Views of the universe are views of the self. But spiritually that is a decisive objection. The 'practical man of the world' defines everything in terms of the status quo. He is convinced that any change in the prevailing meta systems, in the current ideology, is only possible at the risk of anarchy, and that to believe in anything else is to indulge in illusion. Yet, the greatest illusion of all is to think of the present as fixed, as a piece of machinery which can be kept going forever by replacing a few parts here and there, and patching up the rest.
Any social fabric can take only so much patchwork.
The pragmatist is, at least theoretically, prepared to test the value of his beliefs by evaluating their consequences. The practical man of the world, on the other hand, has a mind closed by the current ideology. The fist, most intimate, basic level, is what we could call the Personal one. It is the level of what one is oneself, his 'true' self, his special gift or talent, what he feels himself to be deep down inside, the person he talks to when he is alone, the secret hero of his inner scenario. The second or next highest level we could call the Social.