basic makeup of

our world." Sire, The Universe Next Door, p. 17

2D. Elements

"At the center of every world‑view is what might be called

the 'touchstone proposition' of that world‑view, a

proposition that is held to be the fundamental truth about

reality and serves as a criterion to determine which other

propositions may or may not count as candidates for

belief.

one important feature of a world‑view, then, is that it serves as an intellectual framework for all attempts at understanding." Halverson, Concise Intro. Phil., p. 414

3D. Elaboration

"Cultures pattern perceptions of reality into

conceptualizations of what reality can or should be, what

is to be regarded as actual, probable, possible, and

impossible. . . . The worldview is the central

systematization of conceptions of reality to which the

members of the culture assent (largely unconsciously) and

from which stem their value system. The worldview lies

at the very heart of the culture, touching, interfacing

with, and strongly influencing every aspect of culture."

Kraft, Chy & Culture, p. 53.

2C. Consequences of a Worldview

1D. Explanation:

2D. Evaluation:

3D. Integration:

4D. Identification:

POINT: This is why we as Christian Theists must be counter‑cultural

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3C. Challenge in Formulating a Worldview

"To the extent that we engage seriously and honestly in the

study of philosophy, [and theology] we become ‑involved in what

might be called a systematic clarification of our world‑view

and a systematic testing of this world‑view by means of a

rigorous evaluation of certain of its elements. There is more

at stake in the answer that we give to this or that

philosophical problem than the resolution of that particular

problem. Indeed, ... every philosophical problem is a kind of

test case for an entire world‑view. The serious study of

philosophy land theology] thus requires great intellectual

courage." Halverson, Concise Intro. Phil., p. 414

4C. Conditions for a Worldview 1D. "First, it must be logically coherent: it must be free of internal logical inconsistencies.

2D. Second, it must be relevant: it must provide a plausible interpretative scheme in term of which at least some facts of our experience can be understood.

3D. And third, it must be adequate to the known facts: there must be no single fact or realm of facts that cannot be accounted for within the context of the proposed view. Every time a world view is put forward for consideration it is implicitly claimed that the proffered view meets these three conditions." Ibid., P. 423

5C. Categories of Worldview

1D. Idealism

2D. Naturalism

3D. Supernaturalism

2B. Philosophy of Life

1C. Commitment to Value

"The number of value commitments that may be a part of a given

philosophy of life is indefinitely large, and any statement of

a philosophy of life is therefore likely to be more or less

incomplete. . . . To adopt a philosophy of life is (among

other things) to commit oneself to certain values without being

able to say in advance what all the logical and practical

implications of such a commitment are." Ibid., p. 450.

2C. Combinations of Value Commitments

"the possible combinations of values to which human beings may

commit themselves are so numerous that there is no practical

limit to the number of philosophies of life that may be

developed. Perhaps we should say that a philosophy of life is

in certain respects unique to the individual who holds that

particular philosophy‑‑though in its main outlines, of course,

it will usually be very similar to the philosophy of life of

many other people whose major value commitments are more or

less the same." Ibid.

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3C. Components in a Philosophy of Life

1D. "A view concerning the nature of man (i.e., man's place in

the universe).

2D. a view concerning the meaning of life.

3D. a set of value commitments consistent with these views"

Ibid.

4C. Correlation of a Worldview with a Philosophy of Life

"It does not appear to be the case, however, that for any world

view there is one and only one philosophy of life that is

consistent with that worldview. You cannot simply 'deduce'

all the constitutive elements of a philosophy of life from the

beliefs that constitute a given world view." Ibid., p. 447

IN OTHER WORDS:

2A. Idealism

1B. Explanation

The mind is the only ultimate reality. The material universe is

only an extension of thought. The physical is only a poor copy of

the ideal. Reality ‑ mental activity

2B. Elaboration: Philosophical Outlooks in Idealism

1C. Platonism

1D. Adherent:

2D. Analysis

Reality is divided into two realms of existence: the

world of eternal Ideas and the world of the senses. The

world of the Ideas is the real world, of which the world

of the senses is a temporary copy. The Ideas were real

objects having ousia.

3D. Appraisal

2C. Monism

1D. Adherent: G. W. F. Hegel

2D. Analysis

In this outlook, reality is one eternally existing,

impersonal being. Everything is some phase or aspect of

the Absolute (which has many other names, depending on the

adherent),

3D. Appraisal

3C. Subjectivism

1D. Adherent: George Berkeley

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2D. Analysis

All that exists are persons and their perceptions. The

only reason the world exists is because there is a person

perceiving it.

