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.