Monistic and Pluralistic Worldview and its Influence on Teaching Practice
Introduction
Most people in America do not even realize their worldview, with some holding pluralistic/dualist or monistic views. Each of these views creates different perspectives on individuals on the teaching and learning process. Monism refers to the idea that everything could be summed up to a single reality; dualism refers to the notion that all things could be reduced to two concepts/facts, while pluralism means that there are multiple substances, ideas, and concepts. Therefore, this report will provide a brief overview of the three worldviews, their fundamental components, the contrast existing between then, and a synopsis on how holding either of the worldview influences personal teaching practice.
A brief overview of the nature of monistic and dualistic/pluralistic worldviews. What are the fundamental components of each type of worldview?
The monistic worldview came in the 18th century, introduced by Christina Wolff. She tried to eliminate the concept of body and mind and introduce phenomena that explain everything according to one unifying principle. According to David Cornell, “monism is the view that there is only a single material object in existence: the world” (Cornell, 2016). Therefore, this view means that besides the universe, not everything else that people know of exists. This worldview has thus received so much criticism and objection since, as common sense would suggest, there is pluralism of things.
However, monism exists in different types: substance monism, priority monism, attributive monism, partial monism, property monism, and genus monism. However, regardless of the kind of monism, they all argue that there is only one reality. Still, the plurality that could exist for substances is only because of a substance’s appearance, but they are of the same kind.
Dualism refers to the concept that everything could be reduced to just two components. The primary philosophical argument on dualism is the dualism of mind that argues that there is a difference between the mind and matter. According to Scott Calef, “these philosophy dualists deny that the mind is the same as the brain, and some deny that the mind is a product of the brain” (Calef, 2000). Interactionism in dualism argues that the mind and the body interact and can affect each other. On the other hand, occasionalism holds that the mind and the body do not interact. In contrast, parallelism has that our mental and histories are coordinated so that mental events seem to be causing physical events. According to dualism, there can only be two conflicting views on a subject: good and bad, man and woman.
Unlike dualism and monism, pluralism is the most enticing worldview since it suggests that there are many ways to explain the world, the universe, existence, and purpose. According to Rev. Kendell Healy, “pluralism at its best honors basic human rights such as individual freedom and freedom to worship God according to the dictates of one’s own conscience” (Healy, 2015). Most people ascribe to the worldview that gives one a multi-perspective towards different things in the world.
A clear contrast of monistic and dualistic/pluralistic worldviews.
Monistic, dualistic, and pluralistic worldviews all share specific differences, including clear perspectives on different aspects of the world. The monistic and dualistic view’s significant difference is that the monistic worldview argues that all things exist in one kind and idea, the world. At the same time, dualism contends that all things happen in two views: good and evil. “Dualism is the position of those thinkers who find some radical and irreducible difference in the world, an insuperable gulf between two realms of being” (Encyclopedia, 2020). On the other hand, pluralism is the worldview holding more than two perspectives on the world.
In the philosophy of mind, “monism is the doctrine that denies any difference between physical brain and the abstract concept of the mind” (Russ, 2020). Monism claims these are two different parts of the same entity. This perspective differs significantly with a dualism that holds that human beings have two parts, the body and the soul. The significant difference between monism and dualism in this philosophy is that monism argues that the body and soul/mind must coexist. In contrast, dualism contends that the mind can exist separately from the body.
Morally the difference between moral monism and moral pluralism is that moral monism is the view that it is necessary to choose only one theory for your ethical decisions. On the other hand, moral pluralism believes it is not required to select a single moral view. An individual can move from one theory to another as necessary. In religion, monists believe in one God that has different incarnations that appear to do various tasks. At the same time, pluralists allow people the freedom of worship, which could be monotheistic or polytheistic, meaning believing in one supreme God or many gods, respectively.
A synopsis of how holding a monistic or dualistic/pluralistic worldview influences your teaching practice.
Holding either a monistic, dualistic, or pluralistic worldview is bound to impact the beliefs and perspectives that one brings in the teaching and learning process. Therefore, it is essential to recognize that others may bring different perspectives to the teaching and learning experience. Also, the personal assumptions of an educator influence the teaching and learning process. In adult learning, adult learners bring their life experiences in class as part of their learning process, and therefore their perspective and beliefs influence their learning process.
In today’s society, most people hold pluralistic views on things. People believe there are always different perspectives on everything and oppose any argument that focuses on one perception, such as monism. If quality is to be achieved in higher education, then the stakeholder’s worldview towards education must be considered. “According to Julio Bertolin, “the understanding of higher education derives directly from the conceptualization of society, of economics and politics, i.e., from the worldview of those who express their opinions about the issue. Therefore, the understanding of quality in higher education relies ultimately on the stakeholder’s worldview” (Bertolin, 2013). Starting by considering that there is always a different view and perspective towards a particular concept develops ways to improve teaching and learning processes.
Monism believes that there is only the world, and therefore, nothing else exists; dualism holds there are only two perspectives in the world, while pluralism has multi attitudes towards things. These views shape the learner and the teacher’s experience and influence their learning and teaching practice, respectively. For instance, a teacher who holds the dualistic view may have an irreducible difference in the world, like attending lectures or failing. He or she may not forget to consider that there could be other reasons why one could not participate in class and maybe another perspective or way of the student passing without having to attend class. Personal assumptions of learners influence their cooperation in the learning process. A student who believes that her destiny is figured out may need the educator to connect her belief with the idea that studying is part of destiny. This may not be such an issue in andragogy as students are self-motivated and directed, unlike in pedagogy. However, the educator still needs to allow the chance of an individual’s experiences in the learning process.
Being a teacher, you have to bring coherence between the worlds the student experiences and the values that apply to it and the influence of these experiences on the learning content. According to Rob Lindeman, “teaching methods that move along a continuum of deconstruction and reconstruction strategies along with active learning exercises, which helps set a trajectory for students’ ongoing worldview development are a step towards achieving this coherence of worldviews” (Lindeman, 2016). Adult learning activities that involve students being involved in their learning process, experiential learning that allows them to apply their previous experiences in the teaching and active learning, help students connect their world experiences with their learning process, making both learning and teaching easy.
Conclusion
Sometimes, people do not recognize how their worldviews and perspectives influence their daily actions. Their assumptions equally affect teachers and learners in their class activity. For instance, if a learner assumes that God is the reason why he will pass regardless of how much he studies, then the educator has to find a way to reconcile this assumption with the reality that he has to learn. As an educator, I will find a way to make studying enjoyable and attainable but not belittling God’s position in the whole process, finding a unifying factor between the worldview experiences and reality makes the teaching and learning process manageable.