Prompt 5

Ashley Clark

Mrs. Wilhemus

AP English Lit

11 August 2013

My Philosophical Experience

                The empiricists caught my attention when I was reading the novel. I feel that I understand their thoughts and concepts the most because their ideas were simple and easy to comprehend. I agree with Locke, Berkley, and Hume because they all believed we use our senses to gather our information we need from the world. If it were not for our senses, we would not be able to meet people we have seen but never interacted with before in our dreams. We could not decide whether or not we like the way something looks, tastes, or feels either. Our senses help make us who we are because they help us understand what we do and do not like.

In the Middle Ages chapter, Aristotle and Plato have to Christianize their thoughts to make the Christian people happy. I feel that I disagree with this claim most because my opinion is that if you already believe in God and have your religion that is all you will need. A philosopher should not affect your beliefs so much that the philosopher’s thoughts have to now circulate religion within them. Although I believe it is good that the philosophers can match their thoughts and beliefs with Christianity, I feel the people of the Middle Ages worried about others thoughts and ideas too much.

Personally, philosophy does not interest me at all. I believe even though I have read Sophie’s World, the book has not changed my views on how I perceive the world. I feel that if the book would not have been so long and filled with almost the same information, but just slightly altered depending on what philosopher was being explained, I would have enjoyed the book more and the philosophy lessons would have stuck with me. Maybe discussing the book as a class would make me want to climb to the top of the rabbit’s fur, but for now I am still at the bottom.

Prompt 4

Ashley Clark

Mrs. Wilhemus

AP English Lit

11 August 2013

Kant

            Alberto explains one of his many philosophical examples through the red-tinted glasses experiment. This experiment shows Sophie how something can cloud your mind on how you actually perceive it when affected by different aspects of the world. She says she sees everything in red. Although all the objects are still the same, she perceives them differently because “the glasses limit the way you perceive reality.”

            The red-tinted glasses apply to my own experiences for many reasons. For example, I believe my views change when I am stressed, mad, sad, or distracted. I do not see the world the same because my mind is clouded with overthinking or under thinking. When I am stressed, overthinking causes me to believe everything I do is wrong and nothing will ever be okay again. When I am mad, I tend to say whatever comes to mind, even if I do not believe in this statement due to under thinking. When sad, I shut down and try to force the world out, as if it does not matter. And when distracted, I do not see the big picture lying out in front of me. I believe anything can affect the way you perceive the world, not just a pair of red-tinted glasses.

            Although I believe there are many factors that can affect the way we perceive our world, time and space, just like Kant says, are “forms of intuition.”  I feel that I am always aware of the time, even though my emotions or how I perceive something may be affected at the moment. For example, when I am stressed time seems to fly by and the opposite for when I am mad or sad. Time and space are two constant factors in our world and I believe I am fully aware of both, no matter how the world may seem to me at the moment.

           

 

 

 

Prompt 3

Ashley Clark

Mrs. Wilhemus

AP English Lit

17 July 2013

Christianization

                During the Middle Ages, faith was extremely important to the Christian people. Once their religion was so popular and heavily practiced, the people became unhappy with the fact that philosophers reasons did not correlate with their faith. In order for the Christians to agree with philosophers, the philosophers had to ensure their thoughts were Christianized. Christianization is quite simply telling the people that religion and reason do come together to match equally.

                Aristotle and Plato were two of the greatest philosophers during the Middle Ages. In order for them to maintain their level of popularity, they needed to Christianize their thoughts. Aquinas and St. Augustine, who were philosophers but of a much lower level, actually taught Aristotle and Plato how to make their reason’s agree with the Christian faith. Christianization earned its name due to the rising popularity of Christianity during the Middle Ages.

                To ensure the Christian people that faith and religion do intertwine, Plato and Aristotle provided examples to the people. One example is that there is a God, which is obviously the main factor in Christianity. The philosophers stated there must be something that created the universe and everything inside of it and this must be considered a heavenly figure. Another example provided is when Alberto tells us St. Augustine believes “history is necessary for the enlightenment of man and the destruction of evil.” Philosophers also use history to be able to form new thoughts and ideas about the world. If it were not for keeping track of history, there is a chance that all philosophers would have never learned from their processors and taught everyone the same material.