1E. Question: If a tree falls in the forest and there is

no one they’re is to hear it fall, would it make a sound?

2E. Answer:

3D. Appraisal

4C. Panpsychism

1D. Adherent: Gottfried Leibnitz

2D. Analysis

This outlook sees reality as comprised of an infinite

number of minds organized on various levels. Hard, inert,

material atoms do not exist. The basic entities of

reality are living and mental in character.

3D. Appraisal

5C. Christian Science

1D. Adherent:

2D. Analysis

1E. Bibliology:

1F. Concept‑ The Bible is only properly understood when interpreted by Science and Health, which is the key to the Scriptures.

2F. Correction‑ The Bible is full of errors which have been corrected by Mrs. Eddy

2E. Theology Proper:

1F. Pantheistic Influence‑ God is a divine Mind, all that really exists

2F. Gnostic Influence‑ God is a principle or force, not a material being

3E. Christology:

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4E. Hamartiology

Matter is only an illusion, therefore, sin, sickness

and death are only an illusion, they do not really

exist. They only exist in your material‑oriented

mind

SE. Soteriology:

IF. Basis of Salvation‑The Atonement: Christ's death does not atone for sin, since there is sin to atone for. His shed blood did not propitiate a wrathful God, but demonstrated love for God and gave us an example of the of self‑denying life we should live.

2F. Focus of Salvation: in fact, Christ did no really die, he only fooled his disciples in thinking that he did. Salvation is being saved from wrong beliefs and wrong thinking.

3D. Appraisal

3A. Naturalism

1B. Definition of Naturalism

"The touchstone proposition of naturalism might be stated as

follows: The primary constituents of reality are material entities

whose internal structures and external relations determine

absolutely everything that happens in the world.‑ Ibid., p. 415

2B. Distinctions of the Naturalist Worldview

1C. "Matter exists eternally and is all there is. God does not exist." Sire, Univer. Next Dr., p. 61

2C. "The cosmos exists as a uniformity of cause and effect in a closed system." Ibid,., p. 62 ;

"Order in nature is but one rigorously necessary arrangement of its parts, founded on the essence of things; for example, the beautiful regularity of the seasons is not the effect of a divine plan but the result of gravitation." Brehier, Hist. of Phil., 5:129

3C. "Man is a complex "machine"; personality is an interrelation of chemical and physical properties we do not yet fully understand." Sire, Univ. Next Dr., p. 63

1D.‑ According to Pierre Jean Georges Calanis (1757‑1808)

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2D. According to Behaviorists:

3D. POINT:

4C. "Ethics is related only to man Ibid., p. 68

"we affirm that moral values derive their source from human experience. Ethics is autonomous and situational, ...needing no theological or ideological sanction. Ethics stems from human need and interest. To deny this distorts the whole basis of life. Human life has meaning because we create and develop our futures." Humanist manifesto II, p. 17

5C. "Death is extinction of personality and individuality."

"The Humanist Manifesto II states, 'As far as we know, the

total personality is a function of the biological organism

transacting in a social and cultural context. There is no

credible evidence that life survives the death of the body.'

Bertrand Russell writes, 'No intensity of thought and feeling

can preserve an individual life beyond the grave.... I And A.

J. Ayer says, 11 take it ... to be fact that one's existence ends

at death.' In a more general sense mankind is likewise seen to

be transitory. 'Human destiny,' Ernest Nagel confesses '[is]

an episode between two oblivions.'" Sire, Univ. Next Dr., p

3B. Delineation: Philosophical Outlooks in Naturalism

1C. Mechanistic Materialism

1D. Explanation

"Materialism . . . is the theory that all things may be

explained in accordance with the laws that govern matter

and motion. Materialism holds that all events and

conditions are necessary consequences of previous events

and conditions" Titus, Liv. Issues in Phil., p. 403

2D. Emergence

1E. Democritus of Abdera (4607 ‑ 370 B.C.) presented the

first systematic explanation of mechanism which

explained the order in the universe. He held that

everything in the universe was comprised of tiny

atoms uniting in different ways. Each atom had the

principle of motion in it and existed eternally as it

moved through empty space.

