Cultural Worldviews Research Articles

Different lenses, different lifeways: Embracing indigenous worldviews for sustainability transformations

The climate crisis and unsustainable economic practices are reinforced by colonial values like nature instrumentalism and individualism, which shape global sustainability agendas. In contrast, Indigenous values grounded in a holistic understanding have fostered communal sustainability for centuries but remain underrepresented in sustainability practice. This paper compares Indigenous worldviews alongside modern cultural worldviews. Additionally, it examines different sustainability proposals and practical examples of Indigenous principles in policy and business settings (such as urban policy or consulting firms). Results suggest that Indigenous values linked to interconnectedness foster sustainable lifestyles and community and nature protection. However, values that disrupt human-nature connections hinder sustainability transformations. Contributing to the literature gap on worldviews and sustainability, this work aims to bridge fragmented knowledge of Indigenous sustainability proposals by mapping their principles and providing practical examples to inform policy and practice. Ultimately, this study highlights the need to integrate Indigenous perspectives for genuine transformation in sustainability practices.

From Philological Tradition to Cognitive Semantics: the Evolution of Metaphor Studies in Romanian Linguistics

This article traces the evolution of idiomatic expression studies in Romanian linguistics, highlighting its alignment with broader linguistic movements, including early cognitive approaches. Through a historical analysis – spanning from Lazăr Șăineanu in the 19th century to Stelian Dumistrăcel in the 20th century – it demonstrates how Romanian phraseology anticipated key aspects of cognitive semantics. Idiomatic expressions not only enrich language but also structure collective thought, revealing deep connections between language, culture, and cognition. Romanian linguistics developed an original conception of metaphor that largely anticipated the "contemporary theory" of conceptual metaphor proposed by cognitive semantics. Analyses from Romanian philologists, folklorists, and linguists reveal an early cognitive perspective on metaphor, contrasting with the traditional rhetorical view. Unlike cognitive semantics, where the metaphor’s image remains external to word meanings, Romanian linguists integrate the image with linguistic concepts and cultural worldviews. The article also highlights key contributions from Romanian scholars, showing how their early work foreshadowed later formalized approaches by Lakoff and Johnson (1980). Furthermore, it examines the lexicalization of metaphors, demonstrating that while this process diminishes their evocative power, metaphors remain essential to language structure and function.

How geography and politics shape teachers’ engagement with climate change science standards

Climate change education is a complex and controversial undertaking in the United States given the federated nature of educational policy and the partisan nature of climate change discourse. Despite international treaty obligations, the United States struggles to implement climate change education across its educational sector. This article examines the political and geographic factors at play in the standardization of climate change science education in Delaware. Using a geographically representative sample of science teachers, we explore the specificity of NGSS-informed climate change science standards enactment, including its relationship to both voting patterns and individual teacher politics. We show how teachers’ political orientation and cultural worldview shapes climate change education independent of local context, raising important questions about professional ethics and the limitations of standards-driven science education reform during a time of intense partisan science denial and socially organized misinformation and disinformation campaigns. Specifically, we find that local political context has no effect on reports of teaching practice; instead, a science teacher’s political orientation influences if and how they enact NGSS-driven climate change science education reforms. We conclude with considerations for the field of climate change science education given the social and political realities of the modern United States educational system.

Морально-етичні аспекти в поліцейській діяльності

Abstract. It was found that the observance of moral and ethical norms and standards in police activity play a significant role in the formation of the professional culture of the police officer, the development of the internal imperative of duty and full cooperation with citizens based on mutual trust. Compliance with ethical norms and standards of behavior enables police officers to work not only according to the requirements of the letter of the law, but also the spirit of the law. It is emphasized that in modern society, law enforcement activity is perceived from the position of serving the people, restoring justice, legality and law and order, and the policeman is the personification of high moral virtues and ethical ideals. Serving society requires, first of all, respect for human rights and freedoms, protection of public order, compliance with moral and ethical standards in interaction with the population, and ensuring the rule of law in society. It is noted that the ethical norms of the police officer's behavior are regulated by the relevant rules and are closely related to disciplinary requirements. The global practice of regulating the ethical aspect in the activities of police officers is quite developed. There are international norms that states take as a basis when forming provisions and statutes that regulate the moral, ethical and disciplinary component of the functioning of the law enforcement system. Attention is focused on the fact that an important aspect of police activity is the prevention of abuse of rights. At the basis of such negative manifestations of the policeman's behavior as abuse of official position, power is, first of all, abuse of law. Ideas embedded in the principles of law are important for the formation of legitimate beliefs of a police officer, like any other person, because it is precisely such ideas that reflect the aspirations, the essence of the ideal of the development of a particular society. Worldview culture of a person cannot be fully formed without defining value-legal social ideals. Keywords: moral norms; ethical norms; professional ethics of a lawyer; ethical codes; value-legal guidelines.

