My Journey Up the Rabbit's Fur

Sophie’s World has provided me with knowledge on a topic I was unfamiliar with, philosophy. While reading Sophie’s World I found myself extremely engrossed with the ideas of certain philosophers. It is amazing what people thought of long before I was alive. There were many philosophers I found myself agreeing with while reading Sophie’s World; however, there were also a couple philosophers I had a hard time concurring with.

          
 I mostly agree with Darwin and his ideas on evolution – that living creatures change over time to adapt to their surroundings, because there is so much evidence to support his theory. Also, I agree with his idea that evolution occurs due to the longing to live. The toughest and fittest will be the species that prevails. Two other philosophers I agree with are St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. Their ability to relate philosophy with the Bible was amazing. I especially agree with Aquinas’s theory that God gave us a conscience to have us live the way He believes is right. Lastly, I agree with most of the Cynics beliefs. It is true that material things do not bring happiness. True happiness can be attained by anyone, the rich or the poor.

        
Freud’s idea that dreams are merely “wish fulfillments” seems highly unlikely to me. As an experienced dreamer – I would say some dreams could be wish fulfillments; however some dreams are totally random and do not make a lick of sense. I also have a hard time agreeing with the Epicureans and their belief that the sole goal in life is to attain the highest possible pleasure. Often people obtain pleasure at the expense of others, and that to me – is not worth the price.

Before reading Sophie’s World I was burrowed deep down within the rabbit’s fur. Like most others I was comfortable there and never had any reason to ponder life and all its wonders. As I was reading Sophie’s World I found myself slowly making my way higher and higher up the rabbit’s fur. I had finally begun to realize the importance of questioning things. Now I feel as if I have finally reached the top of the fur to stare up at the universe.

                

My Red Tinted Glasses

In Sophie’s World, Alberto, a philosopher, explains how reason can limit the way the world is perceived. He does this by having Sophie try on a pair of glasses with red tinted lenses. When she tries them on she sees the world as she normally would; however, now everything has a red hue to it.  Just like how the glasses limit Sophie’s color perception, reason can limit everyday life.  

       

     As a young child I was diagnosed with anxiety. I tend to look at the world as a more frightening place at times due to small challenges. You could say anxiety is my pair of red tinted glasses. I take a small situation and make it into something bigger. I know it is irrational; however, my reason clouds reality. Things that my peers might find no big deal can seem like the end of the world in my perspective. For some unknown reason I perceive the little things in life as problematic.

          

  I know because of my dark perspective I have missed out on some of life’s greatest gifts. I am afraid of how people view me, so I have trouble talking to strangers and making new friends. Going out and having fun can sometimes cause me to become anxious, thus causing me to be a homebody. Driving even causes me to become uncomfortable due to my fear I will accidently hurt others, so I am a seventeen year old girl who still doesn’t have her permit.  I have recently come to believe that I need to perceive the world in a new light, so I can live my life to the fullest. I hope to one day be able take off my glasses and see the world as the beautiful place that it is. 

       

     Everybody perceives the world differently or wears a different pair of tinted glasses if you will. There are all different ways to perceive the world, and everybody has their own perspective on life. Some may see it as a slightly frightening place like me or as a happy place where they are to have as much fun as possible. Others may see it as a waiting room before they reach eternal life.  

Faith in Reason

The Middle Ages was a time period in which religion dominated everyday life. It was so dominate that science made almost no progress due to the belief that all knowledge must go hand in hand with the Church’s teachings. In Sophie’s World you can see how despite this belief, philosophy managed to stay alive due to the philosopher’s cunning abilities to christianize many of the ancient philosophers. This allowed philosophical ideas to explain Christian beliefs and have old philosophical ideas conform to the Bible and other Christian beliefs causing philosophy to be less of a threat to the Church. In fact it may have helped strengthen the Church.

Sophie’s World details how the Middle Age philosopher Thomas Aquinas’s major contribution to philosophy was his christianization of Aristotle. Aquinas believed that reason and faith were one. He even believed that he could prove that God exists with Aristotle’s theories. This belief helped keep philosophy alive. Prior to Aquinas – Plato’s Academy in Athens was closed by the Church, showing how philosophy was beaten down by the Church.

Another great philosopher named St. Augustine helped in the christianization of ancient philosophers. In fact, he christianized Plato.  He believed that Plato’s ideas were so closely related to the Bible that he thought Plato must have known about the Old Testament. However, Plato was not alive during the time of the Old Testament. St. Augustine explained one of Plato’s most confusing and almost silly, seaming ideas comparing it to the Bible, thus, strengthening the bond between Christianity and philosophy.  St. Augustine reinforced Plato’s eternal  ideas, by expressing the fact that God knew what He was going to create before He created it.

