Jostein Gaarder’s novel, Sophie’s World, explores the history of philosophy in a way that is easily understandable for the reader. In the chapter regarding Aristotle and his philosophies, Sophie is asked the question “why does it rain?” In a scientific sense, the answer is simple, however in a philosophical sense, there is no concrete reason why rain occurs in the first place. Aristotle breaks it down into three causes. The “material cause” and “efficient cause” are both scientific — as moisture in the air cools, it condenses, thus causing rain to fall. However, he addressed another cause called the “final cause.” Aristotle believed that every element of life has a purpose, or a task they must perform for the well-being of others. However, everybody knows that rain does not have a conscience. Instead, Aristotle suggested that the purpose of a raindrop is God’s purpose — to give life to things on Earth.
(I have not particularly enjoyed reading Sophie’s World because it reads more like a textbook than a novel. The characters seem to be more two-dimensional, as discussed in How To Read Literature Like A Professor, and exist only as a device only to make the history of philosophy easier to understand. Nonetheless, it has been interesting to get a broader insight to the world of philosophy.)
No comments:
Post a Comment