World view: Hidden part of our innermost being
What is a world view?
We are born into a community and brought up in the thought patterns found in that community. Most people are never aware of the influence of this basic structure of thought: it acts as a box in which everything we know and experience fits. It can also be compared to coloured glasses through which we look and interpret what we experience and see. This is our worldview: a philosophical framework which cannot be proven but which binds us and inhibits our interpretation in order to keep it inside the box. In a certain sense the world view acts as a comfort zone because we can interpret our world and all that is happening. Understanding brings security – something we all need and cherish.
Western world view
In the Western world the influence of the Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristoteles is still ruling our world view. Amongst others, the idea of a dualism between material and spiritual is one of the most basic tenets of our world view. When we look at the eastern countries we find a different approach: there is a strong tendency to see the whole of reality as a unity. To them the whole world is one and there is no strong separation of the so-called material and spiritual aspects.
A shift in world view
In our time the most influencial change affecting the thought pattern of people in western countries is the shift from dualism to holism. There is a distinct attractiveness in the eastern philosophies because they have so many practical effects on everyday life. Buddhism influences for example cosmology, the theoretical science about the cosmos (the works of Fritjof Capra). It influences people’s view of nature and by implication, the green movement. It also influences our view of man and healthy living; the idea of mind-body as ’n unity which cannot be separated is growing stronger and is affecting the science of healing. The excellent scientific research of Candace Pert is an example. The New Age Movement is to a great extent built on eastern philosophy.
Contrary to general belief, the Christian Bible is not a western book but it originated in the Middle East with typical eastern thought patterns, as will be discussed in a follow-up aticle.