The Many Ways of Thinking

Kaylee Bettag

Mrs. Wilhelmus

AP English 11

5 August 2013

            Throughout this novel, there were a numerous amount of riveting ideas brought to my attention.  Some I had faintly heard of earlier on in my life, but this novel deepened them and taught me so much more.  While some ideas just passed through my mind, others stuck and really made an impact on the way I think and look at the world today.  After reading Sophie's World, I have quickly noticed that I have begun to think about every situation just a little bit more in depth. 

            My personal favorite way of thinking was the teachings of Immanuel Kant.  The he took the time to figure out that every human has their own personal way of viewing things in the world and the world itself was fascinating to me.  Ever since reading about that and the “red-tinted glass” experiment I have begun to accept other people views and opinions more.  It has occurred to me that as humans we tend to believe only our views and no those of others around us. 

            Another thing that I really enjoyed reading in this book was that Plato disagreed with Aristotle somewhat on his views of women.  As Aristotle said that women were just men lacking something Plato stated that women were able bodied humans and shouldn’t be treated less than that.  Throughout my life I always viewed people such as Plato as women hating and boastful.  After reading about them and their teachings I have come to realize that they are far more than that, they are genius.

            Thinking about what side of the rabbit’s fur I have chosen.. I do not have a preference.  In that I will say that as a Christian I believe that by following God’s teachings he will choose the correct side for me.  I have full faith in God and so thinking about which side of the rabbit’s fur I will be on does not worry me at all.

Prompt 4: Why Kant You See It?

Kaylee Bettag

Mrs. Wilhelmus

AP English 11

3 August 2013

            In today’s society, many people judge others for their opinions or perspectives on life.  Every day at least one person attempts to tell another that their perspective and outlook is incorrect.  In the chapter titled “Kant” in Sophie's World, Sophie can’t quit grasp the concept that we, as humans, have certain characteristics within us that force us to see the world in a certain way.  After a failed attempt to explain just what Immanuel Kant meant, Alberto told Sophie to put on the “red tinted glasses”.  After doing so, Sophie saw everything in red and then came to realize that if she could not take the glasses off, her point of view of the world would be in all red.  This goes to show that we have no room to judge or correct others for their outlook or point of views.

            The “Kant” chapter had more of an impact on me than most of the other chapters.  Once Sophie placed the glasses on her face she saw the world in red.  This taught me that everyone sees things differently and as humans we can’t tell someone else what to think or how to see things.  In retrospect, everyone’s outlook is in some way or another correct.

            “What can we know about the world?”  In my mind, I believe that we can know as much about the world as we want.  Knowledge of the world is endless, there is always something new to learn about this complex world we live in.  With that  said, although we may think we know almost everything about the world we will never truly know of it is correct or not because nobody honestly knows right or wrong of our world.  Although there are many very valid theories of what are true facts about the world nobody has one hundred percent assurance of if they are right or wrong.

Prompt 3: Philosophy Connects With Christianity

Kaylee Bettag

Mrs. Wilhelmus

AP English 11

30 July 2013

            The two ideas of “reason” and “faith” are more than just opposite.  Many of the worlds greatest thinkers have been tripped up by the choice between the two.  For many years, philosophers chose between the two instead of uniting them.  Finally in the chapter titled “Middle Ages”, two great philosophers named St. Augustine and Aquinas thought to unite the two ideas.  After reading over and hearing the ideas of Aristotle and Plato they thought that it seemed as though they were going against the Christian religion.  From then on, Aquinas and St. Augustine spent their lives showing and teaching people that everything in the world and every reason goes back to Christianity.  After this many non Christians became Christians and many Christians became stronger believers.

Thinking deeper, I have realized that if it were not for these two philosopher's efforts, the bible may not be relevant today.  I believe that without them, people would have began to choose reason over Christianity thus, becoming non-Christians. This simple transition to unite the two ideas has changed our world forever.

Prompt 2: Aristotle's Ignorance

Kayee Bettag

Mrs. Wilhelmus

AP English Lang.

