On Worldviews - Olthuis

Name of author, name of essay/chapter: On Worldviews by James H. Olthuis

Thesis:

Everyone has their own worldviews (based upon their answers to questions about the human condition), and these worldviews affect both the way we see the universe and how we act and react to things within it. (Philosophers and psychologists alike disagree on whether or not the ideas behind a worldview affect the way we act according to them or vice versa, with our actions affecting the things we believe.) These worldviews can be in a constant change of flux, ever-changing based on new experiences, revelations, education, etc. For religious people, their faith is either confirmed or challenged by these experiences, and they have the choice to either allow their faith to remain static in the face of these events or force their beliefs to grow and change based upon them.

Three links to illustrate the point of this article:

-          Atheist PostSecret website post – this person’s worldview, though lacking the “roots” that faith gives to worldviews, still prevents him/her from ending their own life. The first comment in the discussion thread below this image is especially interesting—this person’s worldview drives them to do good things for the world, and their lack of faith means they believe they only have one shot, one chance to improve the world as much as they can. This made me think about what Olthuis says about how all worldviews are rooted in faith – is this person’s faith simply the belief that there is no God? Or are they faith-less?

-          Miracle Drug by U2 – At the beginning of this song, the songwriter wants to see the world from another person’s point of view – wants to see how the world would look using another worldview. He goes on to talk about God and how he can hear Him everywhere in his life – “in science and in medicine” – illustrating how his faith-based worldview affects other aspects of his life and permeates everything he believes with his underlying belief in God.

-          Old/young woman optical illusion – every person sees something different when they look at this picture for the first time – either the young or the old woman. This is a simplistic illustration of how peoples’ different worldviews can set them apart from each other, but it still applies to Olthuis’ arguments. In addition, most people eventually come to be able to see the other image that they didn’t immediately pick up on – a person who first saw the young woman will be able to find the old woman if they are given some time to locate her. I think this is part of what Olthuis says about how worldviews can grow and change – we assimilate information and experiences into our existing worldviews when we are shown something new or have a flaw pointed out to us.

Two discussion questions:

1.      Olthuis talks about the way worldviews are rooted in faith (although he states they don’t stem solely from faith). Do you think it is possible to have a strong, clear worldview without faith?

2.      A worldview based on faith could be shaken by things that challenge that faith – what kinds of things, then, could shake a worldview that is not based on any faith?