               

Prompt 2

Ashley Clark

Mrs. Wilhemus

AP English Lit

17 July 2013

Aristotle

            Aristotle states that women are inferior to men. To many he is considered wrong, which is also my opinion. Although men tend to take the leading role in a relationship, a business, or such other things, women still contribute with just as much equity. Women are half of the reason that man is a living creature. In my opinion, Aristotle does not look sound like a philosopher when he states this because women are capable of just about anything a man can do and vice versa. Aristotle’s views, in today’s society and to me, are considered inaccurate and misguided due to his upbringing and experiences.

            Unlike Aristotle, Plato’s views of women are much more reasonable and admirable. He believes everything has “flow” and is created equal, making women equivalent to men. Plato thinks that women have the same amount of reason as men, making us females fit for politics and running businesses. Aristotle views women as “incomplete” which is ridiculous because women are also human beings, just like men. As long as a woman and man are taught the same things, they will always be equal.

            Alberto Knox says it can be assumed that Aristotle was never married and did not have a family. I believe this affects the way Aristotle views women because he has never experienced a women first hand. Women are more normally more emotional than men and to me, are more understanding and cooperative then men because we are not as hard headed. We have sympathy for others and can easily show our soft side. Although men make it seem like they are tough and nothing affects them, deep down they are affectionate and caring because they have women in their lives to bring out their gentleness. I believe Aristotle was not married and did not have the chance to see his soft side and this makes his views biased considering he has no experience. I believe judging a gender or race has to come from interaction, not from philosophical thinking.

Knowing that most of the philosophers in the novel are men does not shock me because I feel that during those time periods, the women were supposed to stay home to cook, clean, and take care of the children. In most cultures, until recently, almost all women would stay home to watch over the house and children, leaving the men to do the labor. This is a possible reason as to why Aristotle thought women were inferior. When something has always been one way, it is hard to see it changing and that can sway your opinion. Aristotle may seem wrong today because the world’s views have changed, but I understand why he thought women lacked the potential to do a man’s job.

            Although I believe Aristotle’s views of women are wrong, I can grasp his idea. His beliefs of women are definitely frowned upon nowadays because women have proven themselves to be hard workers like men. Women are capable of having the same skills as men and can be better than men, but that does not mean all women are like men. We show our compassionate side more than most men and even are stay at home mothers to care for the house and children, although it does not make women inferior like Aristotle thought. Plato’s thoughts are more favorable and will most likely remain this way because of how society views females now. Aristotle is seen as mistaken for his views on women and women have proven they can amount to the same tasks as men.

Prompt 1

Ashley Clark

Mrs. Wilhemus

AP English Lit

25 June 2013

The Garden of Eden

            The mysterious, unknown philosopher from Sophie’s World asks the two questions, “Who are you?” and “Where does the world come from?”. The philosopher, although his motives are still unclear, wants Sophie to start thinking philosophically and starts with those two simple questions. General answers to these questions would be, for example, I am Ashley Clark and the world comes from God. Thinking in a philosophical manner, though, changes the answer to these questions. Beginning to think like a philosopher makes elementary questions take on much more depth.

            “Who are you?” I am the daughter of James West and Karey Wicks but I am lucky enough to have Julie West as my step mom and Darrin Wicks as my step dad. Being brought up with two sets of parents has helped make me who I am. I am witty because of my father, hard-headed because of my mother, analytic because of my step dad, and kind and understanding because of my step mom. I have a large family who has helped shape me into the person I am today.

            I attend North High School where I am a junior. I play soccer and I am sixteen. This is what people generally find out about me early on in the new relationship we have created. I like to think of myself as outgoing and friendly but I also know I can be standoffish and shy at times. Like everyone else, my mistakes and past have made me who I am. I have learned my lessons and realized what I am able to do and what I should not do, making me a better person than some people. My parents have raised me well enough to let me be unique but also have led me down the right path. My accomplishments, failures, friends, family, and experiences have made me who I am.

            “Where does the world come from?” I have always been taught the world was created by God. I also believe God created science to perform tasks to create new species, inventions, and much more. Sophie asks herself, “But could anything have always existed?” As far as anyone knows, like Sophie says, space has always existed.  I believe God created space and everything in it, though. It is hard to answer this question because no one knows for certain and it would take extensive thinking and studies to figure out, and then no one would still know how everything.

            “Who are you?” and “Where does the world come from?” are both questions that take much philosophical thinking. Although not impossible to answer, they are both difficult questions to answer if you have never thought like a philosopher before, like me. Before experiencing Sophie’s World, I would have given an extremely general answer but now that I have read the letters from the mysterious philosopher, I process situations with more depth.