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LOSS OF A UNIFIED WORLDVIEW: The Fact/Value Dichotomy

Explore the loss of a unified worldview and the impact of the fact/value dichotomy in our cultural landscape. This lecture delves into the historic reasons for the fracture in society's perception of facts and values, offering 7 criteria to evaluate truth-claims. Understand the significance of assumptions, facts, impressions, opinions, and the consequences of worldview dissonance. Dive into the realms of Upper and Lower Story truths, and the dynamics between personal preferences, objective facts, human choices, and societal beliefs. Delve into the history of modern philosophy and the evolution of thought from Platonism to Postmodernism, and analyze the ramifications of secularism on contemporary society. Discover the complexities of worldview fracturing and the nuances in various spheres including morality, religion, aesthetics, scientific knowledge, and personal preferences.

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LOSS OF A UNIFIED WORLDVIEW: The Fact/Value Dichotomy

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  1. LOSS OF A UNIFIED WORLDVIEW:The Fact/Value Dichotomy Understanding our cultural Worldview Landscape www.prshockley.org

  2. Bibliography: • This lecture is indebted to Dr. Nancy Pearcey’s scholarship & historic & contemporary examples of the fact/value dichotomy:

  3. Origin of Loss of Unified Worldview in US: • Rise of Anti-Intellectualism (Great Awakenings) • Rise of Darwinian Evolution • Withdrawal of Judeo-Christian Thought from Marketplace of Ideas & Public Square • Emergence of a Christian subculture with its own authorities, celebrities, divisions, institutions, movements, & personalities. • The Impact of Secularism • The Problem of Inadequate Thinking

  4. Historic Loss of a Unified Worldview: • Our society no longer recognizes a worldview whereby fact and values are inherently related together into a unified whole. • Facts (public, objective, & universal) are now divided from values (moral, religious, and aesthetic). 3. Fact/Value or Public/Private Dichotomy.

  5. 7-fold Criteria for Evaluating Truth-Claims: Truth-claim: A statement one believes to be true. • Logical Consistency • Empirical Adequacy • Existential Relevance • Workability • Viability • Explanatory Power • Aesthetic & Moral Excellence

  6. Why important? “People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but of what they find attractive.” Blaise Pascal 1623-1662

  7. Know these Terms: • Assumption: An idea that is accepted without proof. • Fact: A fact is something that actually exists; it has objective reality; it is a provable concept. • Impression: A Feeling, idea, or opinion without conscious thought or little or no evidence. • Opinion: A certain appraisal, judgment, position, or view that is formed about something; it is not necessarily based on what is factual. An opinion is a belief stronger than impressions but weaker than facts. An opinion may be true or false.

  8. A Consequence: Worldview Dissonance: (Intellectual & Existential Tension) “Non-Christian presuppositions do not fin into what God has made, including what man is. This being so, every man is in a place of tension. Man cannot make his own universe & then live in it.” ~ Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer, 1912-1984 The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer, 1:132.

  9. Worldview Fracturing: When one’s worldview experiences cognitive and existential tension (worldview dissonance) to the extent that… a. Incoherence overwhelms functionality. b. Incapable of workability in living life. c. Pain becomes too weighty psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, & physically. d. Decision-making is arbitrary, impulsive, & inconsistent e. Dehumanization finds expression: Chaos, a marring and scarring can occur. Worldview fracturing can be quite debilitating &/or liberating.

  10. 2-RealM Theory of TRuth: UPPER STORY (VALUES) Non-rational, Non-cognitive ____________________________ LOWER STORY (FACTS) Rational, Verifiable

  11. Contemporary LANDSCAPE: VALUES (Personal Preferences) Morality, Religion, & Aesthetics ____________________________ FACTS Objective, Public, & Universal

  12. Human Choice: VALUES (Personal Preferences) Individual Choice ____________________________ FACTS Binding on Everyone

  13. Contemporary Society: PRIVATE SPHERE (Personal Preferences) Morality, Religion, & Aesthetics ____________________________ PUBLIC SPHERE Scientific Knowledge

  14. Contemporary FAITH: RELIGIOUS SPHERE (Privatized) ____________________________ PROFESSIONAL SPHERE Education, Ethics, Pleasure, & Work

  15. History of Modern Philosophy: CONTINENTAL Idealism, Marxism, Phenomenology, Existentialism Postmodernism, Deconstructionism ____________________________ ANALYTIC Empiricism, Rationalism, Materialism, Naturalism, Logical Positivism, Linguistic Analysis

  16. PLATONIC DUALISM: FORM OF THE GOOD Eternal Reason: = True Knowledge - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MATTER Ever-Changing Physical Reality Always in Flux: = Imagination/Opinion

  17. AQUINAS’ ChAIN OF BEING: God is Pure Actuality With No Potentiality Angels Satan Demons -------------------------- BECOMING: Humanity Animals Fish Plants Minerals Prime Matter BEING GRACE NATURE: Built in BECOMING

