GOVT200 Notes
Module 1: Week 1
“A worldview, then, is a conceptual system by which we consciously or unconsciously place or fit
everything we believe and by which we interpret and judge reality.”
oWorldview as commitment
oExpressed in a story or a set of presuppositions
Assumptions that may be true, conscious, consistent
All thinking is from presuppositions. Any “neutrality” in science, philosophy or
religion is fictional.
oThe foundation on which we live
oMust meet certain criteria:
Will attempt to address the larger questions in life (see below)
Will attempt to be universal in its application (not limited to private matters, but
also public affairs)
Will attempt to supply lasting and livable answers to all of life
Will present itself as factually adequate, or endeavor to be consistent with the
whole of reality and what actually exists, or what is really, truly, there
oCan eventually fade and be replaced if it doesn’t meet the above four criteria
oEvery person has a worldview, but not everyone can properly articulate it
oNations have one dominant worldview at a point in time
oIn summary, then, a worldview must provide enduring answers to the larger questions
which are applicable to the whole of life.
The answers we give to the philosophical questions will determine the answers we give to the
primary questions of God, man, and the cosmos, which will determine how we will propose
institutionally to structure and proceed in all of life
Primary or Grand Questions:
oCosmological Question: What is the Origin, Nature, and Destiny of the Cosmos?
“Cosmos” means everything
oAnthropological Question: What is the Origin, Nature, and Destiny of Man?
oAnswers to these questions will determine how humans actually live, structure their
institutions, and relate privately and publicly. The point is that ideas have consequences,
the internal always produces the external, and societal institutions will necessarily
reflect in their mechanics, their structure, their makeup, and their policies, all those
internal assumptions applied. Every area of life will be impacted; there is no neutrality
when it comes to the influence of worldviews.
Subsidiary “Philosophical” Questions:
oOntological Question—the question of being: How do we exist? From where did
everything originate? What is our starting point?
Possible Solutions and Potential Answers:
Supernatural Ontology or Supernaturalism: A supernatural force or
agent is the origin of all that exists, including man, and exists above and
outside of the seen, phenomenal realm.
oGround of Grace (God)
Natural Ontology or Naturalism: Some-yet-to-be-discovered force or
agent within the natural realm is the origin of all that exists, including
man, and exists within the seen, phenomenal realm.
oGround of Nature
oEpistemological Question—the question of knowing, knowledge, and truth: How do we
know? How do we know that we know? Can we know anything for certain?
Possible Solutions and Potential Answers:
Revelational Epistemology or Revelationalism: Man can come to know
absolute truth about God, himself, and all of existence because God has
revealed it to man through special revelation, or the Scriptures, in
verbal, propositional form. This does not mean that God has revealed
total truth, or disclosed all that is knowable. Rather, He has given man
all the basic presuppositions and propositions necessary for life through
the Scriptures, which themselves represent a rational form of
communication to all men.
oCommunication presupposes rationality. If we are not rational,
communication as we know it is impossible. Every historically
significant revelation epistemology, including a Biblical Christian
revelation epistemology, presupposes rational man. Reason or
rationality, then, is not negated by revelation but, on the
contrary, is indispensable to it. By its very nature, a revelational
epistemology presupposes rationality and rational man.
Rational Epistemology or Rationalism: Rationalism asserts that man, by
simply taking thought, or exercising his intellect, or contemplating life
through human reason alone, can come to know truth in the absolute
sense for all matters of life, including morals and ethics. In this regard,
humans are rationalistic since their reason is absolutized; humans do
not need an outside, supernatural agent to communicate rationally to
them. Our author notes on pages 21–22 that rationality must be
differentiated from rationalism. Biblical revelation assumes rational
communication to rational man.
Intuitional Epistemology or Intuitionalism: Humans know by simply
intuiting, or penetrating the depths of their inner sense of self and being
able to discern what is true. Like rationalism, intuitionalism assumes
that humans do not need an outside force or supernatural agent to
administer special revelation in order to know what is true. Humans
come to understand truth apart from rational categories and reason,
and instead, assert knowledge through non-rational means by
subjective assessments, impressions, and personal feelings.
oThis necessarily presupposes a pantheistic ontology, that man,
ontologically speaking, is god, that is, part and parcel of god. If
the divine resides within man, then, theoretically, he does not
need revelation to know, nor does he even necessarily need to
think to know. He knows simply because he is.
oAxiological Question—the question of value: What, if anything, is of ultimate value?
Possible Solutions and Potential Answers:
Theistic Axiology or Theism: Theism claims that a supernatural being
such as the God of the Scriptures is the most valuable being in the
universe. Man’s value, as male and female, is understood in relation to
God.
Humanistic Axiology or Humanism: Humanism claims that humans are
the most valuable beings or creatures in the universe. A person’s value
is understood in relation to him- or herself.
Materialistic Axiology or Materialism: Materialism claims that matter (or
rather, matter in motion) is the most valuable entity in the universe. A
person’s value is understood in relation to this matter in motion, or this
universal, cosmic force of causation and determinism.
oTeleological Question—the question of destiny, direction, and purpose: Where, if
anywhere, are we going?
Possible Solutions and Potential Answers:
Kingdom of God Teleology: God’s kingdom, which includes His rule and
authority, is eternal, and therefore, gives ultimate meaning, direction,
and purpose. The Kingdom of God teleology assumes an eternal order.
Kingdom of Earth Teleology: Some force or agent, yet to be discovered,
gives ultimate meaning and direction toward an undefined and
undisclosed purpose. The Kingdom of Earth teleology assumes a
temporal order only, or the exclusive existence of this temporal age.
