My View of Philosophy, Blog 5

Katelyn Parmenter

Mrs. Wagener

AP English 11

8 August 2013

                                                           My View of Philosophy

                Sophie’s World is a philosophical novel full of claims and truths made by many philosophers. The topics in the novel range from dreams to nature to women. All of these ideas come from intelligent individuals. These philosophers did not aim to please the public when they did their research and made their opinions public. I do not agree with all of the claims in the novel. Even though a few of the claims did not settle well with me, I still kept an open mind as I read Sophie’s World.

            In the beginning of Sophie’s World, I learned that Parmenides thought that nothing in the world could ever change, while Heraclitus thought that the world was in a constant state of change. Heraclitus could tell the world was always changing because he trusted his senses. I do not agree with Parmenides. The world changes every day, especially nature; trees are cut down, new animals are born, and new plant species are discovered. Also, a human’s senses allow them to know what is going on around them when a part of their body is incapable of doing its job. For example, if someone cannot hear, they can use their eyes to infer about the sounds that are surrounding them.

Further along in the book, Alberto teaches Sophie about empiricism. Empiricists believe that there is nothing in the mind that is not first in the senses. In other words, a human has no ideas about the world that they have not witnessed or heard about. I agree with the empiricists and Aristotle. Their claim ties into dreams. Every face seen in a dream has been seen in reality. The brain is not capable of creating human faces. Dreams are thoughts and experiences turned into scenes.

            In Sophie’s World, the course of philosophy Sophie is learning is centered on one main analogy: most people in the universe are deep inside a white rabbit’s fur not thinking of unusual questions about the world while philosophers are trying to climb those hairs to look directly into the magician’s eyes to uncover the truths about the planet. I see myself as someone who is slowly working their way up the hairs. I had not really thought about philosophy until I was given the task of reading Sophie’s World. Reading this novel resulted in me thinking about philosophical questions I never had before. I am learning to look at my surroundings and the world in a different light, thanks to Jostein Gaarder’s novel.

The Red Tinted Glasses, Blog 4

Katelyn Parmenter

Mrs. Wagener

AP English 11

6 August 2013

The Red Tinted Glasses

            Life is a complicated journey filled with pleasant and mediocre experiences. All of these experiences impact the outlook on life. A person can choose to be optimistic and find the upside in every situation, or they can be pessimistic and look at the negative side of everything. A person’s attitude greatly affects the way they perceive all situations in life.

            In the “Kant” chapter of Sophie’s World, Alberto uses a pair of glasses with red lenses to explain the way a person can perceive reality. Everything that goes on around a person is a definite part of their life, but the glasses they are wearing determine how they see those events. The red lenses represent one’s outlook on life. When Sophie put on the glasses, everything around her turned a shade of red, but when she took the glasses off, she saw everything in its actual color. The red tinted glasses changed the way she saw life around her.

            In my sixteen years of experience, I have learned that it is difficult to always have a positive outlook on reality. It is easy to dwell on all of the negative things that have occurred in my life. Focusing on my pain and heartache results in a dull view of my experiences. To live a fulfilled and joyous life, I have to wear the right glasses.

            “… we cannot know with certainty what the world is like ‘in itself.’ We can only know what the world is like ‘for me’—or for everybody.” This quote, said by Alberto in Sophie’s World, tells readers that no one will ever know the true characteristics of the world. A person only knows what life is like according to their own experiences. The view of reality varies from every individual. The world is not a terrible place because I have had an unhappy life nor is it a wonderful place because I have had an easy and carefree life. I will never know exactly what the world is like.

            Life will always consist of ups and downs. No one will ever go through life without a single rough patch. Even though rough patches can tear a person down, they can stand right back up and see reality in a positive light if they wear the right type of glasses.

Christianizing Philosophy, Blog 3

Katelyn Parmenter

 

Mrs. Wagener

 

AP English 11

 

31 July 2013

 

Christianizing Philosophy

 

            Philosophy is the study of problems and debates associated with reality, knowledge, existence, reason, and values. Religion is the collection of beliefs that are connected with existence and spirituality. There have been many times in history where philosophy and religion have clashed and created an uproar. To avoid this disturbance, several philosophers in history have attempted to “Christianize” certain claims in philosophy.

 

            In Sophie’s World, Alberto explains to Sophie that the philosophers St. Augustine and Aquinas made an attempt to apply the teachings and beliefs of Christianity to the philosophical truths of Plato and Aristotle. They felt the need to connect the two because many Christians were becoming angry at some of the claims these philosophers made. For example, Christians believed that the world was created out of nothing by God, who has always existed, but the Greeks believed that the world had always existed and Plato stated that there were eternal ideas in the world. The controversy between these ideas led St. Augustine to make the claim that God had created the world, but the ideas about creating the world had always been there.

