Prompt 5

                                                   A New Way of Thinking

     Usually in past time periods, philosophy and religion were kept separated. All of this changed when St. Augustine emerged as a former Platonist gave his life to Christianity. Even though he was a hundred-percent Christian he never fully turned his back of thoughts of philosophy. Instead, he made a point that reason and religion can go together but reason cannot get as far as faith when answering questions. I am a Christian myself, but also like St. Augustine, I believe in reason and facts as well. St. Augustine was the first person to ever think of combining Greek philosophy and Jewish belief. Even though in a sense he combined these thoughts, he made sure to prove that he did not believe they actually came in conflict; having them combined help make more sense of things. I think that is why I like his approach to his beliefs and philosophies attract me the most. As I have mentioned before, I am a true believer in Christianity and God. However, I do agree with some factual sides of philosophy. The way that St. Augustine was able to take Christianity and back it up in a way with Platonic philosophy makes sense to me.

     One belief system that I tend not to agree with is Hellenism. This was a period of mixed Asian and Greek cultures and focused around the Cynic school. They believe in little personal comfort and wealth. They do not care for other people's well-being which I do not agree with as well. I believe to have a successful society, everyone should in a sense look out for each other, care about each other. If we had a society where every single person was selfish and only cared for themselves, nothing great could be achieved because the greater good would not be in the minds of the people. This type of belief focuses only on the individual. Yes, I agree that some time should be spent focusing mainly on yourself, but I believe that should be only a small percentage of your focus.

     I think I reside deep inside the rabbit's fur. Philosophers are the type of people that want to get down to the bottom of things, see what's going on the tip of the fur. I want to learn about new things, but I usually do not tend to force myself out to learn and answer my curiosities. That is why I tend to think of myself as the type of people who live deep inside the rabbits fur who sometimes do not even realize what is actual going on. Reading this novel has opened my eyes a little more to see that maybe I do need to turn into the type of person who in fact resides on the top of the rabbit's fur to stare directly into the magician's eyes.

Prompt 4

                                                        All From Perspective

     When we first experience things, our surroundings leave a lasting impression of that moment. However, feelings and different situations can affect how we see things in life. The experiment with the red-tinted glasses is a prime example of this. It took a minute for Sophie to realize what Alberto's point was of this. Even though the world is not really all red, the glasses perceive the world as red because of the glasses not showing the real colors of Sophie's surroundings. Alberto relates this to Kant's teaching that the idea of time and space belong and can altered by human condition.

     The questions Alberto asks Sophie's about Kant's teachings are all about perspective. Perspective can change a situation into a completely different direction depending on how you look at it. I, personally, agree with Kant's teaching because I have experienced this look on perception myself. Teenage years are difficult years trying to find yourself as a person, the people you need to spend time with and the people you need to stay away from, and how you fit into this world as a person. Different challenges that I have already faced have made think in different perspectives to help me to make sense of situations happening to me and how I need to face and deal with them.

     A situation that different outlooks through perception is needed is when something negative is thrown at you. Dealing with negative people and even situations no one can dictate are things everyone has to deal with in life. In no way are these predicaments fun to handle, but it is a fact of life. The way to deal with this is to look through a new perspective. A different view on a situation can turn things around in a way a person can handle them. Looking at a situation in a more positive light and forgetting the negativity is a way perception that can ensure to change the mind of a person.

Prompt 3

                                                      Medieval Thinking

     In the chapter covering the Middle Ages, a breakthrough in history is being told to Sophie. After all the time Greek philosophers spent attempting to prove that the earth had always existed and that God never really created this earth, medieval thinkers began to think differently about the situation. For example, St. Augustine “christianized” old philosophy ideas. Christianity was knew in this area of the world at the time where philosophers explained non-religious teachings about the universe. Once St. Augustine started to contemplate whether Christianity and Greek philosophy actually intertwined, he wanted to share the bonding of religious belief and factual philosophy to the world.

