1

As a homework, I have to describe the "Weltanschauung" of somebody, but I'm confused what exactly that means.

In When to use “Weltanschauung” vs. “Ideologie”? Do they basically have the same meaning?, @TomAu writes:

A literal translation of Weltanschauung is "world view." It is the prism ("spectacles" if you will) through which one views the world.

I agree with that - but still I'm unsure what that exactly means. (That implies, this question doesn't help me deciding which of the cited sentences below is part of "Weltanschauung")

Up to now, I thought that would not include a statement like: "He is disgusted by sexuality". Instead, "Weltanschauung" includes in my eyes: "In his point of view, sexuality is animal-like". Am I correct?

Community
  • 1
uuu
  • 307
  • 1
  • 5
  • 1
    Do you want to know what the word means in English or in German? If in English, then you should ask somewhere else. If in German, then you probably write German well enough to ask the question in German. – Carsten S Dec 16 '16 at 13:29
  • 1
    @CarstenS I want to know the german definition. But I'm as always unsure whether I should write my questions in german or english. The reason why i've written this question in english is: I estimate it as more useful. I estimate, that a very high percentage of the german speaking users of this site do also speak english very well - That means, german-learning persons can profit from my question and german-speaking persons don't get harmed. – uuu Dec 16 '16 at 13:34
  • 2
    Ask the question in whichever language you prefer. – Em1 Dec 16 '16 at 13:37
  • 3
    Es gibt einen ganzen Wikipediaartikel zu "Weltanschauung" https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weltanschauung – Iris Dec 16 '16 at 14:01
  • Sicher kannst Du auf Englisch fragen, wenn Du das möchtest. – Carsten S Dec 16 '16 at 15:25
  • 1
    Possible duplicate of When to use "Weltanschauung" vs. "Ideologie"? Do they basically have the same meaning? – Tom Au Dec 16 '16 at 17:25
  • @TomAu this question doesn't help me deciding which of my cited sentences is part of "Weltanschauung". – uuu Dec 16 '16 at 20:39
  • The wikipedia article about Weltanschauung is also available in english: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_view – Hubert Schölnast Dec 17 '16 at 15:16
  • @Hubert The Englisch Wikipedia's article seems to cover only the usage of Weltanschauung before the Nazis got their paws on it. The German article has a reference to Klemperer's LTI, which should be noted by everyone using the word. Outside of historic context the word Weltanschauung is totally inexcusable in my opinion. – I'm with Monica Dec 19 '16 at 17:16

1 Answers1

2

Up to now, I thought that would not include a statement like: "He is disgusted by sexuality". Instead, "Weltanschauung" includes in my eyes: "In his point of view, sexuality is animal-like". Am I correct?

IMHO, if it is just a matter of taste, it does not fall under Weltanschauung. Weltanschauung is based on principles or ethical insights, where from certain ways to act or think can be derived.

Hence, if I don't drink beer because I don't like the taste, it is not Weltanschauung. If I don't drink it because I think that there is an almighty being that forbade it and will cast me into hell for transgressions, it is Weltanschauung (more specifically Religion, in this case).

Ingo
  • 1,868
  • 12
  • 12