Worldview Analysis Timeline

PRE-MODERN
Pre-and Ancient history
"It is what it is, 'cause I can see it... and grandpa told me so!"
Early pagan cultures, mythologies, polytheists
Later on the time line: neopaganism, Wicca, occult

Once culture stabilizes enough, philosophy can emerge... people start to question all the old ways of thinking and postulate new, intellectual ideas. For Western culture, we look to the first millennium B.C. The Golden Age Greeks -- featuring some of the world's most revolutionary philosophers -- who made the transition from polytheism to a wide variety of worldviews, all grounded in rational inquiry.

MODERN
Classical history, Renaissance, Enlightenment
"Truth is rational. We must analyze it. There is a right answer."
Classical Greece and Rome, rationalism, humanism, science
Romanticism, socialism, communism, utilitarianism

Eventually, when people realize that rational philosophy has not brought all the right answers, culture begins to (again) dismiss old ways of thinking, even to the point of dismissing "truth." In Western culture, we look to the 19th Century. Utilitarianism is a transition of sorts, as pain and pleasure are viewed as the only intrinsic values, and therfore the ends justify the means. Romanticism can also be viewed as transitional, as it dismisses a purely rational assessment of truth, relying on subjective perceptions and feelings.

POST-MODERN
Late 19th Century and contemporary
"There is no absolute truth."
Nihilism, existentialism