Worldviews are more than just mental models
Shane Parrish of Farnam Street defines mental models as such:
“Mental models are how we understand the world. Not only do they shape what we think and how we understand but they shape the connections and opportunities that we see. Mental models are how we simplify complexity, why we consider some things more relevant than others, and how we reason.”
In learning mental models, many believe that the quality of one’s thinking will be proportional to the mental models one hold in his mind. While the assumption is true, it is wholly inadequate.
This essay is about what worldviews are. And worldviews are more than just mental models.
My working definition of a worldview is best summed up in the following quote:
“A worldview is the cognitive trajectory, based on one’s presuppositions of reality from a particular standpoint, or belief system, that bears upon the meaning of existence and of the world we live in”
– Edmund Chan
Ideologies have a profound impact upon how we live our lives. Today, unexamined assumptions shape the intellectual contours of a lazy generation. It is more important than ever that we think about thinking, for what we think we become. Like it or not, our thoughts run our lives – Our thoughts become our actions; our actions become our habits; our habits become our character, and our character becomes our destiny. As a man thinks, so is he.
Our worldview, or weltanschauung, defines the way you think and live. It is not merely our view of the world, but rather our view of reality. Worldviews are the cognitive lenses that colour our view of life and determine how we understand the world we live in. However, It is not a template, framework, or mental model that is static and passive. It has force and life. It is not a passive window through which we interpret life in our matrix or paradigms. Our worldview actually moves us towards choices and decisions based upon our belief system. To put it simply, our behaviour is essentially controlled by our core fundamental beliefs. In fact, if we want to define our beliefs, we should observe our behaviour. Our behaviour either confirms or betrays what we say we believe. Like it or not, our actions always follow what we believe – not what we say we believe – but what we truly believe. Why? Because our words can betray our beliefs, but our actions will never betray our beliefs. Beliefs have power to move us.
A worldview is therefore essentially not a positional word but a presuppositional word. A worldview does not state the positions you hold on the issues of life. Rather, a worldview is your presuppositions that determine the positions you hold for the issues of life. Your presuppositions are your worldviews.
Therefore in thinking about thinking, do not be fixated by mental models only.
It is worth your while to think about the worldviews you hold.
