Bias vs. Perspective and Worldview: Definitions Matter

When was the last time you heard someone talk about bias? It’s a term frequently thrown around in mass media, especially when it comes to politics. Phrases such as “everything has bias” and “you can’t escape your own biases” have become common in an attempt to subtly make the truth appear relative and subjective. These slogans that are so common in our world got me thinking; does everything really have bias? And where do perspectives and worldviews fit in? Are they synonyms for bias? Can truth be biased and is that okay?

Naturally, defining these words is a good place to start in our journey to understanding these three terms. According to Merriam Webster, the word “bias” is the weakest of the three, defined as “an inclination of temperament or outlook, especially a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment.” From this angle, there are a lot of personality-level things that can be presented as inherently biased; however, all these things are subjective and superficial in nature. The fact that some people prefer vanilla over chocolate or are a morning person or night owl are just a couple of simple examples of personal “inclinations of temperament or outlook” playing out in everyday life.

However, the definition of bias does not stop here. Because bias is simply an internal inclination towards something, an inclination which can often be unreasonable and affect our judgment according to the definition, bias is not aligned with truth due its compatibility with sin. Everyone has certain temptations, certain sins they will struggle with during their lifetime that can distort their judgment and therefore would be considered biases. This type of bias is the kind normally referred to rather than the personal preferences kind, and these biases are more serious because they have moral consequences.

For example, it is morally wrong to kill unborn babies simply because they are in a different location or stage of development than another human being. This is a truthful statement and cannot be batted down by those who believe differently. They may try to claim that those who hold to the biological and moral fact that life begins at conception are biased in the pro-life direction, but in reality the accuser is only revealing their bias towards a state of woeful ignorance of the biological and medical facts, a desire for convenience, or some other desire. The Bible says that man’s heart is “deceitful above all things and desperately wicked;” therefore, it follows that no man’s heart will be “biased” towards the truth. Truth is something that cannot be biased because we must learn to love it; we must learn to serve God and not our desires, to love our neighbor more than ourselves. Therefore, bias cannot contain or result in truth but it can result in sinful thoughts and actions.

Oftentimes the term bias has been covertly confused with both “perspective” and “worldview,” resulting in them all being lumped together and condemned, especially in political media, as synonyms for subjective agendas and “bias”when such could not be further from the truth. Perspective is a step up from bias because it is observing multiple things and combining them to create a mental picture of reality. Merriam Webster defines it as “the interrelation in which a subject or its parts are mentally viewed.” One’s perspective is based on observable reality which is typically restricted to the life experiences of the individual and those closest to them. Therefore, perspective can contain truth; it is not alienated from truth like bias because perspective is based in a reality that transcends the individual more so than bias, which is distinctly subjective. However, one’s perspective can still be transitory and easily twisted away from truth because experience, though an asset that one can learn from, once again has a subjective bent.

So, if bias is subjective and perspective can easily become distorted, where does worldview fit into this picture? Worldview is defined as “a comprehensive conception or apprehension of the world especially from a specific standpoint.” Your worldview is the lens through which you view and interpret everything that you observe in life. It reaches farther into your life than perspective and is stronger than just a preference to believing particular things – a worldview is a premeditated approach that requires study to determine what you believe and why you believe it. Therefore, we have to bring our biases and perspectives into subjection to our worldview to live a consistent life.

With a worldview, the stakes are higher. Either one is basing their life and how they see the world on truth or else they are basing it on a variety of errors and lies. Because a worldview is comprehensive, it does not have the limitations of personal experience like perspective or personal preferences and struggles like bias; rather, a worldview helps one make as objective a decision as possible by serving as the tool to discern when our perspectives and biases are out of touch with reality and ultimate truth. This is the only one of the three words that is completely outside of oneself – no preferences or background experience required.

So the next time you hear someone in politics trying to downplay someone’s stance on an issue as reflecting “bias towards a particular side,” take a moment and ask yourself a couple of questions: is this person expressing a subjective like or dislike? Are they sharing their experience on the situation? Is the issue at hand a moral one? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, knowing the differences between bias, perspective, and worldview will help you determine the best way to proceed with the information given.