The topic of worldviews tends to be addressed in specialized contexts such as modern science, religious traditions, health and healing, or personal and social transformation. Consequently, it can be challenging to explore the idea of its own right, independently of the various paradigms and belief-systems with which it is associated in particular historical periods.
Every worldview implicitly carries metaphysical assumptions about what exists or is most real. In some cultures these may be heavily influenced by science, while in others the main influence may be religion or a relationship with the environment. These assumptions permeate -- often unconsciously -- the more specific laws, beliefs, and practices of culture. They relate to:
A. The stuff of reality, for example: matter, consciousness, energy, extradimensional beings, etc., together with an implied ranking of what is most fundamental and what is illusory. For example, "Consciousness is identical with the electrochemistry of the brain," or "Dream time is more real than waking time."
B. The structure of reality, for example: "Everything is separate," "All things express the oneness of the universe," or "Causes must be spatio-temporally contiguous with effects."
C. The dynamics of reality, for example: explanations of how and why things happen as they do, for example, because "God willed it," or because "Nothing can travel faster than light," or because "Free will is not possible in light of our knowledge of human conditioning."
D. The cosmic setting of reality, for example: "How did it all begin?" "Why are we here?" or "Is there purpose in nature that will guide us to particular destinations?"
Every worldview implicitly carries epistemological and methodological assumptions regarding how knowledge is possible, how it is to be gained, and what its limits may be. These, too, are ranked according to their perceived usefulness or importance. For example, "All knowledge is based on sensory experience" or "Some things can be known by reason alone" or "Intuition is not to be trusted unless it is tested by experience and science," or "Clairvoyant visions of other dimensional realities are (or are not) possible."
Finally, every worldview carries the basis for ethical prescriptions about how to distinguish between right and wrong (however relative or limited those constraints may be), the elements of human happiness, the origins and nature of rights (if any), how society ought to be constructed, and what kinds of behavior are appropriate in general for achieving what we desire. The basis for these prescriptions is usually rooted in particular conceptions of human nature. For example, one might assume that "If we all participate in, or are expressions of, a Divine Source, then to harm another is to harm oneself," or that "If there is no basis for patriarchy in nature (human or otherwise), then hierarchical (sexist) institutions of economic and political power ought to be eliminated".
Worldviews are typically held together by a core paradigm that spills over into and influences the development of other context-specific laws and theories in science, religion, personal happiness, etc. Thus, the "Cartesian-Newtonian" worldview ultimately helped birth and shape the views of Marx, Darwin, and Freud, who among other things were all determinists. Core paradigms in turn typically reflect a small number of root metaphors the meaning of which is never completely spelled out by particular applications. For example, the metaphors of hierarchical control, fear, physicality, duality, separateness, and competition are played out in various Western worldviews.
Worldviews are neither true nor false, although they may seem that way to those who share a different worldview. Rather, they are either more or less adequate to the needs and challenges of those who live within their purview. If and when they are abandoned, it is because they don't work very well anymore; they lose their relevance.
Particular paradigms and practices are more or less constantly refined in different cultures, depending upon changing circumstances. However, worldviews per se seldom change, and when they do, it is only with great difficulty and often with a revolutionary consciousness that affects everything from universities to battlefields. The shift from a Newtonian to an Einsteinian cosmology was a major change in scientific paradigm, but the last major shift in Western worldview (despite post-modern criticisms) was the emergence of the Enlightenment from out of the High Middle Ages. Changes in worldview occur only when deep structural similarities across a wide spectrum arenas -- environment, health, science, spirituality, patriarchy, etc. -- are challenged in congruent ways. For example, the concept of hierarchy is currently being challenged with respect to health care delivery, the environment, women's rights, and religion.
The (re)emerging core paradigms of the Perennial Philosophy and Systems Holism are widely discussed these days under different labels and applications. Each promises to replace the limitations of prevailing Western worldviews with a more adequate vision. Each stresses the "interconnectedness of all things" and the need to act accordingly. However, they do this in different ways, i.e., within levels or between levels of reality. Perennialism favors a broader multidimensional spectrum of levels and is generally more sympathetic to the concerns of spirituality, transpersonal psychology, and the paranormal. Systems holistic thinking is more likely to be nurtured in discussions of physics, the life sciences, economics, and the environment. However, they are complementary perspectives. Most of the key texts listed below lean toward one or the other vision while not necessarily excluding the other.
Mark Woodhouse is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgia State University, Atlanta. He is the author of 'Paradigm Wars' (1996)
Capra, Fritjof (1983). The Turning Point . New York: Bantam Books. ISBN O-553-01480-3.
A sustained critique of the Newtonian-Cartesian worldview in light of Systems Holism, which Capra applies broadly to physics, biology, psychology, and economics. It follows his earlier acclaimed The Tao of Physics (1976), a complementary perspective for which, especially regarding consciousness and multidimensionality, is offered by David Bohm's (1980) Wholeness and the Implicate Order. Capra's application of systems thinking to the bio-earth sciences is found in The Web of Life (1997).
Wilber, Ken (1976). The Spectrum of Consciousness. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House. ISBN 08-35606953.
The first of his many books which initially developed and applied the Perennial Philosophy, particularly to the integration of Eastern spiritual traditions and Western psychology, but which later expanded into virtually all major cultural paradigms, including those relating to sex and ecology, in what can only be described as a unique grand synthesis. Important qualifications of Perennialism and summaries of other explorations may be found in his reader-friendly A Brief History of Everything (1996) and The Essential Ken Wilber, An Introductory Reader (1998) edited by Kendra Burroughs. Wilber is must reading for those interested in worldviews and how Perennialism and Systems Holism (and much else!) can be integrated into a coherent vision.
