Prompt #5

Emma Burry

AP English

Mrs. Wilhelmus

August 12, 2013

Personal Philosophies

Philosophy is such a hard concept to grasp especially with all of the different theories and historical people that have made a lasting impression on it. From the beginning of time to the present, philosophy has been influencing our society’s thoughts and decisions even if we do not notice it. When I read this novel, I was able to conclude which philosophies and theories I agree and disagree with. Some of them I am completely indifferent to because I do not fully understand how it affects my life.

           One of the philosophies that I agree with and enjoyed learning about was Kant’s. Immanuel Kant was a teacher of philosophy and had his own philosophy about applying both one’s senses and reason to life. I fully support his theory because life is about balance. One cannot rely on just one resource for coming to conclusions. Believing in both the rational and empirical views gives philosophy a happy compromise and satisfies more people. Other philosophers that I agree with are St. Thomas and St. Aquinas who believed that Christianity and philosophy went hand in hand. Since I am a Christian, it is important for me to recognize the conclusions that I have come to on my own philosophical journey and the teachings of the Bible.

            I personally do not agree with the teachings of Darwin and his theory of evolution. I do believe that animal variations are possible and some species can evolve from another, however when it comes to humans there is only one solution for our creation. God is the one and only creator of Adam and Eve in the very beginning; and in a sense, every human being is a descendant of them. Another philosophy that I do not agree with is the Big Bang Theory and this is also because of my religious views. I have been taught that God created everything in the universe, and I do not believe that my planet was molded from a large explosion in our galaxy. Am I opposed to those that believe this theory? No I am very accepting of it, but my beliefs are my own and I will not agree with something that goes against them.

            Sophie’s World opened my eyes to a world I have never dreamed of experiencing. I learned so many new ideas and theories that I never knew existed and I am starting to question more of myself. If I had to explain where I reside on the rabbit’s fur, I would have to say that I am in the middle. Philosophy did not seem to intrigue me as much as some because I was content with the knowledge of the world I had before I was introduced to it. At the same time though, I was interested in the workings of the ancient philosophers’ minds and how they influenced the time period. The history of philosophy, no matter if I believe it all or not, is just as imperative as the history we learn about during school. I believe that more people should have their eyes opened to the world around them and pulled out from the fur of the rabbit.

 

Prompt #4

Emma Burry
AP English
Mrs. Wilhelmus
August 12, 2013

In the Eyes of the Beholder

Alberto tries to give Sophie an example of people’s perspectives in the “Kant” chapter. He tries to give her an insight into the beliefs of Immanuel Kant and he believed in both the rationalist and empiricist point of views. So he hands Sophie a pair of glasses with red lenses. As she places them on her face, he explains that everything she sees is still a part of the world around her, but the color she sees through the lenses determines how she sees it. In other words, one could say that the color is her perspective and since Alberto is not seeing red, one could conclude that he has a different perspective from Sophie.

      Perception is a quality that separates people and makes them unique. For example 100 people sign up to perform an experiment with a novel such as Sophie’s World. Every single person is required to read it in its entirety and be able to recite some basic theories of philosophy. This knowledge is something that is factual so this can be seen as rationalistic side of the experiment. Out of those 100 people, each one has a different take on the book as a result of their background/race, religion, or personal experiences. (In other instances, one's senses such as sight and smell could influence their perspective.) This is the empiricist view. It goes to show that no one person can think exactly the same just as no one person can be exactly the same.

      In my life, perspective has applied to issues I have had to deal with in the past. Last year I had a severe problem with the way I viewed my body and eventually I was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. Even though most high school girls do not like their appearances, my observations were completely wrong. The facts were that I maintained a healthy weight, but I viewed myself as obese. My perception of myself started a spiral that greatly changed my life. Now, I am able to look back on that experience and change my perspective. Was the road to recovery difficult? It was the toughest event I have had to encounter, but it showed me the power and influence that perspective can have on someone’s life.

Prompt #3

Emma Burry
AP English Language
Mrs. Wilhemlus
August 12, 2013

Christianity and Philosophy?

Some historians believe that the Middle Ages were a time of negativity and inflexibility. Others refer to this time period as an age of growth and I completely agree. It was during this point and time when Greek philosophy was revived by two Middle Age philosophers named St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.  These men wrestled with the idea of combining Christianity and philosophy and making it acceptable throughout Europe. They successfully achieved their goal and saved ancient philosophy.

      For one, both of these thinkers did not see philosophy as a threat to Christianity. St. Augustine and St. Aquinas could not bare the thought of losing all the ancient ideas to religion, so they decided to combine them. They both pointed out that Christianity and philosophy fell hand and hand at some points and this strengthened their argument. Since the philosophical ideas were no longer frowned upon, this allowed Christians to expand their thoughts on philosophy and helped the movement grow.

