What is worldview?

 To remind readers of former things discussed motivation is the fuel or drive for our behaviors in or towards a certain goal1, while belief(s) consist in part of temperaments or notions which enable one to act on something as if the disposition were a fact.2

A worldview is an assimilation of individual beliefs which govern or dictate how the holder behaves by action and response to stimuli whether they be internal or external, or as Zane writes, “a worldview is a particular stance or perspective that one has about a topic or concept, which then dictates how one views, talks about, and acts towards that topic or concept.”3 So certain beliefs cause one to move in a certain fashion regarding different situations and circumstances which that person may come across in their lifetime.

So, to bring the idea closer, someone raised on a farm may have beliefs that organically farmed produce is “better” than conventionally farmed produce based on what they saw or heard growing up, however the scientific community still leans towards the claim there is only slight nutritional differences between the two opposing methods of farming as Yassen and Mama posit,” the combination of published studies demonstrates that the major nutritional properties of organically and conventionally farmed products are identical, with only slight differences in some bioactive chemicals, macro and trace elements, and vitamins.”4 Yaseen does add that despite their being no large differences, organic grown fresh food is more conducive to healthier soil and climate conditions, produces a better quality product and is more nutritious, albeit slight, than inorganic products.5

So, in this example if better correlates solely to nutritional value, then that claim is true but only marginally, however if one adds quantifiers of; for the environment, will increase future harvest by not degrading the soil, and cultivating a more plump or tasteful product, then the person will understand and be able to act on their belief all the more.

So, finding motivation to continue farming in an organic fashion will come easier for the one who is more informed than the one who relies on beliefs of tradition rather than beliefs of facts when meet with opposition. How does that play out in the real world you may ask? When a corporation would come and offer that farmer a large sum of money and future dividends if they used their product and switched to conventional farming, the farmer won’t be easily dissuaded from their belief and hold fast to their worldview that despite the money, organic farming is worth the while.

1 Simpson, Eleanor H, and Peter D Balsam. “The Behavioral Neuroscience of Motivation: An Overview of Concepts, Measures, and Translational Applications.” Current topics in behavioral neurosciences vol. 27 (2016): 1-12. doi:10.1007/7854_2015_402

2 (E. O. Wilson, Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, Knopf, 1998

3 Thomas Zane et al., “One Worldview to Rule Them All,” lnternational Electronic Journal of Elementary Education (March 15, 2023), https://doi.org/10.26822/iejee.2023.290, 176.

4 Yaseen, A.A., Mama, S.A. Research comparing the nutritional content of organic and conventionally grown fruits and vegetables in relation to human health: review. Org. Agr. 14, 495 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13165-024-00477-2

5 Ibid., 495.