COM 325 / Week #5 Discussion: Worldview: Ought it to be examined carefully before we start our life's journey?

       Socrates once made a strong and unequivocal statement: "The unexamined life is not worth living." Now, let us apply that to our worldview (or religions). Most religions and ideologies (paradigm, theoretical framework, worldview, weltanschauung, cognitive matrix, you name it) include some extraordinary claims in regard to "the beginning of life," "the purpose of life," "the legitimacy of authority," "human nature," and so on. These claims were challenged during the Enlightenment and the postmodern deconstructionism movement. Yet, we still live in a world full of unexamined claims. So, we must ask ourselves the same question: Are unexamined and self-evident truths not worth following and believing? Think about the Declaration of Independence, which begins with the sentence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that..."