What Is Worldview? Part III - Engaging James Sire

What Is Worldview: James Sire, Dean of Worldview Thought

James Sire is arguably the most influential evangelical worldview proponent over the past two generations. Given my interest in worldview studies (as exemplified in our recently-published An Introduction to Christian Worldview, with IVP Academic), I think it is healthy and important to understand what Sire has written on worldview over the past 40 years, and to build upon his wisdom. His classic text, The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog, first published in 1976, is currently in its fifth edition. The first three editions focused on worldview as primarily a set of basic concepts or intellectual presuppositions. After rethinking his approach, Sire thoroughly revised his understanding and explanation of worldview. Sire no longer understands or explains worldview in terms of philosophical propositions alone. Instead, he provides a comprehensive and holistic definition:

A worldview is a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in 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 constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being. [James W. Sire, Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2015), 13.]

Sire’s definition is helpful on several levels and deserves to be unpacked.



A matter of the heart. First, Sire notes that worldview is not simply a set of intellectual or rational ideas but rather reflects a “commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart.” The heart, on this understanding, represents the center of the human person. David Naugle notes that when worldview is reinterpreted in light of the doctrine of the heart, not only is its true source located, but it becomes a richer concept than its philosophical counterpart, being more than just a reference to an abstract
thesis about reality, but an Hebraic expression of the existential condition of the whole person.

Many people are relatively unconscious of their worldview assumptions because they have developed these commitments internally and embraced them as orientations of the heart.

Propositions or narratives. Second, Sire notes that worldview can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions. There has been a tendency in modern Western philosophy to reduce worldview beliefs to a propositional format, a tendency that certainly has its benefits. In reality, however, the philosophical and religious beliefs of human beings are more commonly shared and passed down through story, not through a set of philosophical propositions. We are storied creatures, responding
more readily to narrative than to doctrine. From a Christian perspective, it is worth noting that the Scriptures are predominantly narrative in form. Jesus of Nazareth preferred to teach through story, utilizing the unique teaching tool of parables—brief narratives packing a powerful rhetorical punch. Thus, while Sire notes that worldview can take a narrative or a propositional format, for the vast majority of people past and present, worldview is narrative in structure.

True, false, and in between. Third, Sire observes that our worldview presumptions may be true, partially true, or entirely false. We each hold a variety of worldview beliefs, but merely holding these beliefs does not make them true. The Christian understanding that all human beings are fallen and sinful gives us reason for significant pause and epistemological humility. Knowing that we are fallen creatures and that we do not have the mind of God reminds us that we are unlikely to possess an entirely correct worldview. Worldviews will inevitably be a mixture of truth and error. This is not to say that all worldviews possess an equal proportion of truth; rather, it is to insist that no one possesses
a God’s-eye view of the world.

Conscious or unconscious. Fourth, Sire notes that many people maintain their worldviews consciously and explicitly while others are entirely unaware of the worldviews that they hold. Worldviews are pretheoretical in nature; they develop prior to or devoid of conscious reflection and rational deliberation. As children, our developing worldview is most strongly influenced by our parents—hence the fact that most teens inherit the worldviews of their parents. Other influences, including culture, education, media, and religion, help shape the unconscious worldview that develops. As Randy Nelson notes, “Most people take for granted the beliefs that they inherit from these sources, assuming them to be true without intentionally questioning them.” [Randy W. Nelson, “What Is a Worldview?,” in Christian Contours: How a Biblical Worldview Shapes the Mind and Heart, ed. Douglas S. Huffman (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2011), 30.]

People are not conscious of their worldviews unless they have been challenged to think explicitly about their core beliefs and commitments. Each person possesses a worldview, to be sure, but many people are unaware that they do and are equally unaware of what that worldview is. Along with Socrates, I hold that an unexamined life is not worth living. Accordingly, I also insist that an unexamined, unconscious worldview is not worth embracing. One of the central goals in Christian philosophy is to encourage a conscious, in-depth examination of one’s worldview. I am convinced that we need not remain unconscious of our worldview, unaware of what our primary heart commitments are and how they direct our lives.

Consistent or inconsistent. Fifth, Sire insists that many people hold inconsistent worldviews; their fundamental presuppositions simply do not fit together logically. Another purpose of Christian philosophy is to develop a consistent worldview by identifying and eliminating logical inconsistencies.

Ultimate reality. Sixth, Sire explains that a central component of worldview is one’s perspective on “the basic constitution of reality.” The core of a worldview is one’s understanding of what constitutes the “really real.” For a Christian, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is ultimate reality. For a Muslim, Allah the Merciful and Almighty is ultimate reality. For some Buddhists, nirvana is the really real, in contrast to the desires and trials of this life, which are transitory and ultimately empty. For some Hindus, Brahman (an infinite, impersonal transcendent reality) is ultimate reality. For a materialist (atheist), the physical cosmos is the only really real. For a New Age spiritualist, the divine self is ultimate reality, or at least a part of ultimate reality. One’s worldview, whether in propositional or narrative form, is centered on an understood or implied foundational reality.

Life-directing. Finally, Sire notes that our worldview directs our life path by providing the foundation on which “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Naugle points out that worldview, as a deep-seated commitment of the heart, is a motivating factor in how we live. In the first place, our cultural and contextual circumstances help shape our worldview: “Into the heart go the issues of life. . . . The lifeshaping content of the heart is determined not only by nature or organic predispositions, but very much by nurture.” [David K. Naugle, Worldview: The History of a Concept (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001), 270-71.] Our worldview then proceeds to shape our experience of life and our daily motivation and direction: “Out of the heart go the issues of life. Once the heart of an individual is formed by the powerful forces of both nature and nurture, it constitutes the presuppositional basis of life.” The heart, the individual’s worldview, is first affected by conditions and influences; in turn it influences the direction of the individual’s life. Naugle identifies this interplay between one’s worldview and context: “Hence the sum and substance of the heart, . . . in short, what I am calling a ‘worldview,’ sustains an interactive or reciprocal relationship with the external world.” [Naugle, Worldview, 271.]

A person’s worldview is developed during that person’s formative years, influenced and instilled by a myriad of sociocultural forces. But worldview, once in place, becomes a fundamental heart commitment, directing one’s life choices and values. Worldview beliefs, whether conscious or unconscious, serve as presuppositions on which the rest of life is based.

In summary, Sire’s definition of worldview helps us grasp the strongly internal and pretheoretical nature of worldview. He points out that worldviews contain a mixture of truth and error and can be held with relative degrees of consciousness and consistency. Finally, worldview centers on a fundamental understanding of prime reality and gives direction to our life choices.

James Olthuis provides a complementary definition of worldview.

A worldview (or vision of life) is a framework or set of fundamental beliefs through which we view the world and our calling and future in it. This vision may be so internalized that it goes largely unquestioned; it may be greatly refined through cultural-historical development; it may not be explicitly developed into a systematic conception of life; it may not be theoretically deepened into a philosophy; it may not even be codified into creedal form. Nevertheless, this vision is a channel for the ultimate beliefs which give direction and meaning to life. It is the integrative and interpretative framework by which order and disorder are judged, the standard by which reality is managed and pursued. It is the set of hinges on which all our everyday thinking and doing turns. [James H. Olthuis, “On Worldviews,” Christian Scholar’s Review 14, no. 2 (1985): 155.]

Sire's definition of worldview is complex and rich, providing an excellent glimpse of the pre-theoretical and all-encompassing nature of individual worldviews.  I think we do well to meditate on his definition.  That said, his definition is also lengthy, and difficult to remember.  Hence, the working definition of worldview that we've utilized in our newly-published text, An Introduction to Christian Worldview, is considerably shorter: "Worldview is the conceptual lens through which we see, understand, and interpret the world and our place within it."  I maintain that definition and use it, as it concisely encapsulates the nature and scope of worldview. However, my concise definition should be understood within the enriching context provided by Sire and others.

For much more on worldview thought, significance, and analysis, please check out or purchase:
Tawa J. Anderson, W. Michael Clark, and David K. Naugle, An Introduction to Christian Worldview: Pursuing God's Perspective in a Pluralistic World. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2017.