The big idea
Nobody is neutral. Every person is running a worldview, examined or not.
Truth is not complicated to define: a statement is true if it matches reality. "It is raining" is true when it is raining. That definition holds whether or not anyone likes the statement, and it applies to religious claims exactly as it applies to weather.
A worldview is the set of answers a person carries about where everything came from, what humans are, what is wrong with the world, and how it gets fixed. Atheism is a worldview. So is secular humanism. So is Christianity. The interesting question is never "who has a bias" — everyone does — but "whose account of reality actually holds together."
Test a worldview three ways. Is it internally consistent, or does it contradict itself? Does it explain what we actually observe — moral outrage, consciousness, beauty, evil? And can the person live it consistently, or do they have to borrow from another worldview to get through a Tuesday?
Key argument
Three tests for a worldview
- 1Consistency: does it contradict itself?
- 2Explanatory power: does it account for what we actually observe?
- 3Livability: can a person actually live as though it were true?
The objection
"Truth is relative. What is true for you is not true for me."
Best response
That works for preferences — you like cilantro, I do not. It breaks for claims about reality. If someone says "there is no objective truth," ask whether that statement is objectively true. It cannot survive its own standard.
Mistake to avoid
Using this as a gotcha. The self-refutation point is real, but delivered smugly it makes people defend a position they were only half holding.
Conversation move
"So what is your account of where morality comes from? I am genuinely curious how the pieces fit together for you."
Memory line
"Everyone stands somewhere. The question is whether the ground holds."
Practice
Someone tells you all truth is relative. Write the shortest respectful question that exposes the tension.
Self-check
2 questions to check the idea stuck. This one is just for you — it is not scored and does not affect your quiz accuracy. The path quiz is the graded one.
Which is NOT one of the three worldview tests in this lesson?
"There is no objective truth" is a self-refuting statement.
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