2E. Epicurus (c.342 ‑ 270) (and later Lucretius, On the Nature of Things) took Democritus' view of the world and put an ethical theory with it. This atomist view of the world was generally deterministic, but Epicurus' "gentle swerve" in the course of atoms added an indeterminacy not found in Democritus' view.

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In Epicureanism the world is purposeless. Man's desires, hopes and thoughts have nothing to do with the actual course of natural events. Man's thoughts are the results of certain material causes.

3E. Thomas Hobbes (1588 ‑ 1679) held that thought was

sensation and that sensation was only matter in

motion. He even interpreted personality and social

relations in a mechanistic fashion.

4E. While this materialistic outlook is supposed to have

been ended by Darwin in 1859, behavioral psychology

and chemical determinism are modern forms of this

philosophical outlook.

3D. Evaluation

1E. No human freedom

2E. Cannot account for consciousness

3E. It cannot account for personality

2C. Dialectical Materialism

1D. Emergence

Karl Marx (1818‑1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820‑1895)

accepted the epistemology of natural science, but they

approached nature from the social sciences. Their

methodology was the methodology of G. F. Hegel, but they

rejected mind as the essence of the universe, substituting

matter. Yet they accepted the view that the world is in a

continuous process of development.

2D. Explanation

According to their philosophical outlook, "the decisive

factor in historical change and human society is the

production and reproduction of life. The first need is to

live and therefore to attend to life's necessities, thus,

the mode of production at any particular stage in history

is of prime importance" Ibid., p. 258

3D. Elaboration

1E. 1st Stage

2E. 2nd Stage.

3E. 3rd Stage:

4E. 4th Stage:

5E. 5th Stage:

4D. Emphasis

In dialectical materialism, action is primary and thought

is secondary. There is no such thing, it is claimed, as

knowledge that is mere contemplation of the world of

nature; knowledge is inseparably bound up with action."

Ibid., p. 259

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5D. Evaluation

3C. Evolutionary Naturalism

1D. Explanation

Reality exists in the space‑time order and is in no way

dependent upon any supernatural order. Nature exists in

its own right. All the diversity of nature is explained

by the mechanism of natural selection.

2D. Evaluation

"The world awaits the introduction of a balanced and

unprejudiced science which gives to the spiritual its

transcendent place above matter. The blind grovelings of

modern evolutionists who, for want of spiritual light, are

forced to seek the origin of life as an emanation from

physico‑chemical complexity' is burying itself in the

muck from which it is unable to lift its eyes.

The history of science is one of endless admissions of misunderstanding and error. In the field of that which is merely physical, certain progress has been made; but in the field of that which concerns life and spiritual being, there has been no progress, nor can there be until scientific men welcome revelation as a valid source of information." Chafer, Sys. Theo., 1:171

4C. Positivism

1D. Explanation

"It represents naturalism in its most radical form.

Insofar as method is concerned the positivists insist on a

very rigid and rigorous use of the experimental method of

the physical sciences. In fact they insist that all

knowledge must be obtained through sense experience,

although they do admit the exception of mathematics which

builds upon a system of arbitrary postulates. They

emphasize most strongly that all our knowledge is positive

or scientific and so deny any place to metaphysical

knowledge whatsoever. All knowledge is sense, all else is

non‑sense." Young, Intro. Phil., PP. 189‑90

2D. Emergence: Auguste Comte (1798‑1857) 1E. Religious Stage: supernatural explanation of all phenomena, characterized primitive people

2E. Metaphysical Stage: abstract principles and metaphysical laws, explained everything

3E. Positive Stage: the scientific method the most advanced means of discovering truth

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3D. Evaluation

5C. Pragmatism

1D. Explanation

"Pragmatism or Instrumentalism is the name given to the

type of naturalism advocated by John Dewey and his school.

Dewey's thought can be grasped only by understanding first

his theory of knowing. Knowing, for him, is a course of

action.

. . . Thinking is a kind of activity which human organisms perform as a specific need arises. It is an instrument of

adjustment which the human organism has developed in the

course of evolution. Thus Dewey insists that human beings

think only when faced with a problem (troubled situation)

in an effort to adjust themselves to their environment.

It follows then that truth is always determined by the particular situation involved. If a course of action results in proper adjustment then it has been a true or right course of action. If not, then it has been false. Truths are, says Dewey, 'processes of change so directed that they achieve an intended consummation.‑ ibid., p. 187

2D. Evaluation

"Bertrand Russell, for example, has objected to it in

rather strong terms. Dewey, he says, is substituting

desires or beliefs for truth. Russell insists that truth

is truth regardless of consequences. The fact that the

desired end is reached or not reached, as the case may be,

has nothing to do with the question of truth at all."