Nepali Cultural Worldview as Eclectic Space in Transformative Action Research for Post-Critical Scientific Literacy

Nepali Cultural Worldview as Eclectic Space in Transformative Action Research for Post-Critical Scientific Literacy

Aziz Gardi's world view of Kurdish culture and literature

Aziz Gardi's world view of Kurdish culture and literature

Geographical and aesthetic inclusiveness: A new cultural worldview? The case of nine European countries

The European social landscape has changed due to Europeanization, globalization, and migration processes, leading to more transnational exchanges, personal relations connecting people from different European countries, and greater cultural and ethnic diversity. Our research explored whether these processes have led to a new inclusionary cultural worldview and the possible social underpinnings. We analyse the inclusionary cultural worldview on two levels: geographical inclusiveness, reflecting an openness to other cultures, and aesthetic inclusiveness, reflecting an openness to go beyond a traditional hierarchical highbrow view of culture. In our research, based on a recent survey conducted in nine European countries, we find evidence for both inclusionary and exclusionary orientations in both geographical and aesthetic worldviews, with the inclusionary and exclusionary orientations correlating with each other and constituting a cultural worldview. We further find that the inclusionary worldview is more pronounced among better educated and older people, among women, and in more socioeconomically developed countries. In contrast, the exclusionary worldview is more common among less educated and older people, men, and in less socioeconomically developed and less economically stable countries.

Crossroads: leprosy, Igbo cosmology and cultural worldviews

AbstractThis research examines the continuity and changes in Igbo thoughts on leprosy by exploring Igbo cosmology and its relationship with Christian and colonial ideas about the disease. The perception of leprosy in precolonial Igboland reveals a shocking similarity with the later Judeo-Christian identity and the perception of leprosy that dominated the area during colonialism. It argues that colonial and Christian missionary ideas did not radically transform the perceptions of leprosy in south-eastern Nigeria. Instead, what happened was merely an adaptation and continuity of prevailing thoughts about the disease. Using oral evidence, archival materials and existing anthropological works on Igbo worldviews and cosmology, this research shows the changes in the colonial socio-cultural knowledge of leprosy. After careful analysis, it concludes that, while colonial medicine and the missionaries’ idea of leprosy healed leprosy sufferers and transformed their identity, most Igbo people continued conceptualizing the disease as an aberration and maintained the stigmatization of sufferers.

An Investigation Into the Unconscious Influence of Mortality Salience Upon Sentencing Decisions.

This study aimed to explore if unconscious awareness of death influences the harshness of offender sentencing. According to Terror Management Theory death is anxiety-provoking, and self-esteem and a belief in a shared cultural worldview keep anxiety at bay. When these factors are challenged then death awareness increases. These dynamics could be relevant in a court setting in which judges have to make decisions regarding offenders who may have different world views and in cases that trigger the awareness of mortality. We used subliminal priming to activate the awareness of death and recorded the effect it had on decision-making against a hypothetical offender. Participants (N = 303) were recruited and randomly assigned to either an experimental mortality condition or a neutral control condition. Analysis revealed that death-related subliminal priming brought about harsher sentencing effects than the control. The results suggest that subconscious awareness of death may bias decision-making when sentencing.

The WEIRD Trio: The Cultural Gap between Physicians, Learners, and Patients in Pluralistic Societies.

Physicians are shaped by sociological and philosophical factors that often differ from those of their patients. This is of particular concern in pluralistic societies when navigating ethical disagreements because physicians often misunderstand or even dismiss patient perspectives as being irrational. This paper examines these factors and why many physicians approach ethics as they do while elucidating various patient perspectives and demonstrating how they make sense when considered from a different cultural worldview. Many physicians are trained in contexts that are WEIRD: Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic. These sociological characteristics tend to go hand in hand with the trio of individualism, secularism, and existentialism. These then shape an approach to ethics that focuses on the individual patient, makes no reference to the divine, and focuses on a patient's personal desires. This contrasts significantly with many patients who are collectivistic or religious, and then make rational decisions based on other values. The social fact of pluralism implores physicians to temper confidence in their own cultures while considering others to promote mutual understanding and improved care. This paper concludes with a discussion of how bridges can be built across cultures without sliding into relativism, beginning with recognizing and communicating our shared moral intuitions.

