Sophie: Chapter IV--The Natural Philosophers

II. THE KEY TERM HERE IS ‘PROJECT’ (P. 32) NOTICE HOW THE PROJECT'S QUESTIONS WILL INEVITABLY SHIFT THE FOCUS FROM MYTHOLOGY TO....? IS 'INEVITABLY' THE RIGHT WORD? ITS USE ANTICIPATES A FUTURE CHAPTER.

A. NOTE THAT SOPHIE"S PONDERING (WONDERING) ABOUT THE QUESTIONS LEADS TO THE NEXT LETTER. OBSERVE AS WELL THAT TENSIONS CONTINUE TO ARISE BETWEEN SOPHIE AND HER MOTHER. WHY? HOW 'NATURAL' IS THE TENSION?

C. WHAT HAPPENS TO RELIGION? RECALL THE PROGRESSION WE NOTED IN THE LAST CHAPTER. ON PAGE 33, GAARDER USES 'LIBERATED'--WHAT WAS LIBERATED FROM WHAT? IS THERE A BIAS? SHOULD THERE BE? WHY IS LIBERATED SO PARADOXICAL?

C. ANAXIMENES--AIR AS THE SOURCE OF LIFE

V. THE SCHOOL FROM ELEA (ELEATICS): EVERYTHING CAN COME FROM NOTHING (P. 33). THINK OF SHAKESPEARE'S KING LEAR.

A. PARMENIDES--ALL IS PERMANENT, AND THE SENSES DECEIVE US: SOPHIE MIGHT RECALL HIS ASSUMPTION WHEN READING DESCARTES.

B. HERACLITUS--ALL IS FLUX; THE SENSE ARE RELIABLE GUILDES TO KNOWLEGE. SOPHIE WILL EXAMINE THIS ASSUMPTION WHEN STUDYING JOHN LOCKE.

VI. THE BASIC ELEMENTS: EARTH, AIR, FIRE AND WATER (P.38)

A. ORIGIN OF A MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE COSMOLOGY WHICH WILL NOT BE CHALLENGED UNTIL VIRTUALLY THE 'ATOMIC' AGE.

VII. THE REACTION OF SOPHIE:

A. UNDERSTANDING REQUIRES EFFORT. NOTE THAT THROUGHOUT THE NOVEL AND ALMOST SUBLIMINALLY, GAARDER PROVIDES CLUES TO A PEDAGOGICAL PERSPECTIVE IMPORTANT FOR SOPHIE AND US TO EMBRACE IF WE WISH TO GROW MORALLY AND INTELLECTUALLY: SEE FOR A START PAGES 41, 51, 66, 69, 71, 90 -- WITH MANY TO FOLLOW. TRACE THEM. ARE THE CLUES CONSISTENT WITH OUR QUICK-FIX, INSTANT GRATIFICATION CULTURE? WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES IF WE IGNORE THE NOVEL'S PEDAGOGICAL PREMISES?

B. HER REVIEW OF THE PHILOSOPHIES--NOTE THAT SHE EXTRAPOLATES CONCEPTS:

1--PARMENIDES--HOW COULD SOMETHING BECOME TOTALLY DIFFERENT (COURAGE TO CONTRACT THE OBVIOUS--GALILEO)

2--EMPEDOCLES--THERE IS MORE THAN ONE SUBSTANCE

C. SOME OF MY STUDENTS HAVE CRITICIZED THE NOVEL FOR ITS APPARENT LACK OF SOPHISTICATED CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, BUT AS PAGES 41-42 SUGGEST, SOPHIE IS QUITE DYNAMIC:

Recall at the outset how her physical appearance seemed to dominate her life.
Now, she admires the courage of the natural philosophers to advance ideas not consistent with the conventions of their day. Will she too, and do we, require courage to pursue a philosophical quest? What, for example, does NERD mean in our society?
Most importantly, however and while sitting in her den, Sophie concludes that philosophical pursuits can be exciting because they foster the development of ideas based on what she calls 'common sense.' Most aptly, Sophie now believes that although she might not be able to learn philosophy using the conventional academic regimen of 'memorize this for the test,' she can learn to think philosophically!! One wonders if our nation's economy would be on the verge of collapse if 'wall street' understood what Sophie has grasped? The child really is the father to the man.

PRESOCRATIC PHILOSOPHY is difficult to locate. Much of what survives is in fragments, and / or is recounted in the writings of Plato and Aristotle, especially his Metaphysics.

Click here for an outline of Presocratic philosophy with links.

See also: Early Greek Philosophy by John Barnes (Penguin classics)


			*CHAPTER IV--THE NATURAL PHILOSOPHERS*

				What does 'natural' mean? Where did the natural philosophers begin, and what did they tend to leave behind? The shift redefined western thought despite their errors. What was their starting point?



		BANQUO: ‘IF YOU CAN LOOK INTO THE SEEDS OF TIME AND SAY WHICH WILL GROW AND WHICH WILL NOT, SPEAK....” <MACBETH>