The Popperean Way

05.21.2007 - B. Hearn

A Key to Meaningful Worldview
Perhaps you see yourself as open-minded, a skeptic, free-thinker or merely practical. Regardless of the category you think you fall into, we all experience an innate emotional response when the way we see the world changes. Our response is usually negative when we find out we are wrong and positive when things already accepted are affirmed. One hopes this response ratchets-up and sorts-out our belief towards what is really true. But even if emotion doesn’t help us here, we know change in our personal paradigms have a marked affect us. Remodeling our worldview is humbling. Rebuilding it can knock us for a loop. I speak from personal experience having traversed nontheism to Christianity almost twelve years ago. I know what it is like to go through an extreme worldview makeover.

There is more than one way to build a worldview, just as there are many ways to write software in my line of work. There are best-practices to consider and pitfalls we ought to avoid. It is not wise to merely limit our belief in false propositions, untruths, and falsehoods. Nor is it good enough to just believe in the greatest number of truths. We understand this immediately and see the former as the obstinate skeptic and the latter as the gullible and uncritical. After all, it is easy to avoid false propositions: Don’t believe anything you hear. It is no more difficult to attain the greatest number of true propositions: Believe everything you are told. So we see right away a better approach is to allow for the True while rejecting the False. But how do we do this and why is this even relevant? Because although everyone has a worldview; its degree of depth, meaningfulness and correspondence to reality will vary from person to person. Knowing how to build a solid and meaningful worldview is relevant to actually having a good one.

It is our worldview; the way we see origin, purpose, morality and destiny that matters most intellectually - not mere facts. It is wisdom interwoven throughout a meaningful worldview that guides us through life - less so professional skill. It is the cornerstone; the foundation upon which our worldview is built, which sets our course – not so much our socioeconomic status. What worldly knowledge is more valuable than knowing where you came from; why you are here; what you should do with the few days you are given; and where you are going afterwards? If you find these questions pointless, I might suggest you skip the remaining paragraphs. But then I would be remiss if I were to let you drop off before the challenge – so keep reading! Solomon said: “Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding.” (prov. 23:23) He also said:  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (prov. 9:10)  The apostle Paul calls us to renew our minds (rom. 12:2); Jesus’ disciple Peter tells us to clear our minds and prepare them for action. (1 peter. 1:13, 4:7) But not everyone reading this may be a Christian and so I write this as a call to unbelievers and believers alike.

Why is having a deep and meaningful worldview important to each and every one of us? Numerous writers on the subject have already answered this far better than I can. In short, a shallow worldview is more likely to lead to despair where meaning is manufactured, self-delusionary and arbitrary. Instead of focusing on life’s mission; we seek distraction. From a Christian perspective: A deep and rich Christian worldview is essential to a healthy Christian life - where life is lived according to the purpose for its existence. Head-knowledge is one thing, but worldview involves the heart and it is what drives our actions. It defines who we really are. Most Christians understand a Sunday-only faith built on a weak Christian worldview not only fails us, it fails others and most importantly, it fails God.

But whether you are Christian or not, a rich meaningful worldview is vital. Yet some have lost their way and are more concerned about being right than about the deep things of life. And of course heaven forbid we should ever be wrong about the most trivial matter! What are we afraid of and why do we so often shirk responsibility when it comes to the intellectual life? It seems the world is relentlessly driving us toward the polar ends of doubt and trivialism. If the skeptical mode is one’s primary way of seeing the world, the end result is a shallow worldview plagued with cynicism. If our focus is only on the low-hanging fruit, the trivial, then we are left with the irrelevant and no less shallow view of life. The right tack must require more from us than this.

The Skeptic will tell you to let the evidence take you where it will, but proportion your belief accordingly. The reality is very few abide by this – skeptic, or not. Skepticism is nearly always applied selectively, rarely on one’s own opinion and never on itself. In a sense, skepticism is just another tool of the dogmatist – and everyone is, after all, dogmatic! The Skeptic will tell you it is better to be right on occasion than to ever be wrong. Unfortunately this only leads to another tally in the wrong column. To my knowledge no one has ever shown it is better to not accept something false than it is to fail to accept something true.

Say for example: You are standing in the road and believe it to be clear enough of traffic to safely remain. You see an approaching light which you believe to be a scooter.  Your false belief costs you your life as you are run over by a truck with one headlight.

Yet the flip side is: You are standing in the road and several caring folks warn you of the impending impact of a truck approaching. However your skepticism requires you to doubt what you are told – and after all, it is just a lone headlight and those caring folks are probably Christian zealots. This is only an example of something we already know - failure to accept the truth can be just as costly as accepting a falsehood.

The Trivialist will tell you all is well and there is little need (or time) for growth. The thorns of a busy lifestyle and loaded Outlook calendar are like a time machine speeding us ahead on fast-forward. Our moments of weariness require large doses of entertainment. We have heard this is the information age. But I think history will show this as the entertainment age where information is simply a means to an end. For many of us today, the “thorns” are not so much the cares and worries of this world, but the distractions. The only way out of this rat race is to seek simplicity, downsize your life and reduce the noise. Find more time to study, read, pray and meditate on God’s Word. But the Trivialist is in a bit of a quandary. Dedicating time to cultivating a healthy worldview is so far down the task list, he may never get to it.

Not to leave anyone out; let’s consider the Pharisee. He will tell you we already have our favorite scripture, traditions and completed paradigms. These folks do not want to be bothered with worldview nonsense. As members of the learned believers, they do not associate with the trivial or the skeptical. These are the spiritual-elite who enjoy pointing out their whitewashed exteriors while throwing out tactical reminders of how no one is perfect (but some are very close.) I believe Jesus saved his harshest language for such men. When we think we have arrived by our measure of holiness or wisdom, we are no longer teachable. God did not plan for us to reach the finish line in this life but to continue to run with perseverance and work out our salvation. He desires for us to remain humble, ever-knocking, seeking. These qualities are the catalyst of a vibrant growing worldview. We are to leave our ivory towers and plumb deeper wherever God calls us.

Here is where I turn to the philosopher Sir Karl Popper. Though raised a Lutheran, he was in fact no friend to Christianity. Even so, I find some of his epistemology (the study of how we know) refreshing. Although Popper’s view relates primarily to scientific methodology, I don't believe I am stretching his position if I were to say: “Try a new path, and if you are off; correct the error, move on, and get over it!” This is based in part on Popper’s principle of falsification and is actually quite biblical. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:21: “Test everything. Hold on to the good.” This of course implies letting loose the bad which is what the principle of falsification is all about. But it also implies you have to engage yourself so you have the opportunity to test everything! I call one who takes this view a Trailblazer. The Trailblazer is interested in giving it a shot, delving deeper, believing, and pushing forward into new territory. If he needs to make a course correction, he does it without looking back. This is not the easy route leading to stagnation, but the path to growth and riches. You cannot expand your worldview in a meaningful way without taking on risk. Every time you read, study, attend a class, call on the Spirit, or fall to your knees and pray; there is potential impact to your worldview. And from personal experience I will tell you this sort of change is usually uncomfortable. This is especially true when you traverse the great delta of a complete worldview shift. But it is worth the price. The Skeptic; the Trivialist; and the Pharisee ought to take note of the Trailblazer.

Please understand this is not an appeal to adopt the latest idea or spiritual fad. When I say “try a new path” I am not referring to a leap in the dark or putting your faith in the implausible (as if that were really in our power anyway.) I am saying; take risk where worldview is enriched (holding on to the good) and remain guarded where it is diminished (letting go of the bad.) Given the way we are designed, a selective and dogmatic approach comes naturally to us anyway. In other words, by design we will gravitate towards new belief and new perspectives that are in line with the foundation of our worldview. So the obvious and momentous challenge we face in life is for our worldview foundation to be solid and true. If we build on sand, our worldview will shift with every fad and personal preference to only collapse under the lightest load. Under such conditions it’s no wonder we gravitate towards doubt and trivialism. And what if we build on the wrong cornerstone? Well, you might as well have built the entire structure on the wrong plat. And if you reconsider building in the nearby vineyard with open gate, do not delay. It closes without notice.

You probably have surmised I believe the Christian worldview to be the most plausible. Therefore I believe the right cornerstone to build on is the reality of Jesus; his life, death and Resurrection. As I once felt, you might think this requires too much of you (and in a way it does require everything.) Perhaps you feel such an intellectual leap is too broad (and without the Spirit’s guidance it is.) But please keep in mind all meaningful worldview has epistemic tension – intellectual stress points, apparent contradictions and gaps in knowledge. As Blaise Pascal rightly put it: “…reason cannot decide...” Yet this does not mean we ought to (or even get to) refrain from choosing a path. In the words of Neil Pert: “if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” Before I became a Christian my worldview was somewhere between agnosticism and soft-atheism. But I lived my life as a full-on atheist. I had made my choice despite any rhetoric about suspended judgment. I doubt there are many agnostics out there living their life carefully until they determine whether or not there is a God who requires righteousness of His creation. No, that was not the way I lived. Looking back I realize an agnostic view is the lazy path out to pasture where you buy time and live life the way you desire under the illusion you are being intellectually and morally responsible. On the other hand, the Popperean way, the way of the Trailblazer, is courageous. Accept a path and run with it. Take on risk for the reward of a meaningful worldview. Hold on to the good, let go of the bad – and don’t worry about the outcome. King David of the Bible was a Trailblazer and man after God’s own heart – not because he was sinless or holier than thou, but perhaps because he was willing to go deeper with God regardless of the consequences. David was willing to follow God even to the point where the king might look foolish in his linen ephod. Are you willing to be a Trailblazer with God?

A Challenge to Christians
Consider the following methodology for strengthening worldview…

·                  Be mindful, still and know the Lord is God (Psalm 46:10)

·                  Watch for opportunities to move with the Spirit of God (not too far ahead or behind, but in step with - Galatians 5:25)

·                  Don’t fall into the traps of the Skeptic, Trivialist or Pharisee

·                  Be a Trailblazer: Prepare and expand your minds for service, study, delve deeper into new territory

·                  Test everything against what we have already accepted in our worldview foundation – The Word

·                  Act without fear, confidently – besides, what can man do to you? (Hebrews 13:6)

·                  Then, do not worry about the results! If you make a mistake, pick up and move on.

A Challenge to Unbelievers
Consider the following questions about worldview…

·                  Does your worldview bring meaning to life’s deepest questions of origin, purpose, morality and destiny?

·                  Is your worldview built on a solid foundation or does it shift with personal preference?

·                  Do you believe what it says in Matthew 7:7- “ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you”?

·                  Picking apart Christianity aside – have you ever honestly confronted the person of Jesus and the watershed event of all history that took place at the Cross?