World

The world is the whole of everything that exists. It includes all space, time, and all that is, has been, and will be. People have thought about the world in many different ways. Some believe the world is one single thing, while others see it as made up of many parts.

In science, the world or universe is seen as everything that exists. In philosophy, it is what our minds try to understand. In religion, the world is often thought of in relation to a higher power, like God.

The word "world" can also mean just the Earth and all life on it, or all of humanity together. We talk about world history, which is the story of all humans, and world politics, which looks at issues that affect many countries. There are also ideas like world languages, world wars, and world championships.

Etymology

The word world in English comes from an old language called Old English, where it was weorold. This word is related to words in other old languages like Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Old Dutch, Old High German, and Old Norse.

In Latin, the word used is mundus, which means 'clean' or 'elegant'. This Latin word was inspired by the Greek word cosmos, meaning 'orderly arrangement'. The Germanic idea of world focused on the life of humans, while the Greek idea focused on creating order from disorder.

Conceptions

Different areas of study think about the world in many ways. Some believe there is only one world, while others think there could be many worlds. These ideas can be simple or very complex.

In science, the world or universe is seen as all of space and time together — everything that exists, has existed, and will exist. This includes not just space and time, but also energy, matter, and natural laws. Modern science uses ideas like spacetime and wave functions to understand the world.

In philosophy, the idea of "possible worlds" helps explain how things might have been different from how they actually are. For example, one possible world could be a place where events turned out differently.

In studying how we experience things, the world is linked to our horizons — the things we see around us that shape our understanding.

Different religious views also have unique ideas about the world and its relationship to a higher power.

History of philosophy

The word "world" means different things in philosophy. Sometimes it means everything that exists, like the universe. Other times, it means something more special, about how we understand what is real.

Plato thought there were two kinds of worlds. One is the world we can see and touch, with things that change. The other is a world of perfect ideas, like beauty and goodness, that never change. He believed the world we see is only a copy of these perfect ideas.

Ludwig Wittgenstein said, "The world is everything that is the case," meaning all the facts about what exists.

Martin Heidegger believed that each person's world is different, even though we all live in the same place.

Eugen Fink thought the world is more than just all the things in it. He said the world gives those things a place to exist and helps us understand them, like how we play games to imagine different places and stories.

Nelson Goodman argued that because some facts seem to contradict each other, we must think of different "world versions." For example, one way to describe the world says the earth moves around the sun, while another says the sun moves around the earth. Each description is true in its own world version.

Religion

Mythological stories often show the world as centered around a special point, with borders like a big ocean or a giant snake.

Hinduism has many ideas about the world. One idea says that reality has two parts: the self and the world around us. This world follows rules of cause and effect. Another idea says that the many things we see are actually an illusion, and there is only one true reality.

In Christianity, some believe the world is a place of temptation away from God.

In Islam, the world is called "dunya," meaning the temporary, physical world. Teachings often encourage focusing more on the spiritual world and the afterlife instead of just this world.

In Mandaeism, the world is seen as a place between a world of light and a world of darkness.

Related terms and problems

Worldviews

A worldview is a way of understanding the world and our place in it. It is a personal view that helps us make sense of everything around us. Only humans can have worldviews because we can think about big ideas and how everything fits together. Worldviews help us understand not just what is true, but also what matters in life and how we should behave. They can be unique to one person or shared by many people in a culture or religion.

Paradox of many worlds

The idea of many different worlds appears in many areas. For example, some theories talk about many possible worlds, and everyday language often refers to different "worlds" like the world of music or sports. However, this can seem confusing because a world is usually thought of as everything that exists. One way to understand this is to think of worlds as different areas of focus or discussion, like when we talk about the world in a book or the world of nature.

Cosmogony

Main article: Cosmogony

Cosmogony is the study of how the world began. This includes both scientific ideas and stories from religions. The main scientific idea is the Big Bang theory, which says that the universe began about 13.8 billion years ago from a single point. This point exploded, and over time, it led to the formation of stars, galaxies, and everything we see today. Many cultures also have their own stories about how the world was created, often involving gods or other powerful forces.

Eschatology

Main article: Eschatology

Eschatology is the study of the end of things, whether it is the end of a person’s life or the end of the world. It is often linked with religions, especially the Abrahamic religions. Some scientific ideas also explore what might happen far in the future to our universe. One idea is that the universe might one day collapse back into a single point, but current evidence suggests it will continue to expand forever.

World history

World history looks at the whole world from a historical point of view. Instead of focusing on single countries, it studies larger regions and how people, goods, and ideas move between them. It also looks at big changes that affect many places, like the start of farming around 10,000 to 8,000 BCE, known as the Neolithic Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution around 1760 CE, which changed how things were made. Another way to look at history is by studying big changes in thoughts and beliefs, like those that happened around 800 to 200 BCE, called the Axial Age. Some ways of understanding history also look at how different parts of the world have been important at different times.

World politics

World politics, also called global politics or international relations, studies issues that affect the whole world, not just single countries. It looks at how countries and other groups, like companies or organizations, interact with each other. It tries to explain big events like the September 11 attacks, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, or the 2008 financial crisis.

Different ideas help explain these complex patterns. Some think countries are the most important players, while others include groups like the United Nations or the World Trade Organization. Some believe that people and their choices can change how countries act and relate to each other.