REPRESENTATION OF SPANISH AND UZBEK NATIONAL-CULTURAL WORLD VIEWS IN PHRASEO-PAREMIOLOGICAL UNITS THROUGH THE CONCEPT OF "HOME"

Phraseology is considered a mirror of the national cultural worldview of peoples. This article is dedicated to revealing the worldview of Spanish and Uzbek peoples through a linguocognitive and linguocultural analysis of the concept of "home," represented by phraseological and paremiological units. The obtained results are significant for research aimed at studying the processes of conceptualization and categorization of concepts in language, as well as the national and cultural aspects of linguistic signs.

FEATURES OF THE ACTUALIZATION OF MODERN UKRAINIAN HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL WORLDVIEW CODES

The article is devoted to the issues of actualization modern Ukrainian historical and cultural worldview codes. Natural national identity protects the individual from hostile manipulative influences. This is very important subject during hybrid wars. The worldview codes, which are the basis of national consciousness, are usually studied precisely through the prism of national self-awareness and identification. The basic worldview codes are realized through historical memory and culture. Often these implementations are interrelated. The purpose of the article is the study of modern actualization of the basic worldview codes, which are responsible for the national self-identification of a person and form the national cultural space. During hybrid and information wars, it is worldview codes that are subjected to the most powerful attacks from the enemy, because their deep change significantly affects the worldview and national identity of a person.

Numerical format and public perception of foreign immigration growth rates.

The study aimed to explore whether the 1-in-X bias is also present in relation to immigration growth rates. We tested this research question on a representative sample of adult residents in Trento, Italy, between March and April 2019. Participants were presented with data comparing the foreign immigrant-to-resident population ratio in Italy for 2001 (1 in 40) and 2011 (1 in 15), using two distinct formats-1-in-X and percentages. They were then asked to express the perceived increase. Baseline measures of several individual-level factors, including cultural worldviews, perceptions of immigration, numeracy, science literacy, and economic literacy, were also collected to explore the potential role of individual differences in influencing the effect of the 1-in-X format on the perceived increase in immigrants. The results confirmed the existence of the 1-in-X bias, demonstrating that the immigration growth rate in the 1-in-X format was perceived as higher than in the percentage format, even after controlling for the effects of the idiosyncratic variables. The results of this study provide insight into how different numerical formats can influence public perceptions of immigration growth rates, offering suggestions to policymakers, communicators, and stakeholders about how the presentation of information can shape public opinion.

Exploring the Semantic Significance ‘Camel’ and Cultural Representation in the Kazakh Ethnic Worldview as Reflected in the National Corpus

The article examines the study of the concept of “cultural worldview” in linguistics, including methods for studying the linguistic expression of the ethnic perspective. It argues that the formation of information about this concept, organized in the mind of a nation before it is expressed through language, is composed of various worldviews. Human knowledge is intrinsically linked to the environment, nation, state, surrounding nature, religion, national values, and cultural traditions. It is impossible to conceive of this knowledge independently from its context or create a discrete worldview. Therefore, the article explains, using examples, that in the environment where the collective image common to an ethnos is formed, the ethnic image is also formed. The linguistic representation of the Kazakh ethnic worldview is explained step-by-step. The study finds that the presence of ethno-marked units in the language system is a key feature in the formation of ethno-cultural knowledge. Additionally, the effectiveness of using socio-philosophical, cultural, symbolic, and semantic research methods to determine the verbalization of the ethnic worldview is demonstrated. Ethnomarking of material cultural names, precedent names, mythological names and concepts, and zoomorphic and phytonymic names are among the elements that constitute the Kazakh ethnic worldview.

Evidence of emotions and psychological defences in urban water-efficiency campaigns’ communications

ABSTRACT We analysed fourteen different American water-efficiency campaigns for evidence of (1) explicit and implicit emotions, (2) explicit and implicit mortality reminders, and (3) cultural worldview appeals that could offer water users self-esteem–striving and worldview-defending opportunities. Self-esteem–striving and worldview defences are components of terror management theory’s distal defences, which are used to repress discomforting mortality awareness. We discussed the implications for conservation campaigns containing mortality reminders and/or distal defence opportunities and considered how these potentially undermine residential water-efficiency efforts. Finally, we offered practical recommendations for scholars and practitioners responsible for developing water-efficiency campaigns.

