Worldview Analysis and Personal Inventory Assignment

Worldview Analysis and Personal Inventory Assignment

Worldview Analysis and Personal Inventory

Part 1: Christian perspective of the nature of spirituality and ethics in contrast to the perspective of postmodern relativism within health care

Christianity has a unique perspective on spirituality and ethics. It perceives spirituality as the explanation for God’s existence, noting that God is the creator of the whole universe and has the power to destroy the whole universe. God’s power supersedes every other power in this universe. As the creator, it is expected that God’s will be done on earth and everywhere else in the world. It is this awareness that explains the existence of human beings as the creations of God who are expected to fulfil God’s will while obeying his commandments. Towards this end, God has presented instructions of how humans should live in the Bible. Through the Bible, humans get an understanding of spirituality with regards to what God intends for their lives. As such, humans who seek to make the right choices in their lives must act in accordance with God’s instructions presented in the Bible. Other than explaining the notion of spirituality, the Bible has implications for the Christian perspective on ethics by instructing on what is right and wrong. Through following the instructions in the Bible, Christians are perceived as acting in an ethical manner. Contravening the instructions presented in the Bible implies acting in an unethical manner. Spirituality and ethics as perceived by Christians have implications for health care through determining what should and should not be done with regards to decisions made (Whetstone, 2014).

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On the other hand, postmodern relativism offers a more ambiguous perspective on spirituality and ethics. At its core, postmodern relativism is based on the awareness that there is no absolute truth. This implies that truth is relative. Spirituality and ethics seek to present absolute truths, and this is contrary to postmodern relativism. Spirituality talks of an unseen deity that cannot be proven with any certainty to exist, while ethics talks of right and wrong. Applying the perspective of postmodern relativism on spirituality and ethics to health care reveals that every decision should be personalized and that the prevailing circumstances should be evaluated before making decisions for a case, rather than making blanket decisions (Glutchman, 2018) Worldview Analysis and Personal Inventory Assignment.

Part 2: Scientism

Scientism is a school of thought that seeks to assign value to the different science subjects based on the value of evidence presented. It identifies two types of sciences: hard and soft sciences. Hard sciences are considered as such because they present superior knowledge that is based on established rules to explain the observed reality. This implies that under the same conditions, the explanation offered for an observed reality will not change. The results that hard sciences present can be tested and replicated. Examples of hard sciences include physics, biology and chemistry. For instance, the force of gravity remains the same on earth, and the time a stone spends on air falling from the top of a building to the ground will not change for as long as the building, stone and other conditions remain the same. On the other hand, soft sciences are considered as such because they present less-superior knowledge that is based on conjecture and suppositions that are likely to change even when the circumstances remain the same. Although the information that soft sciences present in not necessarily inferior, they can easily be presented different conclusions and explanations for the same principles. Examples of soft sciences include psychology and sociology. Overall, hard sciences arrive at conclusions based on experimentation, skepticism and falsification while soft sciences arrive at conclusions based on subjectivism (Moreland, 2018).

Although scientism offers seemingly valid arguments for the division of sciences into soft and hard sciences, the arguments can be invalidated. Hard sciences are considered to have the intellectual authority to provide real knowledge while soft sciences do not offer real knowledge. Two arguments invalidate this assertion. The first counterargument is that there is no absolute truth. Hard sciences simply offer propositional truths that are subject to change when new evidence is acquired. This is the same as soft sciences that are subject to change when new evidence is acquired. The conclusions presented by both soft and hard sciences are subject to change. For instance, the earliest scientists thought that the earth was the center of our solar system and it was only little that new evidence presented proof to show that the sun is the center of our universe. The second counterargument is that considering hard sciences as presenting absolute truths is tyrannical. Although rationalism allows for replication to establish laws, this ends up stifling creativity so that personal opinions cannot be used to develop new laws. Every law and rule started from a whimsical conjecture, and this can be stifled by the tyrannical nature of hard sciences. Soft sciences address this concern by allowing for personal opinions that could appear whimsical (Zavada, 2019).

Part 3.

(a) What is ultimate reality?

The ultimate reality is the core of personal belief so that even when everything else changes, this reality remains the same. My ultimate reality is that God created all humans, is all powerful, and has a plan for my life. By understanding what God desires for my life, I am able to live a more fulfilled life that allows me to be happy and meet my needs. I can only understand what God desires for my life by reading and understanding God’s commandments and instructions as presented in the Bible. This ultimate reality guides all the decisions I make, and acts as the core of my life. Everything I do must not contravene this ultimate reality.

(b) What is the nature of the universe?

I perceive the universe as the ‘plane’ in which the solar system and all that we can see exists. This universe is bound by the laws of space and time. The universe is principally governed by four rules, all concerned with energy manipulation. The first rule is that energy is converted between different forms to allow the universe to exist. The earth continues to exist because of the gravitational force from the sun and moon, as well as solar energy from the sun. The second rule is that energy is constantly decaying. Overtime the energy contained in the universe is being lost even as it is converted between different forms. It is being converted from an available form to an unavailable form. The third and fourth rules are that energy undergoes evolution and competition. Everything in the universe is in the constant process of competing for the limited available energy so that those who can better compete (evolved) get enough energy while those who cannot compete become extinct. In addition, my religion has made me understand that apart from what I can see, there are other planes that I cannot see. For instance, heaven that has angels and hell that has the devil and demons.

(c) What is a human being?

A human being is a biological species with the scientific name Homo sapiens. Humans have been through an evolutionary process that differentiated them from other primates. The evolution allowed humans to walk upright and develop a larger brain capacity. Humans have used their higher brain capacity to better adapt the environment to allow them better survive and become the most dominant species on earth. For instance, humans have cloths and shelter that allow them to colonize virtually every environment on earth. Additionally, humans have developed medicines and medical technologies that allow them fight disease. These are all adaptations. Besides that, human beings present as male and female genders that can procreate.

(d) What is knowledge?

Knowledge refers to the awareness and understanding of existing facts. Knowledge is acquired through experience and education. With the right knowledge, an individual is able to make the right decisions that ensure that targeted results/outcomes are realized. Also, knowledge helps with avoiding mistakes.

(e) What is your basis of ethics?

My basis of ethics is the Bible. As a Christian, I believe that God is my creator and has a purpose for my life. God’s instructions and commandments are presented in the Bible, and I believe that I can never go wrong and would easily live with my decisions if I follow the instructions presented in the Bible. In addition, I base my ethics on common law. I consider myself as a member of a society/community and believe that rules made through consensus are intended to serve the greater good and should thereby be observed with a focus on refraining from causing intentional harm Worldview Analysis and Personal Inventory Assignment

(f) What is the purpose of your existence?

As a Christian, the purpose of my existence is to fulfil God’s word by making the best of my life, serving others and procreating. I am making the best of my life by having a positive outlook on life and ensuring that I can live with my decisions. I am serving others by providing services that allow me to earn a living.

References

Glutchman, V. (Ed) (2018). Ethics of Social Consequences: Philosophical, Applied and Professional Challenges. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Moreland, J. (2018). What is scientism? https://www.crossway.org/articles/what-is-scientism/

Whetstone, T. (2014). Leadership Ethics & Spirituality: A Christian Perspective. WestBow Press.

Zavada, J. (2019). Postmodernism definition. https://www.learnreligions.com/what-is-postmodernism-700692

Worldview Analysis and Personal Inventory Assignment