A sense of reality was the definition that I was given of worldview, but what does “a sense of reality” really mean to me? After further discussion in class, I began to understand the meaning of this definition a little bit better. Worldview is the framework to the ideas and beliefs that I may have that help me interpret the world and how I may relate with it. Also, another way I looked at worldview to understand it better is that worldview is my perception of the universe, mankind, and our place in it. People’s worldview make-up their personal identity. Everyone looks at the world differently only because of their own culture, they way they were raised, and personal experiences they have been through. This then makes me wonder, what exactly is my perception of the world, and the mankind, and what is my place in it and why.
I was raised in a very small town in Kentucky, right on the Kentucky/Tennessee line. I knew everybody’s name and they knew mine. From the time I could remember, I was helping my father raise tobacco, help with the cattle, and helping in the garden. By the time I was nine years old, I was driving the tractor around the farm… by myself. After learning, I really believed I was somebody, getting to help my father by driving the tractor. And for a while in my life I would have considered it one of my greatest accomplishments, just for the fact that I didn’t know anyone else who could drive a tractor at the age of nine. At the time, I believed that the only issue in the world is if my father did not get the money he expected too out of raising tobacco and farming. I never really thought about how big the world was and how many more serious issues there were.
I’ve never been out of the small town except for occasional vacations in the summer to Florida. I feel like I am still in the mind set of how I was when I was younger. But I feel like if I grew up in a place such as New York City, I would look at things a lot different. I...