From Books

Contents 1 Worldview Theory 1.1 Limits of Perception and Choice 1.2 Foundation Theory 1.3 A Map of Contemporary Society 1.4 The Role of Worldview 1.5 The Universal Domain of Worldview 1.6 Paradigm Comparison

[edit] Worldview Theory

[edit] Limits of Perception and Choice

[edit] Foundation Theory

[edit] A Map of Contemporary Society

[edit] The Role of Worldview

[edit] The Universal Domain of Worldview

[edit] Paradigm Comparison

The following diagram, while something of an oversimplification, is helpful in understanding the fundamental assumptions of Westerners, Hebrews and Japanese. It is based on Kraft's "Western and Hebrew Paradigms". (Kraft 1989:202-205)

Paradigm Comparison

	Westerner	Hebrew	Japanese
Categories, divisions, logic	Lifestyle is clearly divided into separate categories	Everything is vague and divisions are hard to construct	Same as 'Hebrew'
	Natural/Supernatual dichotomy	Supernatural things have an influence on everything	Same as 'Hebrew'
	Humans, animals and plants are clearly separated	Similar structure to the West	Animistic
	"Straight Line" logic	Situational logic	Same as 'Hebrew'
Person versus Group	Individualism. The group's usefulness depends on the benefit to the individual. Important decisions are made by the individual without reference to age or status.	The group is a pragmatic thing. The individual's usefulness depends on the benefit to the group. Important decisions are made by the group.	Co-operative collectivism. Aiming for symbiotic benefit between the individual and the group, harmony between people is stressed.
	Equality	Different values depending on social stratum	Equality within social strata
	Freedom-oriented. Society preserves as much as possible the freedom of the individual.	Safety-oriented. Society preserves as much as possible the safety of the individual	Oriented towards material prosperity and sense of belonging.
	Competition is a good thing - necessity for success	Competition is a bad thing - necessity of working together	Schizophrenic values balanced between competition and co-operation
	Democratic rule by the majority	Some people are born to rule	Collective rule by the majority
	Humanistic view of the universe	View of universe dominated by God and clan/family	View of universe dominated by corporation/family and spirits
	Money and status form the standard of a person's worth	Family relationships form the standard of a person's worth	Tension between social and biological values
	Biological life is sacred.	Corporate life is important	Tension between social value and biological value
Causes and Power	Surprise at the unexpected. The cause-and-effect relationship is key, and regulates what will happen.	God is the prime mover of everything that happens	Schizophrenia between accident and volition
	Humans should be able to control nature using science	God controls everything	The universe is autonomous
	With scientific plans and techniques, humans have the unified power to overcome anything	It is important to learn to control things by means of spiritual techniques.	Schizophrenia between the Western and Hebrew thoughts
	We can exercise power above others through companies and politics .	We can exercise power above others through the social pattern laid down by God	We can exercise power above others through the economic patterns developed by those above us in society.
	There are no unseen forces in the universe.	The universe is full of incredibly powerful unseen forces.	The universe is full of unseen forces which give life to people and hold destructive power