Worldview: The History of a Concept

This informative volume first locates the origin of worldview in the writings of Kant and surveys the rapid proliferation of its use throughout the English-speaking world. Naugle then provides the first study ever undertaken of the insights of major Western philosophers on the subject of worldview and offers an original examination of the role of this concept has played in the natural and social sciences. Finally, Naugle gives the concept biblical and theological grounding, exploring the unique ways that worldview has been used in the Evangelical, Orthodox, and Catholic traditions.

About the Author :
David Naugle is professor of philosophy at Dallas Baptist University, Texas.

Review :
William J. Abraham
"In this wonderfully clear and concise book David Naugle takes a notion that has been flitting around in the basement of modern theology and philosophy and exposes it to the light of day. This account of the concept of worldview is splendid in every way -- sensitive in tone, beautifully organized, laced with fine scholarship, full of good sense, and deeply grounded in the appropriate historical sources. Indispensable reading for anyone interested in the idea of worldview, this book fills a glaring gap in the literature and should become the standard work on the subject in English. "

C. Stephen Evans
"An important study of a fundamental concept often employed by Christian scholars but not often analyzed in a careful way or with attention to its history."

James W. Sire
"In the past thirty years worldview analysis has become an important way for Christians to understand the world. But perhaps because of the massive research required, we have never had a history of the concept or an analysis of its philosophic roots. David Naugle has put us all in his debt. This excellent study will become a standard reference. "

Albert M. Wolters
"David Naugle's book on worldview is a tour de force. Not only does it give a competent and illuminating survey of the history of the concept and illustrate its widespread contemporary use in a number of academic disciplines, but it also provides an eloquent and theologically well-founded defense of the concept's importance for a culturally engaged Christianity today. The book combines easy readability with an impressive grasp of a wide range of academic disciplines, most notably history, philosophy, and theology. In my view this is now the best book available on a key category of post-Kantian intellectual discourse. It is also an outstanding example of what George Marsden has called 'the outrageous idea of Christian scholarship.' "

Themelios
"For those interested in the history of ideas, especially philosophical ideas about how and why we view the world as we do, this is a sterling volume. It will certainly become a standard text."

Theological Book Review
"As a philosophical concept, worldview is a relatively late arrival, first formulated by Kant in 1790. In this admirable study Naugle traces the intellectual evolution of the term in order to establish its relevance for any serious Christian engagement with contemporary culture. . . An exciting scholarly work that deserves and will repay careful attention."