How was the universe formed? Who created the earth? What is the origin of man? What is the meaning of human life? What happens after death? What is good and evil? Where to look for justice? Each person asks himself questions that can be classified as “eternal”. Not a single generation of people has been able to answer them unequivocally. However, depending on the answers, various types of worldview are traced.
The system of concepts about the world and man determines our worldview. Its structure and historical types are briefly covered in this article.
The following components are distinguished in the worldview structure :
- Informative. This knowledge and ideas about nature, society, history.
- Value-normative. Compose the ideals, norms and values of man and society.
- Emotionally strong-willed. Reflects the psychological attitude to live in accordance with their beliefs.
It is customary to distinguish between ordinary and theoretical levels of worldview.
An ordinary worldview develops spontaneously, based on everyday experience and common sense. It is not without contradictions, since at this level it is impossible to penetrate into the inner essence of the diverse and complex relations of the "man - world" system.
Critical comprehension of worldview beliefs becomes possible at the second, theoretical level. The theoretical core of the worldview of our era is philosophy.
Before its emergence, the world order was explained by the mythological and religious types of worldview.
Mythology is a form of human culture containing the beginnings of religion, morality, science and art. The mythological worldview is inseparable from the emotional sphere, it is a fantastic reflection of reality. A characteristic feature of this type of thinking is syncretism - the unity of knowledge and faith, real and imagined. The mythological worldview operates with images and is artistic.
At the heart of a religious worldview is belief in supernatural powers. The mythological and religious types of worldview are united by the priority of sensory perception of reality. The difference is that religion is trying to explain the world order by dividing the world into natural and supernatural. A cult and a system of rites with the goal of "building relationships" with the world of the gods appears.
With the development of civilizations of Ancient China, India, Greece, attempts began to appear rational explanation of the world. The term "philosophy" was coined in the VI century. BC. and belongs to Pythagoras. From ancient Greek, this word is translated as "love of wisdom." Philosophy and the types that precede it
worldview combines the subject of reflection; the goal of philosophical research is to learn the universal through the particular and the general, that is, go beyond the finite and touch the infinite. Such thinking is called transcendental because it goes beyond the boundaries of science and practical experience.
So, philosophy is the basis of system-rational thinking, revealing the meaning and patterns of development of the world and man. However, “eternal” questions remain open.
What is your worldview, man of the New Age?