Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Prompt 5
Jasmyn Burks
Mrs. Welhelmus
AP English Language
13 August 2013
Playing
it Safe
When
reading Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder made my head spin with new
ideas and topics I never imagined to know before. There were many
philosophers and belief systems that I disagreed with. Though, in a
way, I understood where they were coming from. When reading, I got a
good insight on the mind set of these philosophers during different
periods throughout time. Whether the philosopher was right or wrong,
they used their curious minds to figure out some reason in this
bizarre world, and I admire that.
One of
the philosophers I disagreed with was Aristotle. His views on women
were unintelligent. I understand he was influenced by the era he was
born in. It was almost normal to disrespect women and to treat them
like objects instead of human beings, so it is only expected of
Aristotle to think that women were “unfinished”. Aristotle was a
bright man, but he did not look to much into the reproductive system
and how genes work. He thought that all the characteristics were in
the male sperm, and that is incorrect.
Another
philosopher that I did not necessary agree with, but did not disagree
with either, was the Big Bang theory. This topic is confusing to
think about, but it is also the only proof we have with reason and
science. I am a Christian and believe that God created everything and
everyone. I strongly believe in my religion but science could be
right with the theory that the Universe started with a big bang.
Though, I believe that God made all this happen.
I
believe that I am climbing up the rabbits fur, trying to find a way
out of this habitual world. I know that I am used to the world that I
live in and sometimes try not to think about confusing topics before
that were talked about in this book. Though, that is not very easy
and I find that I do think like the philosophers. Though, by the time
I get to the top of the rabbits fur, I usually climb right back down.
You could say that I am stuck in between. I want to learn about new
things and explore the philosophical way of the world, but then I
get confused and scared about the topics that are being discussed. I
guess I like playing it safe, and do not want to think about those
kind of questions that the philosophers were bringing up. So for now,
I will just climb right back up the rabbits fur and hope and pray
that I stay there.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Prompt 4
Jasmyn Burks
Mrs. Welhelmus
AP English Language
11 August 2013
The
Perception of the World
Immanuel
Kant was a philosopher who teaches the perception of reality. He
believes that since all knowledge one encounters is mentally, one can
only know what the mind presents to them. In Sophie's World, in the
“Kant” chapter, Alberto Knox gives Sophie an experiment to better
understand Immanuel Kant. Alberto tells Sophie to put on a pair of
glass and asks what she sees. The glasses are tinted red, the light
colors became pink while the dark colors became crimson. Sophie could
see that the world was the same except that everything was red.
The
purpose of this experiment was to show Sophie, and readers, that
everything you see is a part of the world around you. Though, the way
you perceive it makes the difference. Some things limit the way
people perceive reality, like the red tinted glasses in the
experiment. This experiment shows what Kant meant about how certain
conditions can control the mind when people experience the world.
Everyone see the world the same way, but everyone has different
experiences.
In some
conditions, I do perceive the world differently than others. I grew
up in a big family, so my life can be loud and chaotic, while smaller
families are quiet and calm. My life can get busy and unorganized,
while others are neat and organized. Also, since my family is so big,
we have to spend more money on more things. In smaller families, the
demand for more things, like food and clothing, are not as high as if
you were in a larger family. With more mouths to feed and more money
to spend, my family does not have that much money left over for other
things. Though, with my family, I will never get bored and there is
always something to do.
Prompt 3
Jasmyn Burks
Mrs. Welhelmus
AP English Language
10 August 2013
Religion
or Reason
During
the middle ages, one had to chose between reason or faith when it
comes to the creation of the world and Universe. A person would have
a hard time believing the reason of philosophy and the facts of
science while still keeping faith in their religion. Many people were
afraid to accept philosophy once they committed to their faith. Plato
and Aristotle were born before Christ, so when Christianity became so
popular, it was hard to accept Plato and Aristotle's teachings and
philosophies. People felt that their philosophies threatened what
they believed in.
During
this era, people were trying to figure out the truths in what is real
and not real. As a result, there was controversy on the truths on
what philosophy teaches and what religion teaches. In this era,
Christianity helped mend the troublesome and curious minds about life
and the Universe. As more people were practicing Christianity, less
people practiced the philosophical way of life.
