General Introduction; D. Aerts. Acknowledgments. Editorial introduction: World views and the problems of synthesis; H. Van Belle, J. Van der Veken. In search of an integrated view on the whole of reality: introducing the (Worldview) project; J. Van der Veken. Symmetry and symmetry-breaking in the philosophy and thinking of Leo Apostel; H. Van Belle. Why not nothing? L. Apostel. Leo Apostel's world-views program in the perspective of his causal ontology. A critical appraisal; D. Batens, W. Christiaens. `The structures of knowledge, or how many ways may we know?' I. Wallerstein. Discourses of globalization and world views; R. Maier. The game of the biomousa: a view of discovery and creation; D. Aerts. The seven keys of any world view; F. Elders. Buddhism as a part of a global understanding of reality; F. Goetghebeur. Synthesizing four ideals of humanity; T. Koizumi. Kantian metaphysics and cognitive science; H. Clapin. Synthesizing constructivism and critical realism: towards critical pluralism; J. Mingers. Science and the human: complementarity as reconciliation; Y. Ben-Dov. Conditions and features of unity concepts in science; V. Kuznetsov. Beyond `Einstein', `Magritte', and `Quine'; P.L. Peterson. Not even classical mechanics is mechanistic; H.H. von Borzeszkowski, R. Wahsner. The synergetic worldview and its synergetic value; H. Knyazeva. Prospectus for polyscopic modeling; D. Karabeg. Polyscopic study of a basic cultural pattern; D. Karabeg. Turing meets Thoreau. An ecological approach to computer science; D. Siefkes. Towards a `virtual' rationality? F. Campos. The cycle of integration and disintegration applied to Western society: a framework for a fundamental prevention of delinquency; J. Deklerck, A. Depuydt.