The Rabbit's Fur

Kaley Rose

Mrs. Wilhelmus

AP English Lit.

16 June 2013

Where Do I Stand On the Rabbits Fur?

            After reading Sophie’s World, I was fascinated to learn about all the different philosophers and how they influenced philosophy in their generation to our very moment now.  It was also amazing, to see how each philosopher came up with his own questions, or taking another philosophers idea, and transforming the theory into their own idea. I feel like philosophy is a hard subject to grasp and understand, but Sophie’s World explained the background and ideas of philosophy very well. Throughout the book there where many different philosophical ideas and statements that I found myself agreeing to, but there were also ideas and theories that I disagreed with.

            Throughout reading, I found myself to side with some of the most well-known philosophers. For example, I was convinced in a lot of ideologies Aristotle created.  Aristotle believed that there was a purpose behind everything in nature (It rains so plants can grow). He also believed in four major causes behind nature which included: material cause, efficient cause, formal cause, and the final cause. I definitely agree with Aristotle in this belief. Can you find one piece of nature that does not have a purpose behind it?  But, I did not believe everything Aristotle had to say.  Aristotle said, “A women is an unfinished man.”  His beliefs about women and their role in society I did not find accurate at all. Aristotle was a very intelligent man that had a lot of interesting theories, but also some that where not so captivating to me.

            Another major philosopher I enjoyed learning about was Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.  Hegel was an outstanding philosopher during the Romantic Movement around the mid-1800s. His main belief was that history is in a constant state of change.  He referred history to a flowing river. “Thoughts are washed along with the current of past tradition.”  Hegel also believed in the dialectic process.  This process basically explained how thoughts are changed and resolved through time. Overall, all of Hegel’s ideas I agreed with one hundred percent with besides one belief, his views about women. He stated, “Men are like the animals in nature, while women are the plants.” He went on to say if women governed the state, it would be in jeopardy. How is this fair for him to say? 

            Overall, there were many different theories and beliefs that I found myself to be amazed with.  There were so many different philosophies in this book, that it would be hard to list all of them. Every philosopher had points that I agreed with and disagreed with. After reading this book, it had me in a lot of thought to think about all of the different philosophies that where presented. I started to ask questions about philosophies I didn’t understand, and even researched them too.  I found myself asking, “Is this really true?” or “How could this be?” This book definitely moved me up on the rabbit’s fur.  I now am finding myself to seek answers about questions about the world.  After analyzing Sophie’s World, I found myself trying to reach the top of the rabbit’s fur to look and see into the magician’s eyes.

           

 

 

Faith or Philosophy?

        Faith or Reason?

Kaley Rose

Mrs. Wilhelmus

AP English Lit

14 July 2013

Faith and Philosophy

            During the Middle Ages, Christianity become the prominent philosophy of life. More and more academies that taught philosophy for example, Plato’s Academy, where being torn down by the powerful Roman Catholic Church into schools that primarily taught the Christian religion. The main cultures that spread across Europe where now the Latinized Christian culture and the Greek Christian culture. Two major philosophers during this time were St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas who tried to find the answer behind philosophy and the Christian religion. The main question they tried to answer during the Medieval Ages was, “Whether people should believe the Christian revelations, or whether the people can approach the Christian certainty with the help of reason.”

            Two individuals tried to help save philosophy but also the Christian faith as well. Among these two individuals was a philosopher named St. Augustine. St. Augustine became a Christian after he went through several other religions, and was largely influenced by Plato and his ideas. Augustine thought there was so much similarity between Plato and the Bible, that he thought Plato had to have all his knowledge from the Old Testament. Augustine is the first philosopher to look at history, and make that an influencing factor into his own philosophy. Since he found similarities with Plato’s theories and Christian beliefs he tied both beliefs together. Overall, Augustine Christianized Plato’s ideas influencing many convent schools to be the center of education. Also, many cathedral schools, Gothic cathedrals, and the first universities where being built after St. Augustine who Christianized philosophical ideas. It was in a way he saved both Philosophy and Christianity.

            After St. Augustine, many people began to look at Aristotle’s philosophy which also contradicted the Bible’s teachings. Along came a philosopher named St. Thomas Aquinas, who tried to “Christianize” Aristotle’s views just as Augustine did with Plato’s ideas. He wanted to make his philosophy compatible with Christianity. Aquinas believed that he could prove God’s existence through Aristotle’s philosophy. Aquinas encouraged people to believe that Christian truths and philosophy often believe in so much of the same ideas. Tying these two thing together helped them prosper. Aquinas also confided in “natural theological truths.” These where simply truths that could be reached through our own Christian faith and through natural reason, which helped ease the major contradiction between philosophy and faith.

            After these two philosophers made philosophy compatible with the Christian religion, it was in a way that helped save the Christian dogma. It no longer made philosophy a threat to the Christian teachings. In conclusion, the Christian faith and philosophy where tied together which helped two amazing principles stay alive. It was in a way that these two individuals helped end a spiritual war, and made peace among two great things in the world. As a final point, it helped Christian faith sprout so far out, making it one of the biggest religions in the world today!

Immanuel Kant

Kaley Rose

Mrs. Wilhelmus

English Lit Ap

July 1, 2012

The World As We Perceive It

 Immanuel Kant t was a famous philosopher who focused on two possibilities on how we perceive the world.  "Either the world is exactly how we perceive it, or it is the way it appears to our reason.” Kant did believe that sensing and reason come to play in our conception of the world. To answer these questions Kant made an experiment which involves red, tinted glasses.

The red tinted glasses experiment was simple.  Sophie put on a pair of red tinted glasses, and described what she saw. She simply saw that everything was red or appeared to be red.  The darker colors became a darker, crimson red and lighter colors where pink.  The red, tinted glasses influenced the way Sophie saw the world around her, which in this case was all a reddish color.

              I feel like these questions of perspective apply to my own life in many ways.  For example, I have always been raised in a good environment in which everyone is kind and caring.  Being used to that environment all the way up to now has taught me to be kind.   On the other hand, as time went on more and more dreadful things has been happening in the world around us, which has made me perceive the world differently.

 However, as I grew older I saw more awful things happening in the world around me.  For example theft has been a big issue that has been a major occurrence to me more and more lately.  Being around people stealing my belongings have persuaded me to be more cautious and alert around the world. I have to either keep my belongings locked up or with me at all time. I also have to keep my door locked or car locked at all times.  As I have matured, I also have experienced many countries being in war.  Also, many countries have been involved in terrorist attacks and more world violence.  These corrupt events have made me discover the world differently.

            These events made me almost perceive the world as a violent and corrupt place to live due to the influencing reasons to make me believe that. I feel like  Kant's statement, "the world is the way it appears to our reason," is a correct statement in which I find my own self believing in due to the "events" in which this case would be the "reasons,"(In Kant's statement) that are around me.  Overall I perceive the world as frightful place. On the other hand, other people might see the world differently based on their own "reasons.”

The Garden of Eden

Kaley Rose

Mrs. Wilhelmus

Ap English Lit

11 June 2013

The Garden of Eden

                                "Who are you?" and "Where does this World come from"

            If someone asked me, "Who I am?" I would start off with major traits and characteristics in which I think fulfill my own character and personality the best.  I am an athlete, who loves sports and pushing myself to be the best athlete I can be.  I am a student, who always enjoys learning different things from anything to science, math and to English and literature.  I love challenging myself in learning new things in each of these subjects, in hopes in one day to become an intelligent human being. I am athletic, intellectual, enthusiastic, and outgoing.  I feel like all those traits help define me on who I am.

            Another way I would describe who I am would to tell about the background on who I am. My name is Kaley May Rose. I am fifteen years old, and attend North High School. I am going to be a junior and I play softball and basketball. I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and lived in many places including Tennessee and Texas. I moved to Evansville, Indiana at the age of thirteen and plan on staying here throughout my high school career. People describe who they are in many different forms.

I have lived in many places and moved a lot.  I feel like living in different places can help define who you are too. Someone who lives in one place only experiences what people are like and what it is like to live only in that specific place.  But, if you move you get to experience different kinds of people and different environments. I feel like this is a big factor on who you are but that is only my opinion.

