CHAPTER 6
The Worldview Framework
In order to engage with and operationalize sustainable development and the SDGs, it is important to reflect on what people need, value and belief, in other words: on people’s worldviews.
- The worldview framework posits two dimensions. A horizontal dimension represents the extremes between a ‘subjective’ world with a focus on the local and particular, and an ‘objective’ world believed to follow universal rules. A vertical dimension represents the change from the biological-material roots of human life to individual and collective awareness and manifestations of the divine and the transcendent;
- Each corner in the resulting worldview space can be associated with preferred values, beliefs, ideals, rules and rituals – also with respect to sustainability issues. The framework is used to interpret the trajectory of Modernity in European history and to sketch a theory of social dynamics. Its use in a student assignment is another application;
- It is hypothesized that sustainability, and (human) dignity and flourishing, are to be found in the center of worldview space: searching for the middle ground is a well-known precept in ancient philosophies, religions and myths. In the center, the integral worldview exists in a dynamic equilibrium between centripetal and centrifugal forces. It is also the place of the agora and the community, which has always been a repository of values and beliefs, incorporated in traditional and modern culture(s);
There are several ways to organize pathways to the center: dialogue and public discourse, forging coalitions and alliances, initiating and implementing inter- and multinational agreements, and constructing narratives complementary to the still dominant narrative of Modernity. There is also an important role for experiments in eco-communities and for the arts.
Test your understanding of this chapter by reviewing the study questions below.
All Materials Relevant to this Chapter
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