 Your worldview is like a lens that you see the entire world through  This means that there are many different types of worldviews in the world  What does the phrase “He sees the world through rose coloured glasses” mean to you?

 Worldview comes from your life experiences  This means that your worldview is shaped by: › Your parents & siblings › Your extended family › Your friends › Your school, teachers, & classmates › Your work colleagues › In the future your spouse and their family, friends and colleagues

 In general terms worldview helps us answer questions such as: › What is reality? › Where did I come from? › What if anything is wrong with the world? › If something is wrong with the world how do we fix it? › What is my purpose in life? › What is right and wrong? How will I know?

 What does this mean for you or me? › worldview worldview

 Given that there are many different types of worldview that exist we can’t possibly study them all so we will focus on two: 1. First Nation’s worldview at the time of contact with Europe 2. European worldview at the time the America’s were “discovered”  It is important to note that these worldviews are not specific to any one person or even nation

European First Nations  Time – time is seen as linear, moving from one thing to the next in a straight line  Man and nature – man was seen as being at the top of nature’s pyramid with all of the rest of nature existing to be used by man  Time – time was seen as circular, always repeating itself  Man and nature – man was seen as being a part of nature and not any more important than another part

European First Nations  Men and women – men were seen as superior to women and in some cases women were nothing more than property  Government – in most cases there was a monarch whose right to rule was determined by God  Men and women – men and women were seen to be equal and in some cases women held greater power  Government – many first nations’ were governed by some form of democracy

European First Nations  Knowledge – knowledge is seen as being broken down into sections or chunks  Property ownership – everything, including land is seen as belonging to specific people  Knowledge – knowledge is seen as being holistic and often hands on  Ownership – many first nations had no concept of private ownership of goods and land was not something anyone could own you were just responsible for it

European First Nations  Justice – was seen as us vs. them, and punishment of the offender as the goal. Death penalty was often used, only later replaced by prison.  Child rearing – children tended to be raised to follow in their parents’ footsteps. Corporal punishment was used frequently  Justice – was seen as both sides trying to solve the problem created for the community. Offenders often had to repay the victim, death penalty was used only in the most extreme cases  Child rearing – children tended to be raised in such a way that the child choose what they would become, guided by their parents and the community. Corporal punishment was not used for children