I’ve always understood Weltanschauung as being ‘a comprehensive worldview’. Worldview by itself, on the other hand, I’ve taken as a category that is modifiable not only in the sense of ‘comprehensive worldview’, but as in ‘limited worldview’.
I have the sense that Weltanschauung implies an understanding of the world, systems of humankind, or Cosmos, that is deliberately or logically understood and fully-formed, such as that underpinning an extensive philosophical system.
In practice, the shades of difference in the two terms will be dependent on the speaker or writer, with the terms becoming synonymous in cases where worldview is intended to capture the comprehensive sense of the German antecedent.
Usage of weltanschauung in English
The OED has example citations from 1868.
A blog post here on «Weltanschauung in English says gives an interesting referenence:
Google’s new, fascinating Ngram tool shows you that it all started in 1850.
Both the post and link open the Google Ngram viewer.
Examples
Weltanschauung
[from the OED]
1868 W. James Let. in R. B. Perry Thought & Char. W. James (1935) I. viii. 160, I remember your saying‥that the characteristic of the Greek ‘Weltanschauung’ was its optimism.
1906 Nature 10 May 26/2 In 1863 Haeckel entered the lists as the champion of the evolutionist ‘Weltanschauung’.
1917 A. S. Pringle-Pattison Idea of God iv. 69 The intimate appreciation of living experience forms the basis of the whole Weltanschauung which he [sc. Bergson] offers us.
1934 M. Bodkin Archetypal Patterns in Poetry 326 A man’s philosophy‥ is his Weltanschauung—the individual vision, or perspective of reality.
1952 G. Sarton Hist. Sci. I. iv. 121 The creation of that astrological Weltanschauung which dominated late ancient and medieval thought and is not yet extinct today proves the survival through the Dark Interlude of some astronomical ideas of immemorial antiquity.
weltanschauungen (plural)
[from the OED]
1978 N. Jardine in C. Hookway & P. Pettit Action & Interpretation 124 Speakers of different cultures, having different Weltanschauungen, ideologies, interests, paradigms, etc.
worldview
Er, just substitute «worldview» for «Weltanschauung» in the sentences above.
More examples:
But I will say that their worldview is aggressively offensive and that a game that I might’ve tried is now something I won’t consider because of their steadfast, intolerant stance. Michael Grove
This difference in worldview is part of the reason that the couple fails. Eric Melin
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worldview
Универсальный англо-русский словарь > worldview
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worldview
Англо-русский универсальный дополнительный практический переводческий словарь И. Мостицкого > worldview
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worldview
Westminster dictionary of theological terms > worldview
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WCWC
Универсальный англо-русский словарь > WCWC
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WVA
Универсальный англо-русский словарь > WVA
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Мировоззрение
♦ ( ENG worldview)
концептуальный способ постижения реальности. Иногда термин используется как эквивалент философии жизни, взгляда на мир, идеологии или символа веры.
