WORLDVIEW

Worldview

Lonnie J Clinkscale

Indiana Wesleyan University

DOL 760A

Dr. David Rough

October 29, 2011

Worldview

Worldview

What is a worldview? Why is it important in understanding Organizational Leadership?

It is an individual's or a society's philosophy or conception about the world. Worldviews are subjective outlooks influenced by personal experience, cultural norms, religious beliefs, social philosophies, and political ideologies, and they reflect apprehension as much as comprehension. A worldview is an orientation of an individual's view about the world. The concept differs from person to person because every person has a different point of view and perceives the world differently. The definitions of Worldview revolve around four issues (Sire, 2004):

the notion that worldview went beyond basic concepts, to being a fundamental orientation of the heart,

the insistence that worldviews are really real to those that believe them,

the notion of behavior in light of our worldview and the worldview of others,

the notion that worldview is connected to a story we believe and not just an idea or proposition

This paper is aimed at answering six critical questions and will also highlight Sire's (2004) view as to what makes a worldview.

The six critical questions are:

What is truth?

Where did we come from?

What has gone wrong with the world?

What can we do to fix it?

How now shall we live?

What happens when we die?

Worldview

Definition of a worldview

A worldview consists of a set of presuppositions, assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false, which people hold, consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently, about the basic makeup of the world (Sire, 2004, 24). As a Black male growing up in the inner city of Youngstown, Ohio, the author's early worldview was formed in an abusive home where he witnessed his father kicking and beating his mother when she dared to question him. The black male and his siblings could all hear her through the paper-thin walls as she questioned his whereabouts, how he had spent his paycheck, or his sexual abuse of his daughters. The author remembers his father mercilessly teasing and beating him, supposedly because his academic performance was not at the same level as his lover's sons. This young Black man's worldview was formed as the author watched his mother succumb to depression as she worked three different cleaning jobs throughout the week since she believed that there was no hope for her and her six children.

As a young boy walking through Youngstown's drug-infested neighborhoods, the author learned that the code of streets was to live fast and die young. The author also had a first-hand view of his older brother planning robberies and preparing his supply of illegal drugs for sale on the street.

The Truth and Reason of Our Existence

The truth of our existence can be viewed from two different perspectives, i.e. religious view and a secular view. According to the religious view, the truth of our existence is that we have been sent by God for a special reason. The secular view, on the other hand, does not believe in God nor do we ...