My Worldview

Zoe Andrew
Portland State University

a contemplation of life, view of life, particular philosophy of life that is a set of

beliefs about fundamental aspects of reality that ground and influence all ones perceiving,
thinking, knowing, and doing. From Ken Funks What is a Worldview. These properties
maintain the understanding of what exactly a persons worldview is conceptualized as, as well as
the importance emphasized in regards to these conceptualizations. A worldview comes about
throughout ones experiences in life. Its important to note that I understand the seven
components of a worldview Ken Funks work provides, that is, epistemology, metaphysics,
cosmology, teleology, theology, anthropology, and axiology, though when I try to make them
applicable in my own life, I cannot. Well, to say I cant is wrong. What Im getting at is, this is
going to be quite difficult for me since Ive never really analyzed that deep into my brain. So
hopefully this essay opens a new book for me.
We first come about component one, Epistemology. This is a persons beliefs about
nature and sources of knowledge. Epistemology beliefs are those that affect what a person may
accept as valid evidence and therefore this person may be willing to believe in certain
particulars and the relative significance you ascribe to authority, empirical evidence, reason,
intuition, and revelation. Your epistemological beliefs control your certainty of knowledge and
evidentially how you act upon this knowledge.
My epistemological beliefs are held in reason. I do believe reason is my basis for action
because if I do not believe in the rationality of something I will not stand by it. I like to look at

things in a way that analyzes pros and cons and what a theory or action may promote and what it
may constrict. In this way I am able to feel confident in the certainty of something. Though I do
believe much in the empirical evidence in regards to theory as well since consistency is much of
what proves to work in our world. I would overall have to conclude that I am a strong believer in
reasoning because my main area of focus is in the social sciences and its hard to derive
empirical evidence from these studies.
The second component to a persons worldview is their metaphysical beliefs. These are
beliefs you hold about the ultimate nature of reality. There are two main parts to these beliefs.
One, your belief in a reality based off the material world versus a belief that reality is of the
mind. The philosophical naturalist versus the philosophical idealist. And two, truth, which has
three major theories one may subscribe too. Those are the correspondence theory which holds
belief that there is a direct relationship between true knowledge in your mind or brain and what
actually exists outside of yourself. The second theory of truth is the consistency theory where a
person understands truth as an internally consistent reasoning. That mathematical logic holds the
floor for discovering truth. The last theory of truth is pragmatic theory. This is the belief that
truth is based on what works. What this person believes may not be what another person
believes, therefore the truth is based on what you believe to be true leads[ing] to valued
ends.
I am definitely a philosophical naturalist. I believe in the material universe which consists
solely of matter, energy, and information. I do not believe we have a means to our ends and that I
do not believe I will be punished or rewarded after death. I believe in nothing after death. For
truth, I believe in the consistency theory of truth, being a rationalist that believes in validity by

inductive and deductive reasoning, this is my sole means in deeming what is true, using that term
loosely.
The next, and third component, is your cosmological beliefs. This needs little explanation
as it is a persons beliefs about the origins and nature of the universe, life, and especially man.
This is settled in two extremes, whether you believe in a supreme designer or that the universe
was created based on chance. Same idea in regards to origin of man.
I do not believe in a higher being which created our universe. In that though, one could
argue (which is what my boyfriend is constantly bashing me on), that I would be stupid not to
believe in a God because I would not lose anything and gain everything (after death) if I do
believe. So, being a rationalist youd think Id abide by this reasoning. Though, for me, this is
where a lot of the empiricist comes in. If I dont see it then I have no valid reason to believe it.
And I can even argue rationally by saying if I all the sudden started to believe in a god, Id still
hold tightly in sensory experience validating my beliefs, therefore Id never legit believe in a
god. Id be fake and act like I believed in something just so I can be rewarded when I died. For
one, Id be believing for reasons of self-gain and that is not right for me to do, and two, if god is
the higher being of all knowing then hed know I was a fake and liar anyway.
The next is your teleology. Teleological beliefs surround this idea of purpose. This is
whether or not you believe the universe actually has purpose. If you believe it does then you may
think the world is preprogrammed and we live strictly and consistently along these plans. If you
believe otherwise then, simply put, life has no meaning.
I believe life has no meaning. I choose to establish and pursue what I want without any
higher control.

