In the opening story of his book Naming the Elephant, author James Sire relates the tale of a young man who pushes his father for an answer regarding what holds up the world. The man finally responds by telling the son it is an Elephant (with a capital E).
Within this story, Sire illustrates the necessary components of a worldview. The first component is that there must be a primary foundation or reality from which all other realities might spring. The second component is that the worldview has its origins in some pre-theoretical context. The elephant in the story represents the prime reality, the answer we give when we have no more answers. This primal instinct that there is something there before we’ve even had a chance to cognitively consider what it might be makes up the second component. As we begin to give this prime reality definition and shape, whether we do this consciously or unconsciously, it forms our worldview. According to Sire, a worldview is “a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic makeup of our world.” The importance of understanding this is as important as knowing ourselves because it shapes our beliefs and principles throughout our life, which in turn shape the decisions we make and the direction in which our life will go.
Having explained what is meant by a worldview, Sire begins to explain how a worldview is formed. The first step, he says, is when we begin to formulate an idea about the nature of the world around us. He calls this the prime reality, and it includes not only how we as individuals are separable from everything else but also how human beings are unique among other creations and our ideas about what happens once our physical bodies stop functioning when we die. These basic questions about our simple existence are joined by other considerations such as why we are capable of learning, whether we are capable of understanding what is right or wrong and whether the history of humankind has any meaning or relevance.
According to Sire, whether we consciously think about these issues or not, at some level of our being, we come to an understanding regarding how we answer them and then define ourselves and those around us based on these conclusions. At the same time, these conclusions shape the way in which we define everything else in our lives, including other beliefs and principles we might put in place, again whether we’ve actually considered them or not. The remainder of the book is dedicated to providing the reader with the helpful information in attempting to discover their own worldview.
The chapters of the book progress logically through various philosophical definitions that pertain to the worldview. These include the essential elements in the determination of a worldview, real-life application of the worldview, a refined definition of a worldview based on these applications, and a final appeal to the reader to strive to understand their own worldview. In making this appeal, Sire attempts to highlight the importance of understanding one’s own worldview so it can be employed as a tool in analyzing future and past decisions and outcomes. He suggests that without an understanding of how one defines the world upon which one is standing, it is impossible to begin understanding how the ideas of others might be different. Because the undefined person is incapable of seeing their own elephant, it is impossible to understand someone else’s turtle. Only by comparing worldviews, which insists upon an original conception already held, can one begin to gain an appreciation for the diversity in the world.
By placing it in this perspective, Sire illustrates how the individual must have some conscious conception of a worldview if they are to understand themselves and to understand others.
To help readers find their own worldview, Sire also provides some real-life application pointers. Rational thinking is one way in which worldview is defined. By sorting through a list of questions, Sire provides and carefully considering how they are answered within the reader’s own mind, tempered by logic and whatever scientific knowledge is possessed, one is engaged in rational thinking. How a person chooses to live their life is another means by which their worldview can be defined. A person who lives the way their parents lived simply because that’s how it’s always been done is an example of a person who has never explored their worldview. A person who follows in their parents’ footsteps because the parents seemed to have the right idea and logical thought and observation have continued to support this view is an example of a person who has given at least some thought to developing their own worldview. Another means of defining a worldview can be found in those people who deviate from the way they were raised to follow a ‘master story.’ This might include a young girl deviating from the survival habits of her poverty-stricken parents in order to follow the ‘master story’ of a fairy tale princess, which becomes, in essence, their worldview. How well they measure up to the ideals of this worldview then defines their happiness in whatever realities life places them in.
In his final chapter, Sire brings his argument home. Not only does worldview have a profound effect on how we understand ourselves in a generic way and how we understand others, but it can have a strong and perhaps unknown effect on the way we live our lives. The way in which we define the world determines the way in which we understand it. Where one person might see absolute squalor, another might see the luxury of a roof to at least keep the rain off. It also determines what we feel is important or significant in life, which determines the decisions we make. Someone who grows up with a worldview shaped on material objects will be much more likely to pursue money and the things it can buy than someone with a worldview based on human interaction and togetherness. Unless these individuals have realized how they’ve shaped their own worldviews, they will remain captive to the subconscious ideals of an undefined realm and unable to understand why.