One can think of a worldview as comprising a number of
basic beliefs which are philosophically equivalent to the axioms of the worldview considered as a logical or consistent theory. These basic beliefs cannot, by definition, be proven (in the logical sense) within the worldview – precisely because they are
axioms, and are typically argued
from rather than argued
for. However their coherence can be explored philosophically and logically. If two different worldviews have sufficient common beliefs it may be possible to have a constructive dialogue between them. On the other hand, if different worldviews are held to be basically incommensurate and irreconcilable, then the situation is one of
cultural relativism and would therefore incur the standard criticisms from
philosophical realists. Additionally, religious believers might not wish to see their beliefs relativized into something that is only "true for them".
Subjective logic is a belief-reasoning formalism where beliefs explicitly are subjectively held by individuals but where a consensus between different worldviews can be achieved. A third alternative sees the worldview approach as only a methodological relativism, as a suspension of judgment about the truth of various belief systems but not a declaration that there is no global truth. For instance, the religious philosopher
Ninian Smart begins his
Worldviews: Cross-cultural Explorations of Human Beliefs with "Exploring Religions and Analysing Worldviews" and argues for "the neutral, dispassionate study of different religious and secular systems—a process I call worldview analysis." The comparison of religious, philosophical or scientific worldviews is a delicate endeavor, because such worldviews start from different
presuppositions and cognitive values. Clément Vidal has proposed metaphilosophical criteria for the comparison of worldviews, classifying them in three broad categories: •
Objective consistency, comprising scientific validity and scope •
Subjective consistency, comprising personal utility and emotional satisfaction •
Intersubjective consistency, comprising collective utility and narrative coherence.
Characteristics While
Leo Apostel and his followers clearly hold that individuals can construct worldviews, other writers regard worldviews as operating at a
community level, or in an
unconscious way. For instance, if one's worldview is fixed by one's language, as according to a strong version of the
Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, one would have to learn or invent a new language in order to construct a new worldview. According to Apostel, a worldview is an
ontology, or a descriptive
model of the world. It should comprise these six elements: • An
explanation of the world • A
futurology, answering the question "Where are we heading?" • Values, answers to
ethical questions: "What should we do?" • A
praxeology, or
methodology, or theory of
action: "How should we attain our goals?" • An
epistemology, or theory of
knowledge: "What is
true and false?" • An
etiology. A constructed world-view should contain an account of its own "building blocks", its origins and construction. ==Terror management theory==