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It is widely recognized that most of the civilizations and cultures that gained prominence in the course of history and had an enduring influence possessed, in different historical ages, a general and comprehensive view of the nature of the universe, man, and life in general. Most of the time, this comprehensive view found expression either in mythology and epic, religion in a wide sense, broad philosophical speculation, or through a mix of these means and factors.

Expression of this comprehensive view in a particular culture might take place officially or consciously, in the words of philosophers, major thinkers, or canonical religious books, or it might take place in a spontaneous, unconscious way through its poets, artists, or leaders in general. For the sake of brevity, I will call the collection of comprehensive views about the nature of the universe that prevail in a particular era “the world picture” of that era (or of that civilization or any definite historical period in the life of mankind).

The study of the prevailing world picture in a particular age or at a particular stage of civilization reveals to us the totality of the most general views that permeate the thinking of that age and of its modes of work and production. In other words, it reveals to us a whole set of views and opinions, at a very high level of acceptance, generality, and comprehensiveness, that the age takes for granted intuitively and unconsciously about the origins of mankind and its fate, about knowledge, society, ethics, work, the production [A 128] of wealth, and so on.

Naturally, the contents of the world picture of a certain age are related to human life in society and strongly reflect a) the specific nature of the existing social relations, b) the means of production of wealth, and c) the degree of progress attained by the instruments of the production of that wealth. They are also dialectically related to a) the particular kind of science prevalent in that age, b) the degree of progress attained by that science, and c) the conception that that age has about the method which permits man to acquire reliable knowledge about all the important aspects of life and what affects them.