ABSTRACT

Human beings are powerfully shaped—and divided—by their worldviews, or beliefs about ultimate questions. Psychology, for all of its insight into the human condition, has at times had difficulty applying its own insights to itself. The possibility of democratic grounds for worldview pluralism has been recognized at least to some extent within the North American university, the best example of which might be the emergence of aboriginal studies within Canada. Worldview pluralism is complicated by the role of emotion in belief. For W. James, the more people feel, the more they tend to believe. The historical narrative suggests the existence of massive historical forces that could very well be strike three for worldview pluralism. So one of the great goals of worldview pluralism would be a more reflexive, worldview-aware mainstream psychological science (MPS) which recognizes its non-neutrality vis-a-vis worldviews, its corresponding limitations and blind spots, and, crucially, its need for other non-MPS psychologies to flourish.