A Worldview of Individuals - Essay Example

A world view of individuals consists of ideas formed through their perceptions. What many consider a comprehensive view of the world may in many cases lack the sufficient amount of information, knowledge and insight it calls for. Every person is restricted by the subjective understanding of experiences and the ensuing perceptions. However many people defend their world view aggressively, and discount possibilities of alternate world views. We are generally comfortable with our ideas, belief structures and view of the world because we take it for granted that conventions and traditions remain the same forever. Such a conformist, adamant reaction to propositions of change merge from our misunderstanding that change means chaos and the traditional ways assure peace and prosperity. However, the idea of progress is intricately linked to change and the ideological powers that lead to progress are based on accepting and analyzing various viewpoints and outlooks on every single matter. But many of us are even unaware that there are many valid viewpoints outside our restricted experiences and refuse to change our world view. Our world view is formed through personal experiences. Every child is born into a world specific cultures and outlooks. The immediate surroundings in which a child grows up influences her/him immensely. Many of them maintain these strongly held views for the rest of their lives while a very few break this shell of limited world view to get exposed to different cultures and take them as authentic, alternate value systems. Even as an individual has the freedom to choose a specific view on issues, it is prerogative that s/he could change it as the horizon of experience and knowledge widens. However, many of us are trapped in the world view of our immediate surroundings, formed through our education, bringing up and exposure to restricted ideologies. This world view is nurtured in conformist surroundings as long as an individual refuses to think critically. People are generally afraid of breaking the status quo. They fear that their integrity will be in question if they act against social conformities. While the social norms serve some positive purposes, all of them may not be judicious or fair, if analyzed critically. Every individual has the right and opportunity to use their critical faculty to issues, but many could see the concept of critical thinking only in negative terms. However, critical thinking provides space for improvement and enables individuals and society change progressively. If people realize this, they will be able to take every issue seriously and approach them with a critical bend of mind. Things could be made better only if the available choices are gauged on the basis of their necessity and capability to bring positive change, rather than following the age old customs in all events. People fail to think critically because they are preoccupied with the concepts of safety and stability in the society they live in. They are afraid of approaching an issue differently in the personal or social sphere because they take the demand for change as an affront to their identity as part of their society. However, it is possible to keep a healthy rapport with the society in which every individual forms an integral part and at the same time approach situations critically, amassing as much information as available to meet the need of the hour. Personal experiences: A few years ago, I was faced with a situation where I had to utilize critical think. While I was traveling in a bus, someone complained that his wallet was missing, and that he thought someone had stolen it while he got in the bus. Among the few people who got in the bus with him was an immigrant teenager. It turned out that he could not speak English effectively and when he was questioned, he panicked. Everyone assumed that he was the one who stole the man’s wallet and they started to rough him up. I felt that this was sheer injustice to the boy, since he was not even given a chance to prove his innocence. But I knew that the majority of the travelers were inclined to punish the boy to the extent that he would produce the stolen wallet. The situation got so worse that I had no choice but to intervene. I raised my voice and tried to dissuade those who were assaulting the boy. There were some protests in the beginning, but I pointed out that they were behaving like criminals and will not be able to justify themselves if questioned by the police. I understood there were some racist prejudices that led many of them to accuse the boy without any proof. However, I did not question their premises, but pointed out that even if the boy was guilty the law did not allow them to punish him. If they suspected the boy, it was better to hand him to the police. By this time, someone summoned the police, abut there was another commotion in the bus I the meantime. The man who claimed that he lost his wallet apologized and confessed that he had misplaced it in his bag absent mindedly. The poor boy was relieved and the people in the bus fell silent for a while before blaming the man for fooling them. No one even too the time to apologize to the boy and the journey pursued. I went near the boy and made sure that he was not seriously hurt. He looked at me in gratitude and I could feel his heart beating fast after so much of unexpected humiliation and physical abuse. Even if no on be acknowledged the fact, I knew that it was my critical thinking that saved the boy of further humiliation. If I tried to remain silent in fear of the reactions of other people, they would have continued hurting the boy for no good reason. There had been a few instances where I could not think critically in situations where I was trapped in the collective viewpoints. One among them took place when I was in high school. I had an accident in which I sprained my ankle. I was advised by my doctor to immobilize it. I kept it bandaged for a week and ignored his advice as I started going to school. I got caught up in the football mania that took over all my classmates. It seemed like an issue of pride to be in the school team. I used to be good at football, and wanted to attend the practice and test sessions. In the general excitement, I discarded my ankle sprain and went for a test play. I was overcome by the general view that it meant a lot to be in the team, and was worried about how my classmates will see me if I backed off from the test due to some minor ailment. To be precise, I was influenced by the expectations of masculinity from me by others. However, in my effort to conform to social expectations, I hurt my ankle seriously and had to be taken to the hospital immediately. A few of my ligaments were broken, and I had to give rest to my ankle for another six months. In my effort to maintain my identity and position in the limited social structure to which I belonged, I put my health and studies to a great risk, because I acted on the spur of the moment instead of making use of critical thinking to tackle the situation. Read More