In Sophie’s World, Sophie asks the question, "What if I have been given a different name?" and if she would have been given a different name, "Would she then have been someone else?" This is a rather interesting question to me, because my parents have told me before how they were going to name me "Zoey".  Thinking about my name being Zoey seems rather strange but I honestly do not think that your name decides on who you are. What I really think matters is your actual characteristics, traits, and background that shapes your own unique personality and who you are.

If someone asked me, "Where does the world come from?" I would simply tell them my own beliefs. Being raised as a child all the way up to now, I was always taught that we came from God our creator but, in school I learned other beliefs that contradict my own belief. For example the story of Evolution and the Big Bang Theory.  After reading the first chapter it had my mind racing with many thoughts that Sophie had said. For example, Sophie said "Had God created himself out of nothing?" "Who created God?" These two questions had my mind wondering, but in the end I will side with my own belief and the only possibility left that God has always existed. That statement is so interesting because you can ask the question, "How could he always exist?" but this is what makes the world so interesting and where the world comes from so unique.  Other people believe in the science factors which contradicts our religion but religion and what we believe just also makes who we are.

In conclusion, I believe who we are is affected by our own characteristics, traits, and personality that make up our own unique personality. I do not believe in our names being a factor on that, but other people might. I also believe that we were made from God, but others believe in different things.  In the end, these two questions will always be interpreted differently from different people but that is what makes these two questions so interesting.

 

  

           

Philosophy Between Male and Female

Kaley Rose

Mrs. Wilhelmus

Ap English Lit

12 June 2013

 Philosophy on Male and Female

            While reading through Aristotle's views on women I was rather dismayed on how he felt about females.  Aristotle's statement "A women is an unfinished man," was rather unfair and shocking to me.  I have always learned throughout history that females where never respected and treated equally to men until our time now.  After reading, I never really understood why Aristotle felt this way about females.  On the other hand, Plato had complete opposite thoughts on females and was Aristotle's teacher.   What made Aristotle think differently than his teacher?  What persuaded Aristotle to think the complete opposite of Plato's views?  Overall, Aristotle’s views on women seemed very unethical to me.  What evidence did Aristotle have to make him say, "A women is an "unfinished man?”

            In my opinion, Plato provided the best answer's to the questions about gender. Plato is very positive about women and their role in the society. He also backed his statements with significant thought and reason. Plato philosophized completely different with Aristotle's view on women.  Plato seemed to make both sexes equal in believing that, “Women could govern just as effectively as men for the simple reason that the rulers govern by virtue of their reason." I completely agree with this statement and with Plato's argument on females.  Plato also said, "Women have exactly the same powers of reasoning as men, provided they get the same training and are exempt from child rearing and housekeeping."  Both of these statements are backed up with logical reasoning and argument. 

            Throughout Sophie’s World, I began to recognize that many philosophers sided with Aristotle’s views.  For example, Aquinas, believed that children only inherit the father's characteristics as Aristotle also believed this as well.  Aquinas and Aristotle believed this since it harmonized with the Bible's message. The message tells us that women was made out of Adam's rib.  I agree that women were made out of Adam's rib since I believe that was a part on how we were created. However, I side with Plato's thought that women can have the same reason as men if woman are given the chance to. I do not believe being made from Adam's rib, makes "females an unfinished man’s'

            Throughout reading about different philosophers and leaders it was not hard to realize that all of them where men.  This did not astonish me, because I already knew many women back in the day worked in the house cooking and sewing.  Many females did not get to learn or even think about becoming a philosopher or some kind of leader. Aristotle influenced the citizens of believing this view on women that it stuck in that society during his time. In conclusion, the fact that most of the vast majority of the authorities was not a major shock to me. On the other hand, I think if people were influenced with Pluto's philosophy and sided with him about the sexes, there might have been just as many women leaders as their where male leaders throughout this book.

            In the end, philosophers like Condorcet and Olympe de Gouges, who lived during the French Revolution, formed treaties to help women earn their rights. Today we see women figures in politics and as leaders.  This is a good feeling to see females as important figures, and to see them straying away from the usual stereotypes like, "house workers," or "maids."