Enlightenment
Both empirical justifiability and comprehensiveness are generally viewed as positive factors by people. This is due to the inherent nature of the brain to take into account reliable information, especially that which is actually perceived, and also to seek solid answers to questions it has. Because of the brain’s natural tendency to come up with a coherent framework for all beliefs, the combination of these two ways of measuring worldviews has a multiplying effect in the brain. This makes them very powerful in encouraging people to truly believe that they have the correct answers to the questions that they have been pondering. It thus leads to the introduction of a new parameter for measuring worldviews that takes into account both empirical justifiability and comprehensiveness – enlightenment. The degree to which a worldview is enlightened is its empirical justifiability, approximately quantified, multiplied by its comprehensiveness, also approximately quantified.
To clarify, this definition of enlightenment differs from the Buddhist conception of the word where followers of this religion seek enlightenment through what is known as the eightfold path. There may be some similarities between the Buddhist eightfold path and the components of enlightenment that I have outlined here, and there may also be similarities between what some Buddhists have in mind when they think of enlightenment and what I mean here, but for the most part these are separate concepts. One main difference is that, from a Buddhist perspective, enlightenment is seen as a state that one can be in, whereas enlightenment by my definition is a sort of measurement. By the definition provided here, a worldview is not either “enlightened” or “not enlightened”, but that all worldviews have some degree of enlightenment and that some are more enlightened than others.
In addition, this definition of enlightenment differs from the Eighteenth Century philosophical movement known as The Enlightenment. This work draws heavily from the values, beliefs, and arguments that were promoted by Enlightenment era thinkers, but when I use the word “enlightenment” here I mean it as a parameter for measuring worldviews as defined above, unless otherwise stated.
Do you agree or disagree with this definition of “enlightenment”? Please let your voice be heard in the forum.
Enlightened Worldview
>> General Introduction (Home)
>> Introduction Highlighting the Difference
between Faith and Evidence
>> Introduction Highlighting the Reasons for Believing in a Higher Power
>> Introduction Highlighting the Need for a Solid Foundation for Morality
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