Westminster dictionary of theological terms > Мировоззрение
См. также в других словарях:
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WorldView-1 — Заказчик … Википедия
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WorldView-1 — is a commercial earth observation satellite owned by DigitalGlobe. It was launched September 18, 2007, and DigitalGlobe plans to launch another, similar satellite after its construction is finished in late 2008. [cite web | url =… … Wikipedia
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WorldView 1 — ist ein kommerzieller Erdbeobachtungssatellit von Ball Aerospace aus den USA. Er wurde am 18. September 2007 von der Vandenberg Air Force Base mit einer Delta II Rakete gestartet. WorldView soll aus einer Höhe von 496 km Bilder in einer Auflösung … Deutsch Wikipedia
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Worldview 1 — ist ein kommerzieller Erdbeobachtungssatellit von Ball Aerospace aus den USA. Er wurde am 18. September 2007 von der Vandenberg Air Force Base mit einer Delta II Rakete gestartet. WorldView soll aus einer Höhe von 496 km Bilder in einer Auflösung … Deutsch Wikipedia
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WorldView-2 — Typ: Erdbeobachtungssatellit Land: Vereinigte Staaten Vereinigte Staaten NSSDC ID … Deutsch Wikipedia
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WorldView-1 — Typ: Erdbeobachtungssatellit Land: Vereinigte Staaten Vereinigte Staaten NSSDC ID … Deutsch Wikipedia
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worldview — [wʉrld′vyo͞o΄] n. a comprehensive, esp. personal, philosophy or conception of the world and of human life * * * world·view (wûrldʹvyo͞o ) n. In both senses also called Weltanschauung. 1. The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets… … Universalium
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worldview — 1858, from WORLD (Cf. world) + VIEW (Cf. view), translating Ger. WELTANSCHAUUNG (Cf. weltanschauung) … Etymology dictionary
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worldview — [wʉrld′vyo͞o΄] n. a comprehensive, esp. personal, philosophy or conception of the world and of human life … English World dictionary
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worldview — Derived from the German term Weltanshauung, the word worldview refers to the set of basic beliefs that shape the way one views the world. Given their fundamental status, these beliefs are typically argued from rather than argued for, though it … Christian Philosophy
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worldview — noun a) Ones personal view of the world and how one interprets it. The Elizabethan worldview differs from a modern worldview. b) The totality of ones beliefs about reality … Wiktionary
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#1
Hi,
I don’t manage to translate in french this expression «worldly view«.
It is related to «experience».
Here some examples :
— They want their children to experience the worldly views of travellers.
— A worldly view of business information.
— A worldly view of things.
— Studying abroad helps UVa students gain worldly view.
Yoan.
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#2
Hello cronos06,
«vision/perception globale» (?)
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#3
«Une image du monde» peut-être?
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#4
Hi,
I don’t manage to translate in french this expression «worldly view«.
It is related to «experience».Here some examples :
— They want their children to experience the worldly views of travellers.
— A worldly view of business information.
— A worldly view of things.
— Studying abroad helps UVa students gain worldly view.
Yoan.
Bizarre quand même…normalement on utilise le mot ‘worldly’ comme l’inverse de ‘heavenly’, c’est à dire l’inverse de spirituel ou de réligieux. Dans toutes les phrases données j’aurais dit simplement ‘world view’.
D’où sont les exemples tirés ?
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#5
une vision concrète (du monde) ?
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#6
I believe that the problem is with the English sentences. They don’t sound truly English to me. I might say that I want my children to have a broader view of the world than they might if they remained in the U.S. I might also say that students who study abroad gain an international perspective of politics/culture/business. And, then, I don’t know what to make of a «wordly view of things.» Is this in opposition to a spiritual view of things? Is this a global view of a situation rather than a parochial or nationalist view? Hmm.
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#7
It’s quite hard to translate isn’t it? Do you mean something equivalent to «open minded»/»broad minded»?
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#8
Yes, this is true in the case of «world view,» which means open minded, having a broad perspective. However, «wordly» is what is confusing here because «worldly» generally means «of this world» and stands in opposition to «spiritual.» For example, I’m not fit to be a priest because I am too worldly. I would never use «worldly» when I mean «world,» and I’d never speak of students developing a worldly view through their studies. Bon courage!
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#9
That’s true — there is a sense of the here and now, physical existence in there (like as in «worldly goods»). But this can have a positive twist — like, saying someone is worldly, can also mean that they are wise and experienced, and this would nearly get you back on track with something along the lines of «open-minded».
Moi, en francais, je dirais quelquechose comme «ouvert»… ca depend un peu du contexte..
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#10
After addressing the problems with the English, let me try to offer a French solution: un point de vue mondiale/globale?
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#11
Bizarre quand même…normalement on utilise le mot ‘worldly’ comme l’inverse de ‘heavenly’, c’est à dire l’inverse de spirituel ou de réligieux. Dans toutes les phrases données j’aurais dit simplement ‘world view’.
D’où sont les exemples tirés ?
