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500 BCE
Greek & Roman (Classical) Worldview
The Classical worldview valued human reason, balance, order, and the search for truth through logic and philosophy. It emphasized the potential and beauty of humankind.
Artwork: Discobolus (The Discus Thrower) by Myron -
1400
Medieval Worldview (Middle Ages)
Centered on faith, hierarchy, and divine authority, this worldview saw life as a journey toward the afterlife, with the Church guiding truth and knowledge.
Artwork: The Last Judgment (part of the stained-glass windows at Chartres Cathedral) -
Renaissance Worldview
The Renaissance revived Classical ideas, highlighting human creativity, scientific inquiry, and individual achievement, often blending art, faith, and reason.
Artwork: The School of Athens by Raphael -
Enlightenment Worldview
This worldview trusted reason and science to improve society, advancing ideas like liberty, progress, and secular government through logic and intellectual exploration.
Artwork: An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump by Joseph Wright of Derby -
Romantic Worldview
Romanticism reacted to the Enlightenment by valuing deep emotion, personal experience, nature, and imagination as ways to understand truth and beauty.
Artwork: Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich -
Victorian Worldview
The Victorian era emphasized moral responsibility, social order, and progress, but also wrestled with industrialization, scientific discoveries, and questions of faith.
Artwork: The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse -
Modern Worldview (Modernism)
Modernism challenged old structures and embraced innovation, often expressing feelings of disillusionment, fragmentation, and the search for new meaning in a changing world.
Artwork: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Pablo Picasso -
Postmodern Worldview
Postmodernism questioned the existence of absolute truths, embraced paradox and irony, and explored multiple viewpoints, often through playful or abstract art and literature.
Artwork: Campbell’s Soup Cans by Andy Warhol.
The artist's use of commercial imagery questions what counts as art and mocks consumer culture, perfectly capturing Postmodernism’s irony and skepticism. -
Post-Postmodernism / Metamodernism
This emerging worldview blends sincerity and hope with the complexity of modern life, aiming to move beyond cynicism by embracing both emotion and reason. Dates: ~2000 – Present
Artwork: The Clock by Christian Marclay (2010)
This 24-hour video montage made of thousands of film clips plays in real time, reflecting today's blend of sincerity, time-awareness, and a search for meaning in fragmented media.