O u r Wo r l d v i e w s Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

How Can Understanding

Worldviews Improve Our Lives?
Europe: 1st Century Through the 16th Century

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500
1–4 centuries Roman Empire; 4–15 centuries Byzantine Empire; 4–14 centuries Middle Ages; 14–16 centuries Renaissance

Recent Periods in Japanese History

1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000

1500 Japan was divided among more than 250 warring feudal lords.
1603 Edo Period: Isolation
Japan entered a long period of relative peace and development and
tried to isolate itself from the rest of the world.
1868 Meiji Period: Adaptation and Modernization
Japan rapidly modernized using ideas collected from around the world.
1912 Modern Period
Japan modernized.
2000 Present-day Japan
Aztec History Japan is an influential world leader.

1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600

1100 Leave homeland, Aztlan 1520 Spanish massacre Aztec during
religious festival
1200 Arrive in Valley of Mexico
Noche Triste — Aztec kill
1250 Settle near Lake Texcoco 700 Spaniards and
2000–3000 Tlaxcalans
1300 Build first temple at Tenochtitlan
Moctezuma II killed
1376 Acamapichtli becomes leader Cuitlahuac becomes ruler
Thousands of Aztec die
1428 Itzcoatl becomes leader
from smallpox
Triple Alliance is formed
Cuitlahuac dies
1440 Moctezuma I becomes emperor Cuahtemoc becomes ruler
Alliance controls all of the Valley
1521 Spanish defeat Aztec
of Mexico except Tlaxcala
Aztec Empire collapses
1502 Moctezuma II becomes emperor
1522 Cortés takes control
1519 Moctezuma II meets Cortés Aztec society destroyed
in Tenochtitlan
Cortés takes Moctezuma hostage

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 H o w C a n U n d e r s t a n d i n g Wo r l d v i e w s I m p r o v e O u r L i v e s ?

W h a t H a v e Yo u L e a r n e d A b o u t Wo r l d v i e w ?
In this text, you have studied the worldviews of five societies in
different times and places:
• Renaissance Europe (1350 to 1600): How did
the exchange of ideas and knowledge during
the Renaissance shape the worldview of the
Western world?
• Edo Japan and Meiji Japan (1600 to 1900):
How did beliefs, values, and knowledge shape
the worldview of Japan between 1600 and 1900?
• Spanish and Aztec (700 to 1500):
How did conflicting worldviews lead
to the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec
civilization?

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O u r Wo r l d v i e w s Chapter 10

You have explored ideas showing that

• understanding the worldview of your society helps explain
the choices and decisions you make in your life
• understanding the worldview of your society helps you
understand yourself
• worldview is a complex idea that undergoes change based
on the experiences of that society
• other groups have different worldviews
• other groups with different worldviews make different
choices and decisions

The case studies presented several different ways of looking at

I wonder ... what is the
Canadian worldview?
What do most of us
value and believe about
social systems, political
and economic systems,
and culture?
the world. Each of the three case studies in this text presented an
overview of each society’s worldview. Only general details were given
about the most common elements of each worldview, the commonly
shared values and beliefs about culture, social systems, and political
and economic systems. A generalized worldview does not mean that
all people in that society agreed with all the same values. Other
groups in that society may have had different worldviews.

Elements of Society
That Reflect Worldview gender roles
There are many ways
to describe worldview. personal identity social mobility
This organizer shows a few
of the ways worldview has
been described in this text. Social education
social systems
classes
citizenship

customs and traditions Worldview:

Values and
Beliefs government
Political
daily life
Culture and
economic
systems trade
spirituality

organized business
religion
knowledge arts economy

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 H o w C a n U n d e r s t a n d i n g Wo r l d v i e w s I m p r o v e O u r L i v e s ?

To determine the values and beliefs, or worldviews, of the

Renaissance, Edo Japan, Meiji Japan, the Spanish, and the Aztec
societies, you examined the way they lived — their social systems, Geography
their political and economic systems, and their culture. You
discovered that these three elements are interconnected and that
many of the terms used to describe one element can also be used Worldview:
to describe another element. You explored how your own way Values and
of life is affected by the values and beliefs, or worldview, of Beliefs
Contact
your own society. Ideas and
with other
knowledge
groups
F a c t o r s A f f e c t i n g Wo r l d v i e w
In all three case studies, you explored the three factors that shape
worldview: geography, ideas and knowledge, and contact with other
groups. You examined their impact on the worldview of the case-
study societies. For all five societies, you studied these questions:
• How did geography impact the worldview of that society?
• How did the existing ideas and knowledge, as well as the
discovery of new ideas and knowledge, affect the worldview
of that society?
• How did contact with other groups affect the worldview of
that society?

Two of the societies in this text believed that inquiry, or a way

of thinking that involves questioning, researching, building
new understandings or solutions, and taking social action, was
important. Which two societies believed in inquiry? Why did
these two societies think that inquiry was important? How do
you know they thought it was important?

REFLECT AND RESPOND

1. You have already studied and analyzed the three factors (geography,
ideas and knowledge, contact with other groups) that helped shape the
worldviews of Renaissance Europe, Edo Japan, Meiji Japan, the Spanish,
and the Aztec. You have also learned how the worldview of each of these
societies was reflected through their culture, social systems, and political
and economic systems. Now, as a class, identify common themes about
the worldviews of these societies.

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