Sophie’s World Guide

THEORY OF KNOWLEDGEFALL 2012 SOPHIES WORLD READING GUIDE DR. HALL The wise Sophies valet (1991) by Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder offers a tour of the history of westbound school of thought as well as a post-modern detective story. We chose this training 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 summates, however, an eastern counterpoint to the western orientation of Gaarders novel.For analysis and contendion purposes, I have divided the novel into the future(a) five sections. Please type out or write neatly your responses to this guide on separate pages. nurture page numbers for every last(predicate) passages you paraphrase or quote in ( ). You are welcome to add your own comments/critiques. Approximately one section leave alone be collectable per week during the first 5 6 weeks of the first quarter. We will discuss your respons es during the assigned weeks of class as well as take indicant quizzes on each section. We whitethorn also write practice TOK essays establish on ideas and issues presented in Sophies World.Note that this hold is a translation. It will prove your understanding if you saying up Gaarder on the web. Print and critique an obligate you find provocative this will be part of your article file. I)The garden of Eden Aristotlepages 1 120 This opening section introduces Sophie and her world of radical and school. It sets up the relationship between Sophie and her philosophy teacher, who communicates with her primarily through letters. It reviews approximately of the material we canvas 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 characteristic philosopher and describing his main ideas.(Do this on the basis of Gaarders 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(prenominal) examples of how the PLOT of the novel reflects the various ideas about which Sophie is acquisition. Find several examples of Gaarders use of the Socratic method. 5Compare Platos sample society with the ideal commonwealth described by Gonzalo in Act II of The Tempest. II)Hellenism The churrigueresquepages 121 232 In this section you will discover the identity of Sophies 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 rate how they might tie in with a relieve oneself like Antigone or Chronicle of a Death Foretold. 2Find the image of history as a clock then try to draw the clock. This may r emind you of the learning style represented by the color wheel in misfire With a Pearl Earring. ) 3Make a note when you run across wording that we have defined in TOK. 4 Continue your list of primaeval philosophers and their ideas (or at least the characteristics of key philosophical periods). 5In light of Siddhartha and other knowledge, flip examples of or observations on Western orientation in Gaarders portrait of the development of ideas. III)Descartes Kantpages 233 341 In this section you will begin to resolve the mysteries of Hildes and her fathers identities.There will by crossovers between the original fleck with Sophie and the story of Hilde. 1Why does Gaarder chose to structure his narrative this way? How may this structure endorse the philosophical ideas being presented? 2Pay particular attention to the division of mind/ carcass in Descartes and to the similarities/differences between Berkeley and Bjerkely. 3 Recall our discussions of the Enlightenment in the wor k and writing style of Benjamin Franklin. Locate some passages that help exonerate (haha) Franklins text. 4FOR NEW JERUSALEM SEE SECTION ON SPINOZA, 247-256.Reflect on Albertos lecture in light of the play. 5 condone Lockes relationship to empiricism. plosive meanings of the term. 6 Compare/contrast this discussion of Kant with discussion of Kant and duty moral philosophy in our TOK textbook. IV)Romanticism Freudpages 342 446 This section features Marx, Darwin, and Freud, sometimes called The Triple Thinkers for their impact on late 19th early 20th century history, politics, economics, science, the arts, and human behavior. come upon that philosophy has diversified into what we would call separate disciplinary fields. Do you cypher the Freud chapter is aptly placed and persuasive? Why or why not, base on what you know of Freud from Psychology class and on the other kinds of thinkers include in this book? 2Compare the depiction of Freud in Gaarder with that in Brave refresh ful World. 3Discuss the satire of Darwinism in Brave New World with the explanation of growth in Sophies World. Note the similar titles. 4Do you agree that philosophy is the mirror of the world spirit? (371). Can you give some illustrations of this claim from your other conductings or experiences? V)Our Own Time The Big Bangpages 447 513 Please look up a definition of existentialism. Do you agree To exist is to ready your own life (458)? Who is Sartre? Who is Camus? You read this Algerian-born writers novel The peculiar in junior IB English. 2Compare definition of paradigm shift on 464 with doubting Thomas Kuhns. 3What book does Alberto buy Sophie? Explain. 4What happens at the garden party? Apply cock-a-hoop bang theory to the plot(s) of the novel. 5Compare/contrast Gaarders and Kuhns (and Franklins) attitude toward science, ground on the chaotic penultimate scene of each novel. 6Why might the book conclude in a rowboat on a lake? Explain the political relevance of Hildes fathers deep affair 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 casualty in the spring/summer of 2011 in the Middle East that could be understood through the lens of Gaarders 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?