SOPHIE'S WORLD
(Sofies verden), by Jostein Gaarder (JG), translated from Norwegian into American by Paulette Møller (PM)Guestbook | Guestmap | Discussion forum | Inspired by...
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| CH = chapter, P = page, L = line, C = comment, N = Norwegian, T = (alternative) translation, usually closer to the original text, TTR = Two-Tier Reality (metaphysical system bridging East and West) |
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CHAPTER 18: DESCARTES (PP194-204) |
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| Title: he wanted to clear all the rubble (T: old stuff) off the (T: building) site | ||||||||
| P194 L3: lived in a number of different European countries at various periods of his life T: lived a roaming life in Europe L4: Even as a young man, he had T: As a young man, he already had L5: insight T: sure insight L10: certain knowledge is only attainable through reason T: something only reason can give us L15: There is a direct line of descent from T: a line from L16: rationalists, convinced that reason was the only path to (T: is the only certain source of) knowledge L21: general (T: common) views L24: the way T: just as L28: So he joined the army and went to war T: became a soldier C: 'So'?! C: I fight, therefore I am? | ||||||||
| P195 L10: Descartes was the father of (T: founded) modern philosophy L11: heady T: intoxicating L18: (by a philosophical system) I mean a philosophy that is constructed from the ground up and that is concerned with finding explanations for all the central questions of philosophy C: Like TTR, for example L23: beliefs T: ideas L27: His work was the forerunner of T: He set the tone for L28: coming (T: succeeding) generations L28: His main concern was with ... certain knowledge C: The Great Chimera of philosophy and science: there is no (positive) certain knowledge, no (positive) eternal truth L31: Both these (T: These two) questions were the substance of (T: dominated) philosophical argument T: discussion L35: many of his contemporaries ... thought that man should accept that he knew nothing C: Man knows many things, but (the truth of) his knowledge is inescapably relative L38: Descartes ... a real philosopher C: Sceptics (including Sophists) can also be philosophers L40: the new natural sciences were developing a method by which to provide certain and exact descriptions of natural processes C: Any such certainty and exactness is subjective and ephemeral | ||||||||
| P196 L17: division of (T: separation between) soul and body L18: The reason was that the motions of all material objects (T: The reason was that all physical objects) ... were explained as involving mechanical processes T: a mechanical process C: Original is obscure - an object is not a process - but PM's brave interpretation is doubtful L28: I'm crying T: the tears run L28: there must be some mysterious connection between body and consciousness C: Some misunderstanding of the role of language L32: a sharp division between "spirit" and "matter" C: a man-made division between man-made concepts L33: But as to how the mind influences the body (T: on the question of how the body affects the soul) - or the soul (T: affects) the body - Plato could not provide an (T: had no) answer L35: I am looking forward to hearing (T: am wondering) what Descartes'(s) theory (T: conclusion) was L37: line of reasoning T: argument | ||||||||
| P197 L2: perceive it T: recognise that it is true L2(cont) To achieve this can require the breaking down of a compound problem (T: it may be necessary to break down a complex problem) into as many single factors (T: simple parts) as possible L4(cont): Then we can take our point of departure in the simplest idea of all T: Then we can begin with the simplest ideas L9: Only then would it be possible to construct (T: Then it would be possible to develop) a new insight L11: control T: checking L13: test T: problem LL14-16: C: Information about D. added by PM L20: only reason can give us certainty T: certain insight L21: It is far from certain (T: evident) that we can rely on our senses C: or our reason L23: certainty T: certain knowledge L26: His aim is to reach certainty (T: attain certain insight) about the nature of life T: existence C: There is no objective certainty to be found L32: As you so neatly put it T: Thanks for the help L33: he thought it was possible in principle to doubt everything C: except, of course, his own doubtful reasoning L34: For one thing T: In the first place L36: It may T: That will doubtless. L36: It was important for D. T: For D., it was important L38: construction T: investigation L42: He wanted to use only fresh new materials C: So he needed a fresh new language | ||||||||