      Secondly, these men changed the course of history by saving philosophy. Without the acceptance of philosophy in the Christian world, Christianity would have taken over Europe and left no room for other beliefs. Just imagine how different we would think if people did not question the concepts of life and human thought. If it was left to Christian belief, everyone would think the same way. That would be incredibly boring, but no one would know anything different because the ideas of philosophy would be lost. St. Augustine and St. Aquinas did the world a favor by saving society from monotonous thinking. They also essentially pulled society closer to the top of the rabbit’s fur.

      Aristotle and Plato have St. Augustine and St. Aquinas to thank for spreading and preserving their theories of philosophy. If they had not been brave enough to pave the way for others, Greek philosophy could have been lost as well as some of history. It is a positive thing that two men cared enough about the history of philosophy to save and continue it.

 

Prompt #2

Emma Burry
AP English Language
Mrs. Wilhelmus
August 12, 2013

Gender Rules

Throughout history, women have been looked down upon as being incapable of handling the tasks only set aside for men. This was a poor time in our world’s history and now our society knows that the housewife stereotype was incorrect. Though several women today enjoy the perks of working at home, there are plenty of others that have occupations in the medical field, politics, and other growing industries. Without these women, the growth of our society would be lacking. It is hard to understand why older generations scrutinized women in such ways.

Many of the philosophers in Sophie’s World held a very narrow view on women, like Aristotle. Though I do not agree with his outlook, I do see how Aristotle came to his conclusion on women. He had no other experience to base his beliefs on. I would definitely argue some of his points were invalid, like how women were not responsible for the creation of the child. Obviously this is not a point which anyone can dispute because we know today that each parent gives chromosomes to the offspring, which contribute to its traits.  Overall, I was upset by his views, because he did not give women the slightest chance to prove themselves and he disregarded the facts that were clearly under his nose. I do not believe that he handled this subject as a philosopher, but more as a typical male. It is difficult for philosophers to have closed minds on such subjects and I believe skepticism was his weakness.

In my personal opinion, I was more pleased with Plato’s take on gender. He was definitely more open-minded and less skeptic. As Plato was a student of Aristotle this was a little confusing and at the same time promising. It showed how a teacher of philosophy could influence a student, but in the same moment the student was able to form his own opinion. This made me enjoy Plato’s ideas and history that much more. The fact that people of his time did not agree with his views of women is upsetting. I have learned to accept that not many people believed in women’s capabilities during this time period. This realization made it easier for me to accept the fact that the majority of the figures in Sophie’s World were men. If the book had been written about female philosophers, the book would have been 1/5 the size and would have not been an international bestseller. No one is interested in the philosophical points that never influenced the world.

Though it is a shame that not many males recognized women’s capabilities, women made up for it in the long run. The males set up the framework of society for centuries and the women came and helped fill it out later. It is important to have both sexes working together to keep our culture functioning and thriving. Without the existence of females how would we live?

 

Prompt #1

Emma Burry
AP English Language
Mrs. Wilhelmus
August 12, 2013

My Creation

          Not very often do people of my generation sit and ponder the existence of life. We are more focused on the happenings of now and the future, not the past and surely not the beginning of time. Just like the philosophers before me, I have a different perspective of who I am and where the world came from. Unlike many of my peers, I am willing to contemplate these unanswered questions to come to a conclusion of my own thoughts.

          I have been taught that God created everything in a matter of seven days. As a child, I was completely mesmerized by this fact and since I knew nothing different, I accepted this as the truth. To this day I believe in the miracle of Jesus Christ, but that does not mean that I have never questioned the beginning of the world or my existence. 

         When I came across the question, “Who are you?” in the first chapter of this novel I answered it as simply as I could, just like Sophie. The further I read, the more I realized that my name was not sufficient and that I needed to extend upon my response. I know that I am a human being who is capable of thinking and making rational decisions based on my experiences. Therefore, I am a product of those experiences. In a world of 7 billion people, I am the only Emma Elizabeth Burry and that makes me feel unique and empowered. I control my thoughts and my life and I am very blessed to be given this opportunity to undergo life on Earth.

          At a young age, I was interested in learning and absorbing every piece of information that I could get my hands on. Math was my favorite subject because for every problem there was a definite solution. What frustrated me the most with other topics, and currently philosophy, was the unclear answers that would sometimes appear. I was unable to wrap my mind around the unanswered questions and the what-ifs in life. So when I first came across the question, “Where does the world come from?” I was stumped beyond all comprehension.

          To create the world, there had to be something in which created it. Am I right? This “thing” that created the world is God. I believe without a doubt that God is responsible for creating the world in which we all exist. He appeared from nothing and made everything in the beginning. Once I came to this conclusion, I was still not set at peace. I doubted the validity of this answer and search for a different solution. To this day, I do not accept any other creation theory besides the Christian belief. I can relate and understand some of the other theories’ points, but some of these proposals have unexplainable gaps. I choose to my faith over science in the area of creation.