In the dictionary, «worldly» has two meanings :
1) Connected with the world in which we live rather than with spiritual things : de ce monde, matériel, terrestre, temporel
2) Having a lot of experience of life and therefore not easily shocked : qui a de l’experience
ex : Teenagers today are much more worldly than I ever was.
ex : At 15, he was more worldly than his older cousins who lived in the country.
ex : She seems to be much more worldly than the other students in her class.
I heard this word when I’ve listened the BBC radio about «couch surfing».
But it’s an expression that you can encounter easily, just google it and you’ll find other examples.
Here the extract from the BBC radio:
Actually you’ll find that lots of hosts have many motives, maybe they want to practise their English, maybe they live in a country where it’s difficult for them to get a visa, or actually to afford to travel. Sometimes people want their children to experience the worldly views of travellers. Some people are just instinctive hosts and they just love having people in their house.
Rebecca: She said that people have a range of motives. That maybe they want to practise their English, that maybe they want their children to xperience the worldly views of travellers. Or maybe they just like having people in their houses. She called them ‘instinctive hosts’ which means they don’t have any other reason for wanting people to stay with them other than just enjoying the experience.
Kate: And worldly views?
Rebecca: Well, this means the experiences of people who have travelled a lot or had experience of many different places.
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#12
So actually this is just a person called Rebecca’s own personal interpretation of the word and is actually, I would say, an incorrect usage.
The second definition:
2) Having a lot of experience of life and therefore not easily shocked
In my opinion this is just an extension of the first and focuses more on the second clause ‘therefore not easily shocked’. People whose minds are not ‘pure’ will not be shocked by the sins of the world and by the bad things that happen in the world. I would not recommend using the word ‘worldly’ to mean people who have experience. You can see that the interviewer ‘Kate’ had to ask ‘Rebecca’ to qualify what she meant in her personal usage as this is NOT common and not to be understood. In that sentence I would have said ‘global views’ or ‘international views’ or ‘experienced views’ or ‘well-travelled views’ but definitely not ‘worldly views’.
Bad personal usage, in my opinion.
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#13
Yes you’re right, I’ll follow your advice (not taking care about this expression).
^^
Short Answer
What is a worldview? A worldview is “the sum total of our beliefs about the world.” (Chuck Colson). We all have a worldview, it consists of certain parts, and leads to real-life actions.
Long Answer
Have you ever put on colored glasses? Slip on those colored glasses and everything you see takes on a shade of the lens color. If you put on red colored glasses, everything takes on a different hue of red. If you put on green colored glasses, then everything looks green – and so on. That’s like a worldview.
Definition: Worldview
A worldview is a way you look at the world. It’s the lens through which you interpret all your experience and through which you make decisions. It’s your colored glasses you wear, even if you don’t know you’re wearing them. More technically, according to David Noebel, author of Understanding the Times (Focus on the Family), a worldview is…
“The framework from which we view reality and make sense of life and the world. “[It’s] any ideology, philosophy, theology, movement or religion that provides an overarching approach to understanding God, the world and man’s relations to God and the world.”
That’s a great definition. But sometimes it helps to sum up many words with a few. So a more simple understanding comes from Chuck Colson who once said, a worldview is “the sum total of our beliefs about the world.” (Focus on the Family)
Everybody has a worldview. That worldview may not be well-developed or the person holding it may not be able to articulate it clearly, but each person has a distinct way they interpret their world. For instance, each of these people have a worldview…
- The crying 2-year old who believes he’s the center of the universe.
- The atheist biology professor who just finished a lecture on Neo-Darwinism.
- The Christian pastor who just posted a blog on his church’s website.
- The Hindu technical support rep who just answered your computer question.
- The stay-at-home mom who just finished cooking dinner.
You and I have our own worldview too. Whenever we overhear a conversation from someone in a coffee shop, or stumble upon lewd website, or when we read an unbelievable news story, we automatically file that new information into a grid of prior understanding. That understanding is our worldview.
