More of an ‘survey’ of usage, rather than an ‘analysis’ of meaning, the book traces the origins and developments of the word ‘worldview.’
The first usage of ‘worldview’ is attributed to incidental comments by Kant, at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The author shows how other philosophers and religious writers gradually picked up the word and used it to illustrate themes within their own writings.
One of the central insights to emerge is that the word ‘worldview’ has meant a range of slightly differently nuanced ideas. Broadly it has picked out the presuppositions, or the model within which thinkers explain their philosophies and theologies. Of course the very distinction between a model and ideas within the model has been an issue for some thinkers, so the word ‘worldview’ has not always been positively received.
Thinkers from Kierkegaard to Wittgenstein, to Freud have been troubled by the idea of a worldview, and sometimes reluctant to use the concept in their thinking. Some of the issues of concern revolved around the subjectivity of a worldview, and the consequent issue of whether a commitment to worldviews is in fact a rejection of the idea that there is an objective reality which can be distinguished from worldviews.
The book gives an encyclopaedic overview of the ways that different nineteenth and twentieth century authors have engaged positively and negatively with concepts of ‘worldview.’ The information is fulsome and presented thoughtfully, with occasional forays questioning the implications and coherence of aspects of an author’s views.
Occasionally, we hear how an author like Wittgenstein preferred an alternative word to ‘worldview.’ It would have been helpful if the author had pressed the issues and asked whether those kinds of disagreements were merely verbal preferences, or whether they conveyed genuinely important philosophical distinctions. The book’s focus upon description, means that it cannot always be as analytic as the reader might otherwise wish.
Overall the author is writing from an evangelical Christian perspective. He is positive towards the idea that ‘worldview’ can have an important role to play in the presentation of Christian ideas. He accepts that mainstream theologians like Karl Barth found the idea too philosophical, and some found it to imply too much subjectivism. But, in the author’s view, the fact remains that ‘worldview’ represents an important idea in much of contemporary thinking and if Christians want to communicate effectively with their contemporary audience, then it makes sense to engage with, and use, concepts like worldview.
Written for a theological readership, the book is nevertheless accessible to readers from any background.