Zach Turi

Mrs. Wilhelmus

AP English 11

3 August 2013

Prompt 5

         Reading Sophies World not only changed the way I think about the world, but also the way I think about people and their place in the world. This book has had my mind running since page one. Learning about Aristotle and his views on women gave me mixed feelings. In some ways I agreed with Plato and in some ways I agreed with Aristotle. For example, I do agree with Aristotle in that there are certain things that women lack the men have, but I also agreed with Plato in saying that women should be treated more as equals to men.

        Another philosopher that really interested me was Immanuel Kant. I was so fascinated by him because he figured out that everyone in some way is right. We have spent thousands of years trying to prove one another wrong, but if you look back on the teachings of Kant he was actually right. I also really liked how St. Augustine and Aquinas thought outside of the box and chose to unite Christianity and reason. This made me think that if we all decided to think about things outside the box the world would be a different place.

         I have taken time to think about what side of the rabbits fur I would choose and to be honest I do not have a preference. Both sides sound equally intriguing to me. Maybe I could let God take the reins and choose for me. As of now I am not sure which I would choose.

Zach Turi's Blog

Zach Turi

Mrs. Wilhelmus

AP English 11

1 August 2013

Prompt 4

      In the “Kant” chapter of Sophie's World, Alberto Knox has Sophie Preform the “Red-tinted glass “ experiment. The point of this simple experiment was to try to make it easier for Sophie to grasp the teachings of Immanuel Kant. Kant taught that everyone sees and perceives the world in a different way. Although explaining his teachings he did not work for Sophie the “red-tinted glass experiment worked wonders. After looking at the world through red glasses Sophie realized that if there is something different within every humans mind that forces them to see the world in a different light or way, then nobody’s perspective is wrong.

       Although many other chapters had a stronger impact on me, this chapter really changed the way I think. After reading about the “red-tinted glasses” experiment, I realized that Kant was more than correct. In saying that everyone sees the world differently he was right. Many people today judge others for their outlooks and perspectives, but we shouldn’t. Everyone is different therefore they see things differently. All in all, I have come to realize that I have no right to tell anyone that the way they think is right or wrong.

        Reading the question “What can we know about the world?”, really gets my mind turning. I think that there are infinite amounts of things to know about the world and we only know as much as we allow ourselves to know. If we want to be close minded and know just a small amount about the world than we can easily let our mind do that. On the other hand, if we want to let our mind wander in all different directions of the world than we can without a doubt, make that happen. Throughout my life, I have always believed in everything the bible states and in saying that I believe that everything in the world, including how it was made has to do with God. That is my choice to let my mind know or believe that.

Zach Turi's Blog

Zach Turi

Mrs. Wilhelmus

AP English 9

July 30^th 2013

Prompt 2

Views on Women

        After reading the chapter on Aristotle's views on women I quickly disagreed. Aristotle frequently stated that women were in some way “unfinished men” and to me that is far from the truth. Another thing that Aristotle says, is that a child only receives its fathers characteristics, but that is not true either. I know for a fact that I look just like my mom and have many characteristics of hers. With that said, I do feel as though it is harder for a women to run a business or own a company because although they are very intelligent, they often let their emotions contradict the outcome of the situation creating a bigger problem.

        In my opinion, Plato had the most revolutionized view on women. Although he did not treat them as well as they should be treated he at least gave them a chance and more credit than Aristotle did. ``it is somewhat sad that women were treated so badly back then because they have made so many improvements in our society today. Without women there are many life saving vaccinations and inventions that we would lack today.

        The fact that most authorities in this book are men makes this book much more susceptible to sexist beliefs about women. I feel as though the men in this book did not take the time to notice the great things that women are able to achieve. With that said, I personally think that men are more capable of certain achievements women, but there are somethings women do that men cant.

Zach Turi's blog

Zach Turi

Mrs. Wilhelmus

AP English 11

20 July 2013

Prompt #1

Who Am I?

Throughout my life I cannot deny that I have been asked the question, “Who am I?”. Naturally I would tell the person that my name is Zachary Scott Turi born on March 4^th 1996. I have an older sister named Kayla, who attends Indiana University. Throughout my life my family has supported me and continued to push me to make my dreams come true. I am a junior at Evansville North High School. I play football, basketball, and golf. I would say which sport is my favorite, but I enjoy all three sports just as much as the other. Sports have always played a major role in my life and hopefully continue to do so. I was raised around them and have played sports all my life. My dad, Scott, pushes me in every sport I play to not only be the best and most competitive athlete I can be, but also, to be the best sport I can be. If I am ever in need of sports advice or help I can always count on my Uncle Kenny. With my family, I fish, go on vacations and often attend sporting events. In the small amount of free time I have, I enjoy hanging out with my friends, playing ping pong, and playing golf.

Although I just gave out every fact about me, I did not exactly tell about my emotions. I think that it isn’t really possible to explain my emotions to anyone else. Someone could say that they know me, but that isn’t entirely true. No one knows exactly how I feel so, they do not ever completely know who I am.

Being asked the question “Where did the world come from?” is definitely the most complex question that has ever ran through my mind. This question has been debated for years by many different people. I am a christian and because of that, I believe that the world was, in fact, created by God. I believe that God created not only the world, but also everything in it.

Zach Turi's Blog

Zach Turi

Mrs. Wilhelmus

AP English 11

1 August 3013

Prompt 3

Christianity Enters the World of Reason

         For thousands of years philosophers and 'thinkers' had to make the difficult choice of choosing the thought of reason over their faith in Christianity. Since philosophers such as Aristotle, told their followers that the world had nothing to do with Christianity or God many people began to believe the same thing. Thankfully, St. Augustine and Aquinas decided not to choose one or the other, but to choose both ideas. After making that decision, the two began to preach this to their followers and try to increase their amount of followers. Quickly, people began to catch on and realize that the two philosophers were correct. Reason and Christian could, in fact, go hand in hand. Although it was tough to explain at first, this idea spread world wide.

        Personally, I am very thankful for these two men not only for thinking outside the box, but also for daring to stray from the crowd. Their choices were undoubtedly very crucial to our world today. After reading this, I wonder what our world would be like today if the two had not connected those two ideas because Christianity is the Worlds biggest religion. With over 2 billion followers, the Christianity society continues today to spread the word of God after thousands of years since it has came about.