A way of viewing life. A world view or belief pattern that is overriding.
One’s view of “the way things are”; an implicit framework within which “everything” fits or is understood. In science, for example, one’s “world view” restricts what problems are considered legitimate for study and what methods are acceptable to pursue them. Sir Isaac Newton’s “laws” of gravity and motion, developed in the 17th and 18th century, governed much of the scientific thought for nearly two centuries. Einstein’s paradigm not only explained the same phenomena, but also opened the way for new thought. When people thought the earth was flat, this paradigm governed thinking about stars, oceans, and travel Proof that the earth was a sphere released entirely new thinking.