Parts of a Worldview
A worldview, like a philosophy, has different aspects. Depending on the teacher, some divide worldviews by a few parts and others by many parts. Here’s a simple, but not too expansive worldview framework. Every worldview includes the following 8 areas:
- God (Theology)
- Knowledge (Epistemology)
- Origin (Cosmology)
- Humanity (Anthropology)
- Morality (Ethics)
- Salvation (Soteriology)
- Meaning (Teleology)
- Destiny (Eschatology)
God (Theology) – Every worldview has a theology – it says something about God or the divine. The view may be very precise or vague, explicit or implicit, negative or positive (i.e. atheistic vs. theistic), but every worldview talks about God.
Knowledge (Epistemology) – Likewise, worldviews usually attempt to explain knowledge: what we can know and how we can know it. It also comments on closely related subjects, like truth, logic, reason, experience, intuition, and revelation.
Origin (Cosmology) – Worldviews always explicitly or implicitly tell us where we came from. For instance, the secular worldviews relies on some form of molecules-to-man evolution. Biblical Christianity teaches special creation in six days a few thousand years ago.
Humanity (Anthropology) – In the same way, every worldview has a take on human beings. It represents a certain perspective on humanity. It articulates our origin, uniqueness (or non-uniqueness), purpose, nature, and destiny. Worldviews always address what we are and our significance.
Morality (Ethics) – Each worldview also has a distinct take on goodness and morality. Ethics covers areas like the highest good, whether morality is objective or subjective, what is right and wrong, and rewards for doing good or judgments for doing evil.
Salvation (Soteriology) – Worldviews also include a “salvation story.” When Christians hear the word ‘salvation’ we tend to think salvation from sin, death, and hell through the atoning work of Jesus. But here ‘salvation’ is more generic: what is the basic human problem and what is the solution to that problem.
Meaning (Teleology) – What is the meaning of life? Every worldview aims to answers this question. The answer to this question in each worldview tells us why we are even here.
Destiny (Eschatology) – Finally, a worldview tells us something about the destiny of the universe and everyone in it. Though the end has not happened yet, each worldview describes what will happen based on their understanding of reality and revelation.
Worldview Describes Your Beliefs Which Lead To Your Actions
In addition, every component of a worldview is interrelated. Theology relates to anthropology and anthropology relates to knowledge, and so on. What you believe about God has a direct impact on what you believe about humanity and our ultimate destiny.
These worldview components also affect how you will live your life and your ethics. And your ethics lead to real world actions. Then think about it like this…
Thought Experiment: The Atheist & The Mentally Ill Child
Pretend you’re an atheist. In your atheist mind, us humans are just a cosmic accident floating on a remote rock in a cold, dying universe. We are stardust, as an old song says. That’s a standard understanding in an atheistic worldview. If that’s true, what makes killing a mentally ill child wrong?
You may think it’s wrong because it feels wrong, and it’s not something you really want to do. But if you’re a consistent atheist, can you really justify your uncomfortable feelings about murder? Perhaps that’s just your unreasonable self who hasn’t come to terms with your atheism just yet. In your new reality, that child is just stardust and you’re stardust too.
So what’s really wrong with some stardust snuffing out another speck of stardust in the mind of an atheist?
See how one aspect of someone’s worldview can affect their life. And that’s just one example of how someone’s atheism (theology) affects their view of a mentally challenged person (humanity) and whether it’s okay to kill that person (ethics).
Of Worldviews and Philosophies
Studying worldview is a fascinating area. It’s essentially a fresh way to consider yours or others basic philosophy of life. Worldview analysis can uncover what you and your friends believe which can be helpful in important conversations.
Suffice to say: we all have a worldview, it consists of certain parts, and it describes your foundational beliefs which leads to real-life actions.
Resources
James Anderson: What Is A Worldview?
James Anderson: What it Takes to Make a Worldview
Del Tacket: What’s A Christian Worldview?
Matt Slick: What Are Some Christian Worldview Essentials?