 

            Aquinas took Aristotle’s “theology of faith” and “natural theology” and backed it up with the teachings of the Bible. The Bible states how God wants us to live, which is similar to the theology of faith, but there is also a conscience in every human that allows them to decipher between wrong and right, which is similar to the natural theology. Aquinas also agreed with Aristotle on his belief that a woman was an incomplete man, but instead of using reason and the science of sexual reproduction to defend his opinion, he used biblical text. The Bible states that a woman (Eve) was made out of Adam’s rib, therefore making her a part of a man.

 

            When philosophical claims are Christianized, everyone is pleased. The Christians do not become offended at the claims because most of them can have religion tied into them. Tying Christianity into philosophical truths and claims can change the aspect. The claim is no longer an independent truth on reason and values, instead it becomes an analysis of Biblical text.  

           

Philosophy and Gender, Blog 2

 Katelyn Parmenter

Mrs. Wagener

AP English 11

28 July 2013

Philosophy and Gender

Since the beginning of time, women have always been seen as inferior to men. Society sees women as weak, unintelligent, child-bearing, cleaning machines. Most women were expected to stay at home to clean and take care of the children. Very few females worked in high-ranking positions. As time has passed, women have become more powerful and are proving to the world that men and women are equal. In Sophie's World, the famous philosophers of the world have different views on women.

Aristotle saw a woman as an incomplete version of a man. He was alive before scientists discovered exactly how reproduction works; therefore, he thought that a woman was just a sperm receptor. In his mind, the man delivered all of the genes and gave life to every single child. Obviously, I disagree because I am fully aware of how children are produced but I do understand why he believed that a woman was an "unfinished man." He had no knowledge of how the sperm fertilizes the egg and that without a woman's egg, there would be no child! His ignorance fueled his views on women.

"A state that does not educate and train women is like a man who only trains his right arm." This wonderful statement was said by another well-known philosopher, Plato. Plato had the best view on women, for he was not biased because he was a male. He had the most admirable response when it came to his opinion on women. He saw women as having the same abilities and talents as men. The responsibility of bearing and raising children is left to a woman because it takes strength, knowledge, and dedication. With equal schooling and training, a women had the potential to be just as superior as men.

I am not surprised that the majority of philosophers in Sophie's World are men. During those years, men were seen as the intelligent beings of the world. They were the ones who had the time on their hands to dig deeper into the secrets of the world because they were not busy with the responsibility of raising children. Men were also given the chance to have a proper education, which allowed them to do proper research. The dominance of men could have resulted in biased results or even prevented proper research from occurring. For example, men did not feel the need to perform in depth research on sexual reproduction because in their minds, men controlled the whole process.

Even though women were inferior for hundreds of years, they still managed to speak their minds. Women are just as intelligent as men. Each gender has an important role in the world.

The Basic Questions of Life, Blog 1

Katelyn Parmenter

Mrs. Wagener

AP English 11

27 July 2013

The Basic Questions of Life

         Everyday many people are brought into this world without a second thought about who they are or where exactly the world they live in comes from. Those two mind boggling questions, "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" are questions that philosophers and scientists spend their lives answering. Unfortunately, there is no simple answer. The answers to these questions all depend on the person answering them.

Reading the philosophical novel, Sophie's World, forced me to think about who I really am. My name is Katelyn Marie Parmenter. I was born on March 4th, 1997 in Evansville, Indiana. This fall, I will begin my junior year at North High School. I played soccer for North my freshman and sophomore year. After sophomore year I realized that I love to run so I am now a part of the cross country team. I am an adventurous and open-minded person who loves to laugh and have fun with the people I love. I am a daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, and cousin. My family and friends are my life; without them I would not be the person I am today. Throughout all of my hardships in life, I have become a strong and understanding girl. I have learned to cope with the natural process of life  and appreciate the people I have in my life while I have them. Most importantly, I am a product of my amazing Lord.

The second basic question of philosophy, "Where does the world come from?" has caused much controversy between individuals and philosophers over the years. There are many different answers depending on the person answering the question. The question could be answered using scientific knowledge or religious beliefs. According to scientific studies, the world was created by the Big Bang Theory and every species of life has evolved to adapt to the conditions of the earth. In my opinion, the world comes from God. He created this world with his mighty hands and brought forth every kind of life that exists on the earth.

Throughout life, people will have to face the realization that they do not know who they are or where their world comes from. Individuals determined to uncover these answers become philosophers. The questions "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" cause people to think about their lives and the reason they are here. Reading Sophie's World has helped me find my own answers to these questions.