From the dockworker to the teacher of philosophy, all of us are trying to make sense of life. On the way home from a funeral or when suffering a serious loss of health, we are often prompted to ask the “why” questions. How we answer those questions is likely to reflect our personal philosophy of life and our worldview.

For example, most of us would agree with our five senses that an external world outside of our own awareness actually does exist. After this admission, however, we are apt to believe, with unswerving conviction, that our window gives us the clearest reflection of ourselves and the best view of our world.

A worldview, therefore, is our assumptions about what makes up our world. More often than not, worldviews influence us in ways we may not always be conscious of.