The fifth part to our world view includes our theology. These beliefs are based on a
higher being, a god. There are three choices, no belief: atheism, belief: theist, and maybe:
agnostic. If you dont believe in a god then you search for sources of being in other parts of the
universe. When you believe in a god you may believe that your actions hold obligation to the
purpose your god provides.
I would have to say I am atheist. I am not scared of my actions biting me in the butt
because my actions have no real obligation. I search for knowledge or truth through my own
means, that is reasoning and sensory evidence.
Your anthropology is your belief about humankind. This regards your belief in mans
place in the universe, whether or not mankind has free will, what mankind ought to do, and if
mankind is basically good or evil.
I do believe mankind is just being a step in the directionless chain of evolution. I believe
mankind has free will but I do believe this free will should not be abused, as in, if your actions
hurt others than they should not be performed. So yes, I believe there are things mankind ought
to do. Does that imply a good or evil? Not necessarily because humankind as a whole made up of
different parts determines what is good or evil. That is, good or evil varies amongst culture and
subjective experience. I do believe that every action performed or not affects others and this is
important for the latter portion of the component makeup of my worldview.
The seventh and final component is your axiology. Within this component lies your
beliefs about the nature of value and what is valuable: what is good and what is bad, what is right
and what is wrong. Your values are what proximate your behavior. These values may be
internally held, as in values are only existent in the mind of the subject or you may believe
values are objectively embedded in the functioning of our universe. We get to our understanding

of what is valuable by our summum bonum, our hierarchy of value, whose apex is the highest
good What we ascribe to be good or bad, right or wrong. We believe moving in a direction
(through our actions) that promotes our summum bonum is good, right and what moves away is
bad, wrong.
My summum bonum would have to be self-realization. Now that I really analyze this,
Ive gotten pretty far along. I dont ever believe Ill fully understand myself, but essentially, I am
constantly striving to get better. I try to do everything I can to further myself, whether that be in
the work place, my education, or my marriage. I was explaining this to a manager the other day
when she inquired about my feelings on my promotion to lead barista (from closes 20 hours a
week to opens 35 hours a week). I told her that even though I do not want to manage a coffee
shop, I will forever strive to do so as long as Im there. Whether Im working bar (where you
make drinks), working the window, or deep cleaning the damn bathroom, Ill do it the best I can
because I pride myself in my hard work. That goes to show in my education and my relationship.
I work as hard as possible to get to be a better person. And that is what is utmost important to me
right now. I strive to be better for myself and I strive to help other people be better. When I say I
feel I have gotten pretty far along I mean I understand my strengths and what I can get better at
and I hold myself to high standards. This is starting to drift into helping other people to do the
same, thats why my main area of focus is in the social sciences. I want to reach my full potential
and I want others to do the same. And in this way, I act based upon what will help me improve
and not what will determent this process.
My beliefs are consistent and coherent to a logical process of thoughts. The only thing
that may seem a little off is my belief in what man ought to do, being someone who doesnt
believe life has meaning this wouldnt make sense. Though Im not attributing this to a higher

power or reasoning. What man ought to do is based on societal views. Man not ought to steal
because it is taking someone elses property and negatively effects them. What deems what we
ought to do is the same thing that creates laws. Another inconsistency is how I believe in
reasoning and empiricism. Well its more so, when we do not have empiricism we need to
supplement with rationality. Overall, I believe these all work together.
The main points of my essay are what brought me to my understanding of my worldview
and that its important in what I do on a day to day basis and how I act upon my beliefs. Im a
natural philosopher that lives by reasoning and rationality when empirical evidence is lacking. I
have valid reasoning for being an atheist that does not believe in a meaning, a plan, or a life after
death that holds strong in self-perfection thats slowly manifesting into an investment in other
people.

My worldview is an example of communication skills because I thoroughly discuss my own

personal thoughts on something. I expand upon ideas and take note of contradicting aspects in a
manner that allows me to communicate a better understanding of myself, my values, and even
though I dont touch on it much, how these were constructed in my life. I discuss in depth
answers to the different worldview questions and voice provoking thoughts on these findings.