Vince Mercuri: Learning, growing by sharing worldviews

More than 12 years ago, my future son-in-law confidently posed this question to me: “What is your worldview?” What followed was a discussion/debate about a wide-ranging set of principles — religion, politics, finances, values and the importance of family. While there was agreement on most of these topics, on others there was a sharing of ideas and differences and a dialogue that helped us understand each other’s positions and gain valuable insights.

This is a direct contrast to our current social and political tensions. There is a great reluctance for civil debate about issues and respective worldviews. This lack of tolerance stifles the opportunity to have meaningful interactions in which one may learn and grow, sharpening and strengthening — or modifying — one’s current positions.

Prejudice, stereotypes and belittling are a lazy and insecure person’s way of dismissing individuals and ideas that conflict with his or her own way of thinking.

Understanding, allowing for and appreciating another’s worldview begins with an awareness of what a worldview is and the factors that shape such a thought process.

Our worldview is how we view the world around us and our place in it. Our worldview is shaped and expanded over a lifetime by many influences. It is a constantly evolving concept that defines everything about us. It is the metaphysical or philosophical and ideological reality of the world. It governs how we live, not where we live. It defines why we live, what we live for, what we appreciate, what we reject, what we are passionate about and what we detest.

Here are three fundamental categories that shape our worldview:

1. Cognitive — how we think and what we think about, what and how we learn, the internal drive to grow and explore opportunities. As we think so we live. Everything else follows this first category.

2. Moral — how we discern between right and wrong, our personal code of ethics that helps to define our conduct and the decisions we make. This also forms our value system as it pertains to society at large.

3. Pragmatic — how we deal with things, sensible and realistic or a theoretical approach in dealing with life issues that arise; what we do with what we believe is right and wrong; how we address issues and problem-solve. Do we compromise or stay the course of our beliefs?

Understanding these categories is vital to shaping our own worldview and to understanding the differences we have with others.

In the 1930s and ’40s, a diverse group of Oxford University students and professors, including writers J.R.R. Tolkien (“Lord of the Rings”) and C.S. Lewis (“The Chronicles of Narnia”), met weekly to discuss ideas and writings from different worldviews. Known as the “Inklings,” they reviewed, edited and challenged each others’ writings and sharpened their creative skills. It enhanced and strengthened their works. They were invested in their own growth and in the development of their colleagues.

This commitment to share, understand and sharpen each other, especially when views differ, is a formula that our culture should embrace to build bridges in our divided country.

In light of our current social discord, the question posed by my son-in-law could be restated to ourselves by asking: Can we have the maturity and depth of character to listen and understand, agree to disagree, value others and allow for a worldview that is different from our own?