| P198 L3: Maybe (our senses) are deceiving us C: Maybe our 'reason' is deceiving us L5: separates T: distinguishes between L8: with certainty separates T: definitely differentiates L11: when T: that L20: one thing had to be true, and that was that he doubted C: Or was he just dreaming that he doubted? Conclusion: I dream, therefore I am. More formally: I (verb), therefore 'I' L23: Cogito, ergo sum C: More important: I speak (i.e. use language), therefore we are L26: I'm not surprised he realised that T: terribly surprised he came to that conclusion L27: Fair (T: True) enough L29: Plato ... what we grasp with our reason is more real than what we grasp with our senses C: No L32: This thinking I was more real than the material world C: No L33: He was by no means through with (T: had by no means ended) his philosophical quest L38: a perfect entity. This was an idea he had always had C: From what age? L41: The idea of a perfect entity cannot have originated from one who was himself imperfect, he claimed C: If only D. could have consulted Mrs Euclid, who used to annoy her rather stout husband by saying that the idea of a perfect circle could not possibly originate from one who was himself imperfectly circular | ||||||||
| P199 L2: self-evident T: immediately self-evident L4: Now he was jumping to a conclusion T: he is beginning to jump to conclusions L6: weak spot T: weakest point L14: artisan's mark T: artist's signature L21: all points (T: on the circumference) of the circle are equidistant from the centre L22: Nor can you have a perfect entity that lacks its most important property (T: the most important of all properties), namely, existence C: Why not zillions of perfect entities? L26: It is a decidedly rationalistic (C: but not rational) way of thinking L33: In the question of T: As regards L34: fantasies T: just dream-pictures LL35-42: C: "Quantitative" properties, 'the kinds of things that are measurable, such as length, breadth and depth', can only be perceived/measured by using our senses, and so they are just as subjective as "qualitative" properties, 'such as colour, smell and taste', and are neither more nor less real | ||||||||
| P200 L5: a perfect God would not deceive us C: Does Descartes' God deceive us about the reliability of our sense perceptions? L11: D. now maintains (T: can now determine) that there are two different forms of reality - or two "substances". One substance is thought, or the "mind", the other is extension, or "matter" C: thought = mind?! extension = matter?! L13: The mind ... cannot be subdivided into smaller parts C: I've half a mind to disagree L18: both substances originate from God, because only God himself exists independently of anything else C: So is God a third substance? L20: the two substances have no contact with (T: are quite independent of) each other L21(cont): Thought is quite independent of (T: free in relation to) matter L26: extended reality T: the reality of extension L27: mind T: soul L28: (Animals) ... Their living and moving are accomplished (T: lives and movements are carried out) mechanically L35: We are and we aren't T: Yes and no L36: takes up room in (T: occupies) space L39: soul T: spirit L40: the human body is a perfect machine T: a fine mechanism L40(cont): But man also has a mind which can operate quite independently of the body C: No; thinking uses physical energy L42: the same (T: such) freedom | ||||||||
| P201 L4: the possibility that animals could think C: Yes or no, depending on how we define 'think' L11: As long as the mind is in the body C: If 'the mind' is independent of 'extended reality', how can it be located in a material object? L16: base T: lower L17: to get T: for L18: the worst (T: a terrible) pain L18: the sum of the angles in a triangle will still be 180 degrees C: as long as we equate a right angle to 90 degrees L19: humans have the capacity to rise above bodily needs and behave rationally C: It is quite rational to attend to bodily needs. Neglecting or suppressing them may well lead to mental and physical sickness and irrational behaviour L22: our teeth can fall out C: and our powers of mental calculation can wane L23: two and two will go on being four (T: will still be four) as long as there is reason left in us C: and as long as we are not referring to white rabbits, which are notorious for swiftly combining two and two to make twenty-two (technically known as a tophatful) L25: For D., the mind is essentially thought T: reason itself is the mind/soul L26: feelings such as desire and hate C: desire and hate are forms of thought L30: based on T: due to L37: inventions T: machines | ||||||||
| P202 L2: machines that can sometimes deceive us into believing that they are intelligent C: We deceive ourselves L8: The human soul (T: mind) is naturally (T: of course) more complex than any data program C: Computers should not be confused with computer programs L29: friend T: acquaintance | ||||||||
| P203 L20: found her T: found it here L22: I have fed the data program with T: I have given her (Laila) L31: a sign of violent (T: a clear sign of intense) feelings | ||||||||
| P204 L9: command T: desire L10: This beats everything T: This is the worst I have seen L10: breathed T: groaned L12: He motioned for Sophie to move T: He pushed Sophie off the chair L15: to be T: to reveal myself L18: here T: acting L25: again T: any more L33: turn up next time T: pop up again. | ||||||||