     St. Augustine believed he was a hundred-percent Christian. Even though he held this to be true he agreed that Christianity and Platonic philosophy had no contradiction between each other. He still believed in philosophy even though he was Christian. He explained his beliefs by saying that reason can only go so far with some matters. Religious questions can be answered fully by faith, not by reason. He also connected the two by keep his Platonic idea of eternal ideas by believing that God had always knew he was going to created this world we living, thus keeping the idea of the world eternal.

     The different perspectives of life gave St. Augustine a whole new outlook on life and how things came to be. This influenced people all around him making the Middle Ages a turning point for the intertwining of ancient philosophy and Christianity beliefs.

Prompt 2

                                                              Back to Old Ways

     Aristotle's view on women honestly surprised me. After being taught from Plato, another famous Greek philosopher, I assumed he would share his idea of a more advanced way of living than what was used to be seen in ancient times. It seemed to me as if Aristotle held onto the past of how were. Plato's view reminds me much of the present. The women in this era are very independent and seem more equal to me more than ever before in history. I do, however, understand Aristotle's thoughts on women. In ancient times, women were, in fact, seen as only wives and bearers of children. This old way of thinking prevents women from becoming independent and we see time and time again in history that it took a long time for women to be recognized for more than just wives of men.

     The one philosopher that stood out to me was Plato, Aristotle's teacher himself. He had an advanced way of thinking; it was a way that was never seen before. He focused on how people act and feel and what should be most important to him. He believed that women were, in fact, equal to men because they both have human reason. Plato describes parts of the human body into the classes of people needed to build an ideal society. In all classes he believed that they corresponded with the three most important virtues in life: courage, temperance, and wisdom. Since both men and women have human reason, he believes that all should be able to work on those three virtues, thus proving both men and women are needed in society.

     In the time period of all the philosophers mentioned in this novel, women were not perceived in the same way as men. With the exception of Plato and some others, most had ideas similar to Aristotle that women were only good for taking care of their men, children, and homes. Men were viewed in a higher spotlight than women. This honestly hurt the ancient civilizations because just like Plato explained, women can bring as much human reason as men can. The gaining of power for women just did not come soon enough for the ancient philosophy era.

Prompt 1

                                                          Thoughts on a Grander Scale

     In the first chapter of this book, Sophie Amundsen received a letter in the mail with no stamp and no returning address. The anonymous sender puts only three words onto the paper, “Who are you?”. This one, simple question brings millions of thoughts into Sophie's mind. She begins to address things around her and even her self will eventually die, and she begins to ask herself, is there life after death. Then, days later, another letter from the anonymous writer asks Sophie where does the world come from. A whirlwind of questions run through her mind and make her think about every little aspect of life. Even though a question so simplistic can make someone examine themselves and everything around them in a totally different way. I cannot help but to feel as if I am in the same position as Sophie. I have been taught my beliefs of how the world was made and how humans exist ever since I was a child. This book has made me question myself once more about the beginning of all that we know just like how philosophers questioned themselves the exact same way thousands of years ago.

     Answering a question that asks me who I am is difficult for me. I just think of myself as a regular sixteen-year-old girl with dreams and goals that I wish to fulfill. After reflecting this question I realize I am much more than just the average. There is only one me in the entire world. Everything that makes up who I am cannot be compared to anyone else her on Earth. Of course, some physical and mental qualities can be similar to people everywhere, but the combination of how I look, think, feel, and the actions I make compare to no one else. This makes me special and different from the other billions of people on this earth.

     Everyone has a different perspective on where the world came from. Beliefs on how it was made and who it was made by differentiate throughout the world. I, personally, believe in Christianity. I believe that God made this earth in seven days and all that inhabits it. Yes, this book interests me in how ancient philosophers contemplated the variety of myths and made their answers to this very same question, but I stick strong to what I believe is the truth to this question. Even though I hold God accountable for making the universe and man, this question still intrigues me. I tend to wonder how just one being could create all that occupies this world and I marvel at the way this world was created out of nothing. I think that is what interests me the most; how did God make all of these beautiful things around me? This question just reintroduces my amazement of how God created this world and us humans.