A History of Philosophy

Hannah Riess

Mrs. Wagener

English 11 AP

12, August 2013

A History of Philosophy

            Sophie’s World is a novel jam-packed with the intriguing belief systems and ideas of great ancient philosophers. The novel explores the most famous concepts of Western thought. While reading the courses on philosophy, I realized that the ideas of some of these great thinkers are similar to my own beliefs. Even so, there were a few philosophical concepts and beliefs that I did not agree with. These ideas and beliefs have evolved over the years and paved the way for today’s modern thought.

            One of the philosophers that I agree with the most was Socrates. Even though Socrates never wrote down any of his fascinating ideas, he is recognized as the most influential philosopher on European thought. Instead of trying to teach people his own thoughts, Socrates spent his time in his hometown asking people in the town squares their own opinions and discussing different topics. By asking questions, Socrates would force people to think about certain issues and realize the weaknesses in their arguments, which would teach people in a new, creative way.  One thing Socrates knew for certain was that he knew nothing. In my opinion, this belief made Socrates the most intelligent of the ancient philosophers because he was constantly longing to gain knowledge because he knew he had only learned a mere portion of the information in the world.

            On the negative side of things, I strongly disagree with the beliefs Aristotle had on women. Aristotle believed that a woman was an “unfinished man” and that the male was solely responsible for the reproduction of a child. Obviously, Aristotle was completely wrong on this topic. Unfortunately, his degrading views on women were widely accepted and women were thought of as inferior to men for years. With good beliefs, come the bad, and Aristotle’s were one of the beliefs I strongly disagree with.

            “Where on the rabbit’s fur do you reside?” Prior to reading Sophie’s World, I had not given much thought as to why things are the way they are and where humans and the world around us comes from. I was guilty of being deep into the rabbit’s fur. Now, after reading the novel, I would say that I reside in the middle of the rabbit’s fur because I have began to ponder about the questions that everyone should consider. I am hopeful that as I get older and become more educated, I will gradually begin to climb the rabbit’s fur once again. All in all, I have learned a lot of valuable lessons from Sophie’s World and I will never stop wondering about our magnificent world.