DiCarlo, Russel, ed. (1996). Towards a New World View: Conversations at the Leading Edge. Erie, PA: Epic Publishers. ISBN 1-886718-00-8.
Includes essays by and interviews of leading New Paradigm thinkers in such areas as health, ecology, psychology, and spirituality. The implications for a new worldview are left largely to the reader, although DiCarlo does a commendable job of summarizing key options in each section. It leans in a perennialist direction, but also contains articles of a systems holistic bent and serves as a very good introduction/overview to the whole field. Also highly recommended is another collection of essays, many by members of the Scientific and Medical Network, entitled Wider Horizons (1999), edited by David Lorimer and others. Systems, holistic, or perennialist thinking is implied in most of the brief articles, although the book as a whole does not lean more in one direction than in another. Clearly, however, the numerous brief essays point to the emergence of a new worldview.
Ferguson, Marilyn, (1987). The Aquarian Conspiracy. Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher. ISBN 0874774586.
In its first edition (1982), Ferguson's inspired vision was one of the early "something really big is going on" syntheses of major grassroots and conceptual change. It includes discussions of revolutions in the sciences, but leans toward personal and social transformation. While the exposition is elementary, it is nonetheless magnetic and conveys a sense of excitement throughout.
Excellent reading for beginners to the field.
Harman, Willis (1988). Global Mind Change. Indianapolis, Indiana: Knowledge Systems Press. ISBN 1576750299.
Of Harman's many books, Global Mind Change perhaps most directly points the way toward a new world view that incorporates systems thinking, but also goes beyond it. He argues for a greater appreciation of the causal role of consciousness, especially in health, healing, and personal growth, a resurgence of the perennial wisdom in religion, and positive (even spiritually based) changes in business and politics. See also his Changing Images of Man (1982) and The New Business of Business: Sharing Responsibility for a Positive Global Future (1997).
Henderson, Hazel (1995). Paradigms in Progress. San Francisco, CA: Barrett-Koehler. An incisive exploration of the kinds of changes, both personal and conceptual, that are needed for a peaceful and economically and environmentally sustainable world. Systems and holistic thinking are evident throughout. While she focuses on the environment and on economics, her interdisciplinary skills and knowledge help create the outline of a much larger worldview. See also her The Politics of the Solar Age (1981) and Creating Alternative Futures (1978). Henderson is one of the most recognized and thoughtful of all futurists.
Kuhn, Thomas (1970). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226458083. While likely to be included in other recommended reading sections, Kuhn's classic about what "paradigms" are and how they both organize and resist change is must reading for better understanding worldviews and the dynamics of their changes.
Laszlo, Ervin (1996). Changing Visions: Human Cognitive Maps: Past, Present, and Future. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. ISBN 0275956168.
A detailed analysis of the evolution and creative dissolution of individual and societal cognitive maps for understanding ourselves, our world, and our relationship to divinity. Laszlo is a prolific writer, challenging in places. While Changing Visions is intended as an objective analysis of our intellectual maps, Laszlo generally applies a systems and/or holistic perspective to his many projects.
Pepper, Stephen (1957). World Hypotheses. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 0520009940.
While dated, Pepper's work is a classic in the field. It examines the various types of worldview available to us with particular attention given to the roles of scepticism, dogmatism, and the corroboration of evidence in forming worldviews. Of special interest, too, is the role Pepper finds for root metaphors (e.g., the "machine" model) in understanding major hypotheses about the world. More advanced reading, but repays careful study.
Roszak, Theodore (1992). The Voice of the Earth. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0671867539.
While Roszak focuses on the need for deep structural changes in our approach to psychology, cosmology, and ecology in this work, his broadly based interdisciplinary interests allow him to outline a vision here and in other works that is more worldview than disciplinary paradigm. Roszak is sympathetic to both Systems Holism and the Perennial Philosophy, appropriately in different places and for different reasons.
Smith, Huston. (1988) Beyond the Post-Modern Mind. Wheaton, Ilinois: Quest Books. ISBN 0835606473.
This is a collection of some of Huston Smith's finest articles on a variety of topics in science, spirituality, and society united by a background appreciation for, or defense of, the perennialist's Great Chain of Being and a response to several post-modern criticisms. Highly recommended also are his classic The World's Religions (1992, revised edition), which beautifully draws out their metaphysical and ethical implications, and Forgotten Truth (1976), which offers as simple and straightforward an exposition of the Perennial Wisdom, from the perspective of the world's major spiritual traditions, as exists in the English language. Smith frequently speaks to background worldview(s) on whatever topic he is writing about. Must reading.
Woodhouse, Mark (1996). Paradigm Wars (Worldviews for a New Age). Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books. ISBN 1883319420.
Examines current transformational challenges across a wide disciplinary spectrum, from health, education, and the environment to feminism, spirituality, the paranormal, and extraterrestrial contact. Explains in detail the similarities and differences between Systems Holism and the Perennial Philosophy and the ways these core paradigms promise to move us beyond limiting assumptions of prevailing Western worldviews. Woodhouse also offers independent critical (but sympathetic) analyses of major New Paradigm thinkers and issues and, in some instances, offers fresh solutions.