Controversial Philosophical Ideas Sophies World

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Controversial Philosophical Ideas Sophie’s World, written by Jostein Gaardner, illustrates the history of philosophy by telling the story of a girl who is educated about philosophy. Many topics are covered in this novel but there are a few thought provoking questions that are present. These questions are “Does Fate exist?”, “What is the relationship between the body and the mind?”, and “What is the purpose of life?” While science believes that the body and the mind are simply a mixture of chemicals, philosophy goes in a much different direction. On page ninety-one of Sophie’s World, Plato’s views on the human body are described. In short, he believed that the human body is made of three parts: the head, chest, and abdomen. Each of these three parts has a characteristic belonging exclusively to that part. Reason belongs to the head, will corresponds to the chest, and appetite to the abdomen. Each of these characteristics has a virtue as well. Reason to wisdom, will to courage, and appetite to temperance. Plato believed that the body as well as the mind contains characteristics. The mind and body, instead of being connected, all work together in a cycle. This idea is very controversial because there facts supporting and against this idea. The body can be affected mentally by the brain; one example is the placebo effect. A fake treatment given to a patient can result in bringing them back to health because the patient believes that they are receiving medication. The power of thinking can even be strong enough to affect the body physically. Another example is a parent kissing an injury on their child. Physically, this will not benefit the injury, but mentally, the child is soothed by the action and therefore, feels better. In addition to the mind and body relationship, the idea of fate is another difficult topic. Fate is the supernatural development of events that

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