  18. RENE DESCARTES’ DUALISM: MIND: Emotion, Spirit, Thought, & Will (A Free Autonomous Self) __________________________ MATTER: Body: A Mechanism Operating by Natural Laws

  19. 20th Century Philosophy: CONTINENTAL TRADITION Heirs of Romanticism __________________________ ANALYTIC TRADITION Heirs of the Enlightenment

  20. SECULAR LEAP OF FAITH: POSTMODERN MYSTICISM Moral and humane ideals have no basis in truth, but as defined by scientific naturalism, but we affirm them anyway ____________________________ SCIENTIFIC NATURALISM Humans are machines

  21. Contemporary LANDSCAPE: POSTMODERNISM Morality, Religion, & Aesthetics Subjective, Relative in Particular Groups ____________________________ MODERNISM Industry, Science, & Technology Objective, Universally Valid

  22. Values in the Public Square: PERSONAL VALUES: Private views (Morality, Religion, & Truth) __________________________________ PUBLIC VALUES: (Politically Correct, Morally Relative, & Scientific)

  23. Divided Humanity: PERSONAL SELF Emotional Relationship __________________________________________ PHYSICAL BODY Sexual Relationship

  24. ReCENT Two LeVEL Christianity: SACRED Spirit, Soul, & Church Work ______________________ SECULAR Body, Intellect, Pleasure, & Work

  25. Historical Division in Western Thought: ROMANTIC TRADITION: Idealism: Ultimate Reality is in Ideas Postmodernism Deification of the Mind ___________________________ ENLIGHTENMENT TRADITION: Modernism Deification of objects

  26. Materialism: Non-Material World Mental Constructs; Subjective; Superstitious ___________________________ Material World Knowable Facts; Objective; Scientific Attempt to live in lower level

  27. IMMANUEL Kant’s Dualism: Noumena Things in Themselves ____________________________ Phenomena Things as they appear to be Mind is primary over physical reality. The mind structures (organizes) reality. We may liken the human mind to Plato’s Cave; our mind is the cave and there is no exit.

  28. ImMANUEL Kant: Freedom The Autonomous Self ____________________________ Nature The Newtonian World Machine

  29. KANT’S IMPACT: WHAT WE ACCEPT AS “AS IF” Afterlife, Freedom, God, & Morality ____________________________ WHAT WE KNOW Materialism, Determinism

  30. IMMANUEL KANT’S IMPACT: VALUE Socially Constructed Meanings ____________________________ WHAT WE KNOW Publicly Verifiable Truth

  31. Contemporary Secularism: PERSONS Free Agents ____________________________ Physical Systems Bio-Chemical Machines (Robots)

  32. VIEW OF TRUTH: VALUES Private, relative, & subjective ____________________________ Facts Objective, public, & universal

  33. Romantic’S VIEW OF TRUTH: IMAGINATIVE TRUTH Creative World (Art) ____________________________ RATIONAL TRUTH Deterministic World (Science)

  34. VIEW OF AESTHETICS: EXPRESSIONISM Expression of Subjective Feelings ____________________________ FORMALISM Analysis of Objective Form

  35. VIEW of Aesthetics: (Modern ART) IDEALIST Protests the Scientific Worldview ____________________________ NATURALIST Portrays the Scientific Worldview

  36. VIEW OF Humanity: PERSON (IDENTITY) Moral &Legal Status Freedom & Moral Dignity ____________________________ BODY A Piece of Disposable Matter:

  37. VIEW OF Humanity: PERSON Autonomous Self (postmodern) ____________________________ BODY A Biochemical machine (modernism)

  38. VIEW OF Gender: Gender Psychological Identity & Sexual Desire ____________________________ Physical Biology: Anatomy & physiology

  39. VIEW OF Humanity: PERSON Moral and Legal Status ____________________________ BODY A Piece of Disposable Matter

  40. VIEW OF Humanity: PERSON Moral and Legal Status ____________________________ BODY A Piece of Disposable Matter

  41. VIEW OF Humanity: POSTMODERNISM The Self as Autonomous ______________________________ MODERNISM Nature (Body) as Machine

  42. Alienation from the Body: AUTONOMOUS SELF Free to impose its own purposes on the body __________________________________________ PHYSICAL BODY Morally neutral mechanism

  43. Alienation from the Body: POSTMODERN SELF No connection to the physical body __________________________________________ PHYSICAL BODY Morally neutral mechanism

  44. VIEW OF Sexuality (“hook Up” Culture): PERSONAL Emotional & Mental Relationship ____________________________ BODY Sexual Relationship

  45. BIBLIOGRAPHY: • Nancy Pearcey (2005). Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity. Wheaton: Crossway Books.  • ——— (2010), Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, and Meaning, B&H Books. • ——— (2015), Finding Truth: 5 Principles for Unmasking Atheism, Secularism, and Other God Substitutes, David C Cook. • ______ (2018) Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions About Life and Sexuality, Baker Books. • Shockley, Paul R. & Raul F. Prezas (2018). Thinking With Excellence: Navigating the College Journey and Beyond, Two Creeks Publishing Group. • More resources are available at www.prshockley.org

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