Sophie’s World Guide

THEORY OF KNOWLEDGEFALL 2012 SOPHIE’S WORLD: READING GUIDE DR. HALL The novel Sophie’s World (1991) by Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder offers a tour of the history of Western philosophy as well as a post-modern detective story. We chose this reading for IB Seniors because it ties in so well with our fundamental TOK questions and issues. Because of the intellectual journey the novel charts, it makes a companion to Siddhartha which adds, however, an eastern counterpoint to the western orientation of Gaarder’s novel.For analysis and discussion purposes, I have divided the novel into the following five sections. Please type out or write neatly your responses to this guide on separate pages. Cite page numbers for all passages you paraphrase or quote in ( ). You are welcome to add your own comments/critiques. Approximately one section will be due per week during the first 5 – 6 weeks of the first quarter. We will discuss your responses during the assigned weeks of class as well as take reading quizzes on each section. We may also write practice TOK essays based on ideas and issues presented in Sophie’s World.Note that this book is a translation. It will enhance your understanding if you look up Gaarder on the web. Print and critique an article you find provocative; this will be part of your article file. I)â€Å"The Garden of Eden† – â€Å"Aristotle†pages 1 – 120 This opening section introduces Sophie and her world of home and school. It sets up the relationship between Sophie and her philosophy teacher, who communicates with her primarily through letters. It reviews some of the material we studied in the spring (Socrates) and some you have studied earlier at Central (Greek mythology). Make a list of the characters as you are introduced to them. Like Sophie, you will begin trying to identify Hilde and her father. 2 For each section make a list of the major schools of philosophy mentioned, notinga charact eristic philosopher and describing his main ideas.(Do this on the basis of Gaarder’s information although you may want to find out more about ones that intrigue you. ) Cite page ##s in text and/or sources if you look up information. 3Find several examples of how the PLOT of the novel reflects the various ideas about which Sophie is learning. Find several examples of Gaarder’s use of the Socratic method. 5Compare Plato’s ideal society with the ideal commonwealth described by Gonzalo in Act II of The Tempest. II)â€Å"Hellenism† – â€Å"The Baroque†pages 121 – 232 In this section you will discover the identity of Sophie’s teacher. You will also move forward in time from the Greek philosophical tradition to its successors in European history up to the l600s. 1Describe the discussions of mysticism and consider how they might tie in with a work like Antigone or Chronicle of a Death Foretold. 2Find the image of history as a clock; th en try to draw the clock. This may remind you of the learning style represented by the color wheel in Girl With a Pearl Earring. ) 3Make a note when you run across vocabulary that we have defined in TOK. 4 Continue your list of key philosophers and their ideas (or at least the characteristics of key philosophical periods). 5In light of Siddhartha and other knowledge, give examples of or observations on Western orientation in Gaarder’s depiction of the development of ideas. III)â€Å"Descartes† – â€Å"Kant†pages 233 – 341 In this section you will begin to resolve the mysteries of Hilde’s and her father’s identities.There will by crossovers between the original plot with Sophie and the story of Hilde. 1Why does Gaarder chose to structure his narrative this way? How may this structure demonstrate the philosophical ideas being presented? 2Pay particular attention to the division of mind/body in Descartes and to the similarities/differenc es between Berkeley and Bjerkely. 3 Recall our discussions of the Enlightenment in the work and writing style of Benjamin Franklin. Locate some passages that help illuminate (haha) Franklin’s text. 4FOR NEW JERUSALEM: SEE SECTION ON SPINOZA, 247-256.Reflect on Alberto’s lecture in light of the play. 5Explain Locke’s relationship to empiricism. Check meanings of the term. 6 Compare/contrast this discussion of Kant with discussion of Kant and duty ethics in our TOK textbook. IV)â€Å"Romanticism† – â€Å"Freud†pages 342 – 446 This section features Marx, Darwin, and Freud, sometimes called â€Å"The Triple Thinkers† for their impact on late 19th – early 20th century history, politics, economics, science, the arts, and human behavior. Notice that â€Å"philosophy† has diversified into what we would call separate disciplinary fields. Do you think the Freud chapter is aptly placed and persuasive? Why or why not, based o n what you know of Freud from Psychology class and on the other kinds of thinkers included in this book? 2Compare the depiction of Freud in Gaarder with that in Brave New World. 3Discuss the satire of Darwinism in Brave New World with the explanation of evolution in Sophie’s World. Note the similar titles. 4Do you agree that â€Å"philosophy is the mirror of the world spirit†? (371). Can you give some illustrations of this claim from your other readings or experiences? V)â€Å"Our Own Time† – â€Å"The Big Bang†pages 447 – 513 Please look up a definition of â€Å"existentialism.† Do you agree â€Å"To exist is to create your own life† (458)? Who is Sartre? Who is Camus? You read this Algerian-born writer’s novel The Stranger in junior IB English. 2Compare definition of â€Å"paradigm shift† on 464 with Thomas Kuhn’s. 3What book does Alberto buy Sophie? Explain. 4What happens at the garden party? Apply †Å"big bang theory† to the plot(s) of the novel. 5Compare/contrast Gaarder’s and Kuhn’s (and Franklin’s) attitude toward science, based on the chaotic penultimate scene of each novel. 6Why might the book conclude in a rowboat on a lake? Explain the political relevance of Hilde’s father’s deep involvement in Lebanon and in United Nations policies. What are the similarities and differences between Lebanon and the struggle Khaled Hosseini describes in A Thousand Splendid Suns (and The Kite Runner)? What is the relevance of both of these contexts for IB? What is happening in the spring/summer of 2011 in the Middle East that could be understood through the lens of Gaarder’s novel? 8Go back and read the epigraph by Goethe: is this what the novel is designed to illustrate? How does it do so? Who is Goethe? What is the relevance of the epigraph for TOK?