Dünya Görüşü Fenomeninin Bağlantısallık Yaklaşımıyla Yorumlanması
Meryem Başkurt SabazBirey, parçası olduğu toplum ve çevresini kuşatan kültürün içinde kendisini konumlandırdığı noktadan dünyayı deneyimleyerek anlamlandırmakta, zihninde dünyayı bir tablo biçiminde yorumlamasının sonucunda dünya görüşü ortaya çıkmaktadır. İlk olarak fizikte sözü edilen, daha sonra felsefe ve dilbilim disiplinlerinde araştırmalara konu edilen dünya görüşünün böyle genel bir tanımı, terimin paradigmatik ve ontolojik yönüne ışık tutmaktadır. Bağlantısal bütünsellik, her bir birimin bir üst birimin parçası olduğu ve aralarındaki enformasyon bağlantısı sayesinde bir bütün oluşturduğu ağ yapılarını tanımlamak için kullanılmaktadır. Burada bağlantısal bütünselliğin yanı sıra, bireyin deneyimlerinin depolandığı, nöronlar arası bağlantılar sayesinde meydana gelen ve beynin bağlantısallığını ifade eden ağ anlamına gelen konnektom teriminin önemi ortaya çıkmaktadır. 21. yüzyılda nörobilim çalışmalarının bilim dünyasına kazandırdığı önemli terimlerden biri olan bağlantısal bütünsellik terimi, yaşamın her alanına uygulanabilirliği açısından, dünya görüşü fenomenini de tüm yönleriyle açıklığa kavuşturmayı mümkün kılmaktadır. Düşünce, insan, dünya, gerçeklik, kültür ve dil düzleminde bütünsel açıdan ele alınması gereken dünya görüşü ile özgül yapısı gereği bütünsellik taşıyan bağlantısallık yaklaşımı arasında hem ortaklık hem de disiplinler arasılık söz konusudur. Özetle söylenecek olursa, dünya görüşü fenomeninde bağlantısal bütünselliğin dil ve kültür izdüşümü sonucunda meydana geldiği düşünülmektedir. Dil ve kültür, dünya görüşü ağının temel parçalarıdır. Bu bağlamda dünya görüşü fenomeni bağlantısal bütünsellik yaklaşımı vasıtasıyla açıklığa kavuşturulmuştur.
Interpreting the Phenomenon of Worldview with the Connectional Completeness Approach
Meryem Başkurt SabazIndividuals make sense of the world by experiencing it from the point where they position themself in the society of which they are a part and the culture surrounding them, and their worldview emerges by interpreting the world in the form of a picture in their mind. Such a general definition of worldview was first mentioned in physics, then in philosophy and linguistics, and enlightens the paradigmatic and ontological aspects of the term. Connectional completeness is used to describe network structures formed by the information connections among the parts of a whole. Here, the importance of the term “connectome” emerges, which is the network in which the individual’s experiences are stored and formed through neural connections; it expresses the connectivity of the brain. As one of the important terms neuroscience studies have brought to the scientific world in the 21st century, connectional completeness allows the phenomenon of worldview to be clarified in all its aspects, especially in terms of its applicability to all areas of life. Both commonality and interdisciplinarity occur within the worldview, and this should be evaluated completely along the planes of thought, people, world, reality, culture, and language using the connectivity approach, which is connective due to its specific structure. In summary, the connectional completeness in the worldview phenomenon is thought to occur along the projection of language and culture, which are fundamental parts of the worldview network. In this context, the phenomenon of worldview is defined by the connectional completeness approach.
Despite the fact that worldview seems like a new concept, it is actually as old as human history. The creation of the first worldviews in humanity coincides with the emergence of evolutionary biology. However, it has only become a subject of scientific and philosophical thought in recent times.1 A worldview becomes possible when the existence of a being is sought and found in the representation of the being. Because such an interpretation of being is impossible, a worldview was unable to be mentioned either in the Middle Ages or in ancient times. Transforming the world into a painting is the hallmark of the New Age.2
While some researchers claim the term worldview in philosophy to have been first introduced by Friedrich Schleiermarcher, most researchers defend the term as having been first introduced by Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) in his work Kritik der Urteilskraft [The Critique of Judgment], published in 1790, Kant defined worldview as an ability that enables the subject to reach a holistic understanding. According to Kant, worldview is an innate mental ability that enables humans to talk about the same world.3
Individual, who are believed to be born equipped with cognitive ability, attribute indirect meanings to the world in accordance with the perspective of the language they speak. These accepted meanings available in language reflect the worldview, which is the whole of social values. Therefore, individuals learn to associate language with their life experiences from the moment they are born. For individuals, language is a means of acquiring knowledge. Representing the world, language and culture reach to the individual by being filtered from the depths of social memory. Values, facts, rules, and many other things adopted by society over time are learned and applied to life. The messages of society become meaningful for individuals due to the testimony of the language. In a way, language serves to organize social relations.
The concept of connectome, which is defined as “brain connectivity, integrity; neuro-mind,” becomes important when elucidating human individuality, social connectivity, or common behavior in humans.4 A connectome is a comprehensive map of neural connections, the purpose of which is to elucidate brain function. Connectome means the totality of mental states that an individual can experience. In this sense, “to know something” means to be able to objectify the mental state that represents the corresponding concept.5 Connectome is more than the accumulation of large amounts of empirical data. The structure of the connectome also keeps a record of the organism’s history. Connectivity is shaped by natural selection in evolution and is constantly reshaped by development and experiences. Thus, the connectome reflects the history of both the species and the individual.6
According to the connectional completeness approach, the fact that everything is meaningful within the information network in which it exists not only reveals the functioning of the brain but also sheds light on the holistic aspect of the world view. If the worldview is thought of as a tree, parts such as people, language, society, and culture all form the branches and trunk of the tree. The strong information network between each part, from the roots to the leaves, shapes the world view. In this context, ignoring any of the branches of the tree makes getting to the roots of the worldview impossible.
In worldview, connectivity occurs through language and culture. Terms such as ideological, political, and individual worldview have reduced the basic meaning of worldview to special meanings; these have not only narrowed its scope but also changed its content. This phenomenon, which first had philosophical and then linguistic, sociological, psychological, and anthropological foundations, can be interpreted differently in line with the developments in the field of social physics. However, a different perspective has not yet been introduced according to modern-day standards. Therefore, although this study takes new developments in natural sciences into account in an attempt to explain the worldview phenomenon, something that has been researched and framed for centuries, the philosophical and linguistic perspectives have been decisive.