African Metaphysics and Praxis: Revisiting the Idea of Human Development in Yoruba Metaphysical Notion of Omoluabi

The discourse on African metaphysics as it relates to human development is centered around the notion of personhood predominantly extractable from the layers of oral and written traditions across African cultural worldviews. This research aims to critically evaluate the idea of African metaphysics in the light of inquiries surrounding the meaning and nature of human development, through an interrogation of the concept of person and personhood, expressed within the subsets of African socio-cultural conceptualisations, particularly the Yoruba notion of Omoluabi, which will form a crucial layer of engagement for this research. Basically, while (on the one hand); the tendency to see a generic theory of human personality or personhood as tenable everywhere would create a clash of realities in different climes and cultures, (on the other) the differences from culture to culture are perceived dialogically as handed on through stories and histories of human development from birth until death. To this end, this research will interrogate the concept of human development on the basis of how socialisation processes specifically seen through the agencies of local folklores and folktales, customs and traditions tend to interact with, influence as well as impact upon the individual view of self and the other as it relates to the conception of personality, and its succeeding roles within the community. Keywords: Africa, Metaphysics, Communitarianism, Personhood, Human Development.

How to assess conditions for the acceptance of climate change adaptation measures by applying implementation probability Bayesian Networks in participatory processes

Climate change adaptation measures are best identified participatorily, yet their implementation poses challenges. While Bayesian Network (BN) modeling has been widely used to assess how adaptation measures mitigate risks, we present how to develop, in a participatory process, an innovative BN type that quantifies the implementation probability of adaptation measures by considering conditions for actors’ acceptance as well as cultural worldviews. The BN structure was derived from participatorily identified causal networks, while the conditional probability tables were straightforwardly developed with stakeholder-assigned weights. Sensitivity analysis shows how BN structure and parameters influence the BN results. We found that our approach achieves knowledge integration and learning without overwhelming stakeholders with technical details. As BNs enable exploring scenarios, stakeholders learn that many plausible futures exist. Integrating our approach in participatory adaptation processes contributes to identifying the best combinations of implementation actions, reducing the “know-do gap” in local adaptation challenges.

Spontaneous war weddings as a reaction to a national trauma: A terror management theory perspective

On 7 October 2023, 3,000 Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip infiltrated Israel. Over 1,300 people were killed on that day, and over 240 were abducted to Gaza. On October 8, Israel declared war on Hamas. The current study delves into the prevailing phenomenon of spontaneous war weddings held in military settings during the war. Drawing from Terror Management Theory (TMT) and utilizing an ethnographic approach, we analyze published media reports of these weddings. We suggest that this phenomenon is a sign of three terror management anxiety buffer mechanisms activated in view of current national and personal mortality salience: the validation of cultural worldviews; the enhancement of self-esteem; and the pursuit of proximity, in the form of a sense of closeness to attachment figures. All three anxiety-buffer mechanisms contribute to the fortification of psychological defenses, the denial of death, and the maintenance of psychological equanimity in view of this incomprehensible threat.

Whānau wellbeing: reclaiming precolonial Māori perspectives of men, fathers and parenting

ABSTRACT The role of mātua (fathers) in the parenting of their tamariki (children) is bound within cultural worldviews, values, norms and expectations. For pre-colonial Māori, the primal parents, Ranginui (Sky Father) and Papatūānuku (Earth Mother), not only provided an archetypical depiction of parenting, but established child rearing practices, whānau (familial and extended family) roles and responsibilities and the place of individuals, including tamariki and mātua. Colonisation impacted hugely on traditional tamaiti (child) rearing practices, introducing western parenting norms and perspectives. This article explores the knowledge, experiences and understandings of contemporary mātua, related to their ideas about being tāne [The use of the macron above the ā in words such as tane (tāne) and matua (mātua) indicates the plural form is being referred to. Where relevant we have followed this convention throughout] (men) Māori, parenting understandings, roles, relationships and aspirations for their tamariki.

A Theological Reflection on African and Jewish Cultural Views on the Afterlife

This paper examines the African and Jewish views of the afterlife in their cultural contexts. It attempts to draw notable similarities and contrasts between the two. The African view is assessed from a study of relevant literature on the topic while the Jewish view is collated from an Old Testament Scripture passage. The paper evaluates the African afterlife view from a collation of secondary sources that are relevant to the study. It conveys an introduction section to the African view of the afterlife that encapsulates the role of the ancestors and lesser divinities in the African afterlife view. In the Jewish context, the paper evaluates the afterlife from the study of 1 Samuel 28, a passage that reveals the afterlife strand from the context of Jewish theological thought. Samuel’s spirit was recalled from the afterlife abode and he pronounced God’s judgment on king Saul. The paper concludes with a brief summary capturing the key similarities and contrasts between the two cultural worldviews. This study has established that the afterlife is embraced by both societies even though the cultural spectrums on the activities of the spirits of the dead significantly differ in each context. The African and Jewish afterlife views are significant for a cross-cultural religious study between the two views. A comparative study of the two afterlife views is significant in outlining the influence of traditional Jewish theological thought on African Christianity.