Commentary on a unique book: "Sophie's World" / Chapter 20

SOPHIE'S WORLD

(Sofies verden), by Jostein Gaarder (JG), translated from Norwegian into American by Paulette Møller (PM)

Commentary on a unique book

Chapters:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

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)

CHAPTER 20: LOCKE (PP213-221)

«		Without observers, things have no qualities; without observers, there are no things.	»

P213 L6: had any record T: knew L8: I couldn't T: It wasn't so easy to L8: make a breakthrough in T: find a solution to L14: insist on meeting T: demand to meet L15: natural T: right L19: He's really bad T: a real scoundrel L26: In a flash T: Soon L28: let me be T: leave me in peace

P214 L1: VCR T: video-player L15: short utterances T: half-sentences L20: managed T: hurried L29: I haven't a clue T: I've no idea L35: seen T: had a glimpse of

P215 L4: It's all making me dizzy T: I think I'm going crazy L7: a word T: any more L15: little one T: my child L15: I can't stop laughing T: I laugh so much I almost wet myself L17: hold on to your hat T: on tight L18: stuffed T: stuck L23: prancing T: leaping L30: celebrated T: properly L33: cards T: greetings

P216 L4: Sophie was speechless T: sat petrified L14: gather T: build up L15: no civilities T: polite phrases L15: great idiot T: big fool L21: I'll give you three guesses T: You can guess L22: imagine T: suppose L22: along the lines of T: like L25: all that T: so very L31: laughs T: wets himself L39: (T: typical) rationalists L40: a rationalist is someone who believes strongly in the importance of reason C: and then presents arguments based on flawed reasoning. Is rationalism a reasonable belief? Reason(ing) is important but not all-important

P217 L1: may also T: tends to L2: the clearer ... the more certain C: Clarity (of ideas) is a very subjective criterion of truth L4: reality T: something real L8: firmly rooted T: strong L10: an ever-increasing in-depth criticism T: increasingly radical L12: A view such as this T: Such a view L15: I'm going to attempt to T: I shall try C: How modest! L12: leading T: most influential L23: will T: wants to L24: approach T: attitude L32: about the world. C: Then half-sentence omitted: (T: We know absolutely nothing about the world) we are brought into before we have seen it C: A new-born baby has already spent some months learning about the most important part of the surrounding world - its mother L33(cont): If we do have a concept(ion) or an idea that cannot be related to experienced facts, (C: Facts are statements and are not directly experienced) then it will be a false concept(ion) C: Why? L35(cont): When we, for instance, use words like "God", "eternity" or "substance", reason is being misused (T: is absent - or, literally - is running idle (as of a motor)), because nobody has experienced God, eternity or what philosophers have called substance C: And has anyone experienced a mathematical triangle or an infinite straight line? L39: in actual fact T: when all is said and done L39: conceptions T: insights L40: seem T: be L41: pure fantasy C: Fantasy is not the same as falsehood. Is geometry pure fantasy?

P218 L1: under a microscope T: closely L2: hollow T: empty L2: panning for gold. Most of what you fish (T: dig) up is sand and clay but in between you see (T: in it you may see) the glint of a particle (T: nugget) of gold C: Like this commentary? L6: thoughts T: ideas L8: whether there was any basis for them in (T: they were based on) actual experience L10: shoot T: go ahead L15: some T: quite a L17: Locke's claim (T: conviction) is that all our thoughts and ideas issue from that which we have taken in through the senses T: and ideas are just a reflection of what we have seen and heard C: but filtered through and organised by language L19(cont): Before we perceive anything, the mind is a "tabula rasa" - or an empty slate C: Or just the 'operating system' (as in computers) L21: You can skip the Latin T: Stick to Norwegian L22: before we sense anything, then, the mind is as bare and empty as a blackboard before the teacher arrives C: Perhaps it bears traces of the writings of previous teachers? L28: information T: impressions L28: Some activity T: Something L29: single T: simple. L31: reflection T: ideas of reflection L32: The mind ... classifies and processes (C: through language) all sensations L40: Only after I have eaten an apple many times (C: and learned the word 'apple') do I think: Now I am eating an "apple"

P219 LL1-8: we ... form concepts ... Knowledge that cannot be traced back to a simple sensation (T: simple sensations) is therefore (C: therefore?) false knowledge and must ... be rejected C: We may form a concept of a thing from hearing/reading another person's description, without having experienced it directly ourselves. Is that 'false knowledge'? L10: the way T: such as L13: (Locke) asked whether the world really is the way we perceive it C: The subjective world (secondary reality), yes; the objective world (primary reality), no L15: jump to conclusions T: be too hasty L17: I didn't say a word T: I am as dumb as an oyster L18: L. distinguished between what he called "primary" and "secondary" qualities C: Not to be confused with TTR 'primary' and 'secondary' LL21-29: primary (T: sense-)qualities ... secondary (T: sense-)qualities C: The distinction is invalid: things have no qualities independent of observers and their language L22: When it is a question of qualities such as these C: i.e. primary qualities T: When qualities such as these are concerned, L23(cont): we can be certain that the senses reproduce them (T: things' real qualities) objectively C: No L27: are inherent T: lie L30: Everyone to his own taste T: Taste and pleasure cannot be discussed L31: Everyone can (T: We can all) agree on the primary qualities like size and weight (C: Not always) because they lie within the objects (T: things) themselves C: No; without observers, things have no qualities; without observers, there are no things (basic principle of TTR) L33: secondary qualities like color and taste can vary from person to person C: All qualities (may) vary from person to person L38: She says (the orange) tastes sour. I usually think the same orange is nice and sweet L40(cont): And neither (one) of you is right or wrong C: Both are right (subjective truth)

P220 L2: (The color) is neither pretty nor ugly C: Both; pretty in Joanna's world, ugly in Sophie's overlapping but different world L4: square T: a cube L5: you can't "think" it weighs eight kilos if it only weighs two hundred grams C: If A says it weighs 200 gm and B says it weighs only 199 gm, is A wrong? C: An orange has no weight (in grams) without an observer to weigh it. And there is no 'orange' without an observer to name it L7: way off the mark T: all at sea L7: If several people have to guess how much something weighs, there will always be one of them who is more right than the others C: Not necessarily L9(cont): The same applies to number. Either there are 986 peas in the can or there are not C: And if one pea (or more) has broken into two or more pieces? L11(cont): The same with motion. Either the car is moving (C: imperceptibly?) or it's stationary C: Or both at the same time: e.g. stationary on a ferry but moving with it across the Channel C: And if (e.g.) an envelope is moving (through the postal system), it is still stationery L13: when it was a T: on the L14: does have T: really has L17: L. admitted ... knowledge in other areas too ... he held that certain ethical principles applied to everyone C: That was his (mistaken) opinion, not knowledge L19: In other words, he believed in (T: So he supported) the idea of a natural right C: A cultural invention L21: L. believed that it was inherent in human reason to be able to know that God exists T: that the existence of God is inherent in human reason C: Does that make atheists irrational or just unreasonable? L27: He did not let it rest on faith T: leave it as a question of faith L27(cont) He believed that the idea of God was born of (T: knowledge of God derives from) human reason L28(cont): That was a rationalistic (C: but not rational) feature L29: spoke out for T: supported L30: preoccupied with T: concerned about L36: had T: played L37: a forerunner T: an early advocate.

P221 L2: elected representatives T: parliament / national assembly L3: judicial power ... executive power C: And now the 'media' L5: This division of power (T: into three domains) originated from T: with L7: separated T: kept separate L7(cont): if tyranny was to be avoided T: to avoid tyranny.