Third Question
oWhat is the institutional structure and procedure of the worldview?
oHow shall we then live?
oSeven Areas of Life
Civil-social
All of the corporate relationships of man, including marriage, the family,
local and national government, etc.
Ecclesiastical
The affairs of the church
Educational
The means of acquiring information, including the schools, both formal
and informal, and the media
Legal
The law order, the cement that holds everything together (instead of
just criminal law)
Economics
The relations between and among men in the marketplace
Aesthetics
All of the art forms, expressive of the ultimate beauty, ranging from the
literary arts such as literature and history on the one hand, to the
audiovisual arts including music, painting, and sculpturing as examples
on the other
International politics
The relations between and/or among nations or civilizations
oTwo main answers:
Structure all of life vertically (↑), orienting man to God. Man, in all of his
practices individually and corporately, that is, in all of his institutions, will be
oriented to God as the focus, the center, the measure, the infinite reference
point, the absolute. This will be just as true of the social, the educational, the
legal, the economic, the arts… as it will be of the ecclesiastical sphere.
Structure and proceed institutionally in a horizontal fashion (→), orienting man
to man. Man will be the focus, the center, the measure, the reference point, the
absolute—particularly, as we have noted, the human intellect with all of its
possibilities. Thus, whether speaking in terms of law, education, or the church,
the effort will be made to proceed on the basis that man is, if only by default,
the absolute.
o
Levels/stages of worldview application
oAbstractions: This first stage is identified with intellectuals or individuals who are
absorbed and preoccupied with presuppositions and ideas, who routinely meditate on
metaphysical things, and who attempt to answer the questions worldviews address. An
abstraction represents a vision of how life can be understood and contains the essential
elements of a worldview. This is also known as the stage of conceptualization, whereby
concepts and ideas are blended into a complex system of philosophical thought. Men
like Karl Marx or Charles Darwin operated at this level.
oSociological Application: Most individuals are not yet aware of, inspired by, or enthralled
by such visions. For these sentiments to take hold, another level of intellectuals fired by
the vision itself is required, who are willing to propagate it, integrate it, gain proselytes
by it, and even lay down their lives for it. This stage often consists of spirited
revolutionaries and change-makers who are willing to invest their lives, energies, and
property to see such visions actualized. Such will possibly formulate the vision further,
expand upon it, craft it into a more viable view, and then seek to apply it. Unless this
second stage occurs, we may never know the abstraction or the abstractor. For
example, a formative figure like Karl Marx would not have been as influential had Lenin
(Vladimir Illych Ulyanov) not come along, invested in Marx’s analysis of economic life
and relationships, and subsequently marketed it to the Russian people.
oEclectic Level of Selection: The paradigm is further facilitated through a third and vital
level consisting of individuals who are privileged with the capacity to directly reach the
hearts and minds of students established under their instructional tutelage. These are
academics and various lecturers, university and college professors who pick and choose
among prevailing worldviews to impart to their students through lectures, books, and
other available communication mediums. All academic institutions have a pedagogy, or
a methodology and philosophy of education, which is informed by worldviews, and
through which their professors instruct students. Generations of college students
become future professors and teachers who reinterpret the various academic disciplines
in conformity with their preferred worldview.
oConglomerate: There is one more step that necessarily incorporates the vast majority of
people. Most individuals do not reflectively engage the questions worldviews raise and
attempt to answer. Nor do they remain logically consistent in their perspective. Most
tend to acquire their worldview through various educational, cultural, or media outlets
and adopt a smorgasbord of ideas, or a hodgepodge of concepts resulting in various
presuppositional incongruities. Since their worldview is typically adopted by default, it is
defective and inadequate in capturing a logical consistency. Not only do they fail to
understand what they believe and why, they are easily manipulated and swayed,
captivated by sentimental currents and the flow of events, and even seduced by
revolutionary movements.
Why do most not have a consistent worldview?
Because whenever we attempt to make a sincere and serious effort to
raise and answer the basic questions, we are confronted with
inconsistencies which are difficult, if not impossible, to overcome. To
resolve such a confrontation it is necessary, first, to acknowledge that
we are wrong in some area of our lives, which goes against our human
nature. Secondly, we must change. This, also, is difficult—if not
impossible—because we become emotionally attached to our positions.
Most people, when confronted with inconsistencies, back off and give
up the enterprise. They simply resign themselves to living in a
conglomerated fashion.
Thomas S. Kuhn
oTheorized that scientific revolutions, or shifts in paradigms, occur when a series of
anomalies or crisis-provoking issues in scientific investigation occur that cannot be
adequately explained by the reigning worldview. A new paradigm is advanced as a
means by which the various irregularities and inconsistencies can be captured,
understood, and interpreted
Dr. Martin’s Assumptions
oIdeas have consequences
oThoughts produce actions
o“As a man thinketh so is he,”1 and so, ultimately, will he act.
oEnvironmental determinism influences us to assume that consequences result in ideas
oWe can and should know, not only what we believe but also why we believe it
oWe cannot really know what we believe and why without simultaneously knowing what
we do not believe and why
oEveryone either knows this, or is led and influenced by those who do
oThere are very few who actually know this
oTrue leadership demands, not only that we know what we believe and why, but that we
be fully committed to living existentially, that is, moment by moment, our world and life
view. It is one thing to know; it is another thing to act on the basis of what we know.
oForget everything you know
Gradual Rising And Setting Of Prevailing Worldviews
oBeliefs change very, very slowly, particularly in the case of nations and civilizations
oIt is not the case that one worldview is center stage at one moment and at the next
moment another worldview appears and drives the first view off center stage
oRather, there is always a gradual superinterposition of the new upon the old.