When St.
Augustine and Aquinas came into the philosophical world, they wanted
to blend philosophy and Christianity. By “Christianizing” the
teachings of Plato and Aristotle, it allowed people to think with
reason while still having faith in God. St. Augustine thought that
Plato's teachings were not to far from Christianity, he even thought
Plato had knowledge of the Old Testament. “St. Augustine believed
that before God created the world, the ideas were in the divine
mind.” Aquinas found similarities between Aristotle's ideas and
Christianity. When Aristotle taught that their was a single being or
force that controlled every being in the world, Aristotle could have
been talking about God or maybe he was talking about something else.
Regardless, the fact that Aristotle may have been talking about God would mean that there was a similarity in his teachings and Christianity.
As a result, Plato's and Aquinas's philosophies could be more
accepted.
Prompt 2
Jasmyn Burks
Mrs. Welhelmus
AP English Language
8 August 2013
Battle
of the Sexes
Gender
roles have been a conflict for many generations, and women did not
get the good end of the stick. Women were considered housewives and
objects who only raised children and did chores. When I read
Aristotle's view on women, I was not surprised. Aristotle was raised
in an era where men were more superior than women. As a result, he
was influenced to think that women were an “unfinished man,” as
he put it. It may seem that Aristotle was an intelligent man, but
when it came to gender roles, he was wrong.
God made
men and women equal, and never “unfinished” anything. God made
everything with a purpose, so men and women were both put on Earth,
yes in different ways, but are both important. It seemed that
Aristotle was unfamiliar with the reproductive system and how genes
work. It is sad that Aristotle had so much influence on the church
and the Middle Ages, there could have been a lot of better changes in
the world if women were given more independence.
In my
opinion, Plato's view on women was more admirable. Plato believes
that women have the same opportunity as men do in this world and
thinks that women should be taught the same things as men do. Plato
believes that men and women have the same nature, and even though
Plato thinks that most women are weaker in the physical state, he
believes that men and women could have the same mental abilities.
In
Sophie’s World, majority of the philosophers Alberto talked
about were men. As I said before, this was not so surprising, men
were more privileged during this era. There was not many women philosophers in this time period, and if there was, they were not acknowledged the way men were. Men were considered more
intelligent and had better insight on the world than women did. Men
considered women to think more on their opinions and feelings rather
than reason. So, because of this, women were better suited in the
house with children than in the real world with men.
Prompt 1
Jasmyn Burks
Mrs. Welhelmus
AP English Language
7 August 2013
Unfathomable Philosophy
Questions
For
years people have debated over the creation of the world and the
human beings living on it. This topic has been very controversial and
confusing. Everyone views creation with different theories or
beliefs. Science believes the Universe began to get extremely hot
and started to expand rapidly, which resulted with a big bang. Which
is why scientists call it the Big Bang Theory.
In a
way, this theory is probably true, though it all comes down to faith.
I am a Christian and I believe that God created everyone and
everything in this amazing, beautiful world. It is hard to believe
that God has always existed even when everything else did not, but
people, including myself, have to keep faith in what they believe in.
God has a plan for everyone, even if it can be difficult and
confusing. I believe that sometimes certain questions are not meant
to be answered.
Who am
I? That is a very complex and difficult question to ask myself. My
name is Jasmyn Burks and I am the daughter of Anthony and Beth Burks.
I am the oldest out of five children and have three wonderful dogs. I
could start out with the basics and say that I have dark brown hair,
hazel eyes, and that I am biracial. Or, that I am obsessed with
reading every book on the planet. I could say that I love the color
blue and that I like to play tennis.
Though,
I am not sure that this defines who I really am. Yes, everything I
said is a part of me, but those are just simple facts. So, who am I?
I know that I am shy and considerate. I know that I am caring and
sometimes misunderstood. If I was to describe who I would be in ten
years, I honestly would not know. I am only seventeen years old and
still have a lot to learn about life and myself. Only in the past
couple years, I have been truly starting to find myself. The only
thing I can do is to stay on the right path. In time, I believe that
I will learn who I am and what God's purpose in life is for me.
Until that happens, the only option I have is to stay true to myself.
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