Monday, January 20, 2014

Dallas Notes: The Nature and Necessity of Worldviews (Veritas Forum, UCLA, 2003)

The Nature and Necessity of Worldviews


Have you thought about your worldview lately? Some of the questions:
+ What counts as knowledge of reality?
+ Who is really well-off?
+ Who is a really good person?

Dr Dallas Willard is coming from a Christian perspective, but I think you'll find it unobtrusive (he's also a professor of philosophy at USC). Mostly, to me, this talk is about philosophy and presuppositions.

One major part of the lecture is the role of universities.
Our universities teach a worldview without responsibly defending it. You can't defend it on the basis of logic or science alone.
Taught: The spiritual is not real (or at least not knowable).
You cannot make any sense out of morality if you stick to your physics.

How does Jesus answer the four great questions?
+ Reality is God and His activities, including the natural world.
+ The person is well-off who has a life deriving from God and His Kingdom
+ The good person is pervaded by God's kind of love (agape).
+ You become a good person by becoming an apprentice of Jesus.

Julie Reuben, The Making of the Modern University
Sociological realities determine the predominant worldview.
Logic is no longer taught.
Argument is now judged by conclusion (not conclusion judged by argument).

Our worldview assumptions govern life.
Assume the burden of proof if you want to learn (v. win an argument).
Thoroughly consider the teachings of the Bible and the record of Jesus' people on the main worldview issues.

Will you continue conscious existence after your brain has ceased to function?
What if it turns out you can't stop existing? Hamlet's problem...

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