2 August, 2013

            It thoroughly amazes me that some of the most clever, innovative people of all time could be so closed-minded.  My assumption was that philosophers were supposed to be open-minded people who knew that they knew nothing, yet Aristotle seemed so sure that he knew women are of lesser value than men. In Sophie's World, it is mentioned that Aristotle’s views on women were not nearly as uplifting as Plato’s.  Aristotle believed that in some unseen way, women were unfinished or incomplete.  In his mind, a female was a male, but lacked features and abilities that men possessed, and to him, that made women of lesser value.  As stated in the novel, Aristotle says that in reproduction women are passive and receptive while men are active and productive.  In other words, Aristotle is saying that the child will only receive the male’s characteristics.  To Aristotle, the woman was the soil who received and birthed the seed, while the man was the producer.

 As a woman, I strongly disagree with his assumption for many reasons.  One reason being that, there are many women today that have created and discovered life saving things that society would otherwise be lost without.  It is sad to me that because of ignorant views such as Aristotle’s, the progress of the world was slowed down immensely due to the unequal treatment of women.  Today we have many women such as Gertrude Belle Ellion, who have made such a positive impact on society with their knowledge and discoveries all because they were given just as good of a chance as men.

            The two major thinkers, Aristotle and Plato, had more than just a few differences in the way they viewed the world and everything in it.  Sadly, gender was one of the areas they did not agree on.  Plato saw women more equal than Aristotle, but still not enough.  Most men during that time and many years to come, succumbed to Aristotle’s ignorant views of women.  I believe that one of the reasons that men agreed with Aristotle was because during his time and even still today he is very highly respected and known to be one of the smartest men of all time.  Another reason of why I think Aristotle saw women as such lesser humans was because in the book of Genesis it states that in order to create Eve, God had to take one of Adam’s ribs to make her whole.  This makes it seem as though without Adam, Eve was not “complete”.  I am very sure that Aristotle probably used this area of the Bible to his advantage when explaining to his many followers why women were inferior to men.

            While reading Sophie’s World, it quickly came to my attention that many of the thinkers, or philosophers were men.  To me this was expected because the time Alberto Knox was speaking of was when men were supposed to do and run everything.  Although I expected this it still bothers me.  To me it seemed that not only the women of that time but also Sophie, did not seemed surprised or bothered that women were seen as inferior.  I feel as though men such as Aristotle, Plato, and all the other respected male figures of this time are to blame.  It kills me to think that in that time Plato’s view of women was considered ‘good’, because to me even his perspective was very corrupted.

Prompt 1: Does Anyone Really Know Me?

Kaylee Bettag

Mrs. Wilhelmus

AP English 11

29 July 2013

            Throughout the years, coaches, teachers, and even strangers have often asked me the simple question “Who are you?”  Initially, I would respond with a general summary of who I am.  I would naturally reply, I am Kaylee Ann Bettag, born on June 16^th, 1996.  I have a loving family that consists of two siblings, Hannah and Logan. I will be a junior this year at North High School and will participate on the track and soccer team. Sports are a very big part of my life and always will be.  At the age of eight, I broke my back during a travel gymnastics competition.  My parents stress that in order to achieve success you have to make sacrifices that others will not.  They also make sure it is clear that without good grades my dreams will not be achievable.  I hope to not only attend Indiana University, but also to run track for them.  I am somewhat short and have many freckles.  I love to spend time with friends and spend what small amount of free time I have left shopping, fishing, watching movies, and running.   

            In my opinion the version of my life I shared was a very good way to explain to someone, even a stranger, exactly who I am.  With that said, if I were to think about and answer this question in a philosophical way, I would quickly realize that it is very difficult to let someone know exactly who I am.  I may be able to tell them what I like, who I like, and what my life goals are, but that does not at all begin to explain me.  There is not much I could say that would tell someone how I feel, why I feel that way, or what makes me happy or sad.  I feel as though the only person that really knows who I am is myself.

            Just looking at the question, “Where does the world come from?” has me, as a high school student, in awe.  This question has more and more people, including philosophers and scientists, confused each day.  Many people have different theories depending on their beliefs.  A large portion of scientists, craving an explanation, believe in the “Big Bang Theory”.  This is the theory that the world came about through a “bang”, or an explosion of some kind.  On the other hand, many Christians, like myself, believe that God created the world and everything in it.  The Bible states that God created the world in 6 days and on the 7^th day he rested. 

No matter what you believe it is a fact that our world is indeed very complex.  Everything is created differently and the world is always in constant change.  No matter how difficult the question, our world is an amazing place that will continue to perplex the minds of generations to come.