Eventually the christianization of ancient philosophers led to prosperous times despite the thought that the Middle Ages were dark times full of plague and disease. School systems were developed along with convent schools and cathedral schools. Due to the increase in schools an academic boom took place. One branch of education that prospered just happened to be philosophy. There were even new translations of philosophical works written in other vernaculars.

Overall, the christianization of ancient philosophers proved to be very helpful in a time in which the Church was the end all be all. The Church and philosophy slowly became one and helped strengthen most of Europe. It helped strengthen the belief in God, which helped the Church, and helped reinforce reason, which satisfied the philosophical thinkers.

Philosophical Women

 I was completely appalled when I read Aristotle’s views on women. How can someone believe that women are “incomplete men”? Not only does Aristotle make that bold statement, but he also goes on about how women are soil while the men are sowers. It was very hard for me to believe that such a smart man could actually believe this, and it still is.

In my opinion Plato, Condorcet, and Olympe de Gouges provided the most admirable answers to questions about gender in Sohpie’s World. Plato was right in believing that women can be as smart as men and are just as capable of governing due to the fact that everyone is born with reason. He also rightly believed that women have the same reasoning skills as men as long as they receive education. Condorcet believed that women were born with the same “natural rights” as men. He had seen how active the women were in fighting against the king and his regime during the French Revolution. All of the women’s action just proved that they should be treated as equals along with being considered equals. Olympe de Gouges, a woman philosopher during the French Revolution, wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Women in an attempt to gain women more rights; however, she was beheaded for her righteous act.

 I believe most of the philosophers in Sophie’s World are men because during the time when philosophy was at its peak women were considered the minority. Society had classified women as uneducated housewives. Their role was to stay at home while the men worked and take care of the children.  Unfortunately, this was a period in history when women were seemingly invisible. Women philosophers, musicians, and artists were over looked solely on the basis of their gender. This might leave some people wondering whether or not we missed out on some really good ideas, but now we will never know. 

Madeline Jaebker in God's World

To be honest I have never put much thought into the questions “Who am I?” or “Where does the world come from?” In Sophie’s World by Hostein Gaarder, Sophie was asked both of these questions. Sure I have wondered about these things in my lifetime, however, it always overwhelms me. Who am I, and why am I the way I am? If God created the Earth, then who created God? Has God just always been, and if so, how is that possible? That is usually my thought process before I call it quits because I feel as if I am trying to explain the unexplainable. Now, I have come to realize these questions may seem, and very well be, unexplainable, but through reasoning it is possible to formulate ideas.     

I am Madeline Claire Jaebker, and I am the daughter of Mark and Kimberly Jaebker.  I am an outdoors enthusiast and a book worm.  I would characterize myself as hardworking, disciplined, caring, yet worrisome and impatient. At the end of summer break I will return to North High School as a junior. Now I could go on listing more facts about my life and more characteristic traits, however, this doesn’t answer the question “Who are you?”

     
 Like Sophie I could have been somebody else. If I would have been a boy, my parents had planned to name me Nicholas, after my uncle. Would this really have made me any different than I am today? Would I be more like my uncle? Honestly, I doubt it. I believe that I would still have the same personality traits, but my appearance would obviously be altered. I occasionally wonder if I am anything like my Aunt Madeline for whose name sake I have been given. My guess is we would share some traits because we are blood relatives, but not because we share the same name. 

 I was brought up in a home where there was always a belief in God, so God has always seemed like a very natural thing to me.  I have never really questioned His existence, or placed much thought into how He was created.  Recently, while viewing the Catholicism video series at my parish, this was the topic that Father Barron was tackling.  Moses was pleading with God in Exodus 3:13-14 NIV Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” This is kind of how I feel about myself

In my eyes our world is an amazing gift from our God.  This world we live in provides us with nourishment, beauty, and wonder.  I believe in a world where God and science work together, because if they did not, we would not have been able to make all of the breakthroughs that we have in recent history.  Doctors need God in their work – just as much as they need science.  I know there are people who would argue that God could not create the world in seven days, and that is their own opinion.  These same people might be believers in the Big Bang Theory, which is okay. There really is no way to prove one idea right or wrong. Maybe they are both correct. God could have possibly caused the Big Bang Theory. 

So, I am Madeline Jaebker. I am a daughter, granddaughter, sister, student, and Christian. I believe God created this beautiful world we live in, and science will never have all the answers. I am who I am.