Ibid.

3D. Expansion

"Dewey's relativistic philosophy has been very influential

in almost every phase of American life and is today the

most virile type of naturalism to be found in our culture.

One could go even further and say that pragmatism is the

strongest philosophical force guiding our modern American

society. it is everywhere evident, from the

pronouncements of the Supreme Court to the lowliest

decisions of every day living." Ibid.

6C. Existentialism

1D. Elaboration

1E. "The cosmos is composed solely of matter, but to ‑an

reality appears in two forms ‑ subjective and

objective." Sire, Univ. Next Dr., p. 101

IF. "The first sort of being is the objective world

‑‑the world of material, of inexorable law, of

cause and effect, of chronological, clock

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ticking time, Of flux, of mechanism. The machinery of the universe, the spinning electrons, the whirling galaxies, the falling bodies and rising gases and flowing waters ‑ each is doing its thing, forever unconscious, forever just being where it is when it is. Here, say the existentialists, science and logic have their day." Ibid., p. 102

2F. "The second sort of being is the subjective world ‑ the world of mind, of consciousness, of awareness, of freedom, of stability. Here the inner awareness of the mind is a conscious present, a constant now; time has no meaning, for the subject is always present to itself, never past, never future. Science and logic do not penetrate this realm; they have nothing to say about subjectivity." Ibid.

3F. POINT:

2E. "For man alone existence precedes essence; man

makes himself who he is." Ibid., I p 103

NOTE:

3E. "Man is totally free as regards his nature and

destiny.

"He is uncoerced, radically capable of doing anything imaginable with his subjectivity. He can think, will, imagine, dream, project visions, consider, ponder, invent. He is king of his subjective world‑" Ibid., p. 104 THEREFORE:

4E. "The highly wrought and tightly organized objective world stands over against man and appears to him as absurd."

"To man, . . . the facticity, the hard, cold thereness of the world, appears as alien. Man as he makes himself to be by fashioning his subjectivity sees the objective world as absurd. It does not fit him. His dream and visions, his desires, all his inner world of value runs smack up against a universe which is impervious to man's wishes." Ibid., p. 105 RESULT:

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SE. "In full recognition of and against the absurdity of the objective world, the authentic man must revolt and create value."

"the good is whatever a man chooses; the good is part of subjectivity; it is not measured by a standard outside the human dimension." Ibid., p. 106

2D. Evaluation 1E. By a Christian Theist 1F. ."subjectivity leads to solipsism, the affirmation that each person alone is the determiner of values and that there are thus as many centers of value as there are persons in the cosmos at any one time." Ibid., p. 107

2F. Morals are whatever you choose.

2E. By a Consistent Materialist

"Brief and powerless is manes life; on him and all

his race the slow, sure doom falls pitiless and dark.

Blind to good and evil, reckless of destruction

omnipotent matter rolls on its relentless way."

Bertrand Russell, Mys. & Log.

7C. Nihilism

1D. Argument

"Man is a conscious machine without the ability to effect

his own destiny or do anything significant; therefore, man

(as a valuable being) is dead. His life is Beckett's

"breath," not the life God "breathed" into man in the

Garden (Gen. 2:7)" Ibid., p. 81

2D. Assessment 1E. Loss of Objectivity "If all that exists is Nature, the great mindless interlocking event, if our own deepest convictions are merely the by‑products of an irrational process, then clearly there is not the slightest ground for supposing that our sense of fitness and our consequent faith in uniformity tell us anything about a reality external to ourselves." C. S. Lewis, Miracles, p. 109

2E. Loss of Significance

"The ... reason why naturalism turns into nihilism is

that naturalism does not supply a basis on which man

can act significantly. Rather, it denies the

possibility of a self‑determining being who can choose

on the basis of an innate self‑conscious character.

Man is a machine‑‑determined or capricious. He is

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not a person with self‑consciousness and self-determination." Sire, Univ. Next Dr., p. 83

3E. Loss of Meaning

"The strands of epistemological, metaphysical and

ethical nihilism weave together to make a rope long

enough and strong enough to hang a whole culture.

The name of the rope is Loss of Meaning. Man ends in

a total despair of ever seeing himself, the world and

others as in any way significant. Nothing has

meaning." Ibid., pp. 91‑92

NOTE: