Worldview Studies: To See the World Is to Shape It
A new experience from The Stoa just dropped …
Worldview Studies: To See the World Is to Shape It
Presenters include
, , , and me.What is this?
It’s an “inverse course” that explores the worldviews shaping our present and those that will shape our future, along with how and why worlds come into view.
What’s an inverse course?
Instead of top-down pedagogy, where a teacher imparts knowledge to students, a bottom-up pedagogy takes its place. The teacher, or the “steward,” facilitates the collective intelligence of the students, and the students end up teaching the teacher as well as themselves.
Previous inverse course experiences include The Entity Pill and Internet Real Life.
Also see my presentation at Harvard discussing this.
Why now?
It’s palpable that the world is in great transition, and many events are unfolding. These are ones that will irreversibly change the world. Worldviews are influencing them, sometimes merely through their interpretations.
In essence, the world is up for grabs for those who have the right view.
What are the learning objectives?
Cultivating “worldview agency,” which is the ability to understand and interact with old, new, and emerging worldviews, and to personally and collectively form a wise one.
A big part of the experience will be mapping the present worldviews shaping us:
What will the experience be like?
There will be four sessions, each lasting 2 hours.
The first hour features a slide presentation and Q&A (recorded).
The second hour is a Collective Presencing conversation (not recorded).
A syllabus of recommended readings is also provided.
Okay, I’m sold. How do I sign up?!
You can purchase your ticket through
:
You choose your price (recommended: $40 USD, but feel free to contribute less or more).
Attendance at all sessions is not required. You’ll still benefit from the experience even if you only attend one session (adjust the price as necessary).
A Brief Note from The Steward
“A worldview provides a comprehensive framework that serves to fit all truths together in a relationship.” - Michael L. Peterson and Dennis
Truth claims within a worldview are in relationship with one another. They fit together, shaping what one sees, and such sight shapes what the world is.
It’s important not only to understand your own worldview, but also the worldviews of those you interact with and those who wield power.
Sohail Inayatullah’s “causal layered analysis” (CLA) offers an idea of how worldviews relate to the wider reality. A futures studies framework, CLA provides multiple depths for understanding the world.
First, there are surface-level problems, or the litany, which is what most people are fixated on. Next are systemic causes, the underlying structures that generate these problems. After that come the worldviews, which build and shape the structures. Deeper still, underneath the worldview, are myths and metaphors—or, if you are metaphysically inclined, the language best suited to understand the spiritual dimension of our world.
The philosopher, theoretically, is the one who operates at the worldview level. However, many “philosophers” in name today do not engage in this activity and are better described as theoreticians or historians of thought.
To truly address the worldview layer, one needs to be in relationship with the world (through the litany and causal layers) and attuned to the very spirit that animates it (through the myth/metaphor layer). Hence, a practical–mystical philosopher is required.
In essence, people who are called to be in the world yet are outside of it.
My favorite kind of people.
Sign up “Worldview Studies” here.
Follow The Stoa’s Metalabel page here for future updates.
Also, two sessions coming up this week at The Stoa:
Wise Agency: The Philosopher’s Stone. October 1st @ 6 pm Eastern. In-person session (Toronto). RSVP here.
Predictive History through Secret History w/ Jiang Xueqin. October 2nd @ 8 am Eastern. Online session. RSVP here.
Send me a message if you have any questions or thoughts: