“Bow-wow! Bow-wow!” We who are older and wiser may feel somewhat
exhausted by the child’s enthusiasm. “All right, all right, it’s a bow-wow,” we
say, unimpressed. “Please sit still.” We are not enthralled. We have seen a
dog before.
This rapturous performance may repeat itself hundreds of times before
the child learns to pass a dog without going crazy. Or an elephant, or a
hippopotamus. But long before the child learns to talk properly—and Ion
before it learns to think philosophically—the world we have become a habit.
A pity, if you ask me.
My concern is that you do not grow up to be one of those people who
take the world for granted, Sophie dear. So just to make sure, we are going to
do a couple of experiments in thought before we begin on the course itself.
Imagine that one day you are out for a walk in the woods. Suddenly you
see a small spaceship on the path in front of you. A tiny Martian climbs out of
the spaceship and stands on the ground looking up at you . . .
What would you think? Never mind, it’s not important. But have you ever
given any thought to the fact that you are a Martian yourself?
It is obviously unlikely that you will ever stumble upon a creature from
another planet. We do not even know that there is life on other planets. But
you might stumble upon yourself one day. You might suddenly stop short and
see yourself in a completely new light. On just such a walk in the woods.
I am an extraordinary being, you think. I am a mysterious creature.
You feel as if you are waking from an enchanted slumber. Who am I?
you ask. You know that you are stumbling around on a planet in the universe.
But what is the universe?
If you discover yourself in this manner you will have discovered
something as mysterious as the Martian we just mentioned. You will not only
have seen a being from outer space. You will feel deep down that you are
yourself an extraordinary being.
Do you follow me, Sophie? Let’s do another experiment in thought:
One morning, Mom, Dad, and little Thomas, aged two or three, are
having breakfast in the kitchen. After a while Mom gets up and goes over to
the kitchen sink, and Dad—yes, Dad—flies up and floats around under the
ceiling while Thomas sits watching. What do you think Thomas says?
Perhaps he points up at his father and says: “Daddy’s flying!” Thomas will
certainly be astonished, but then he very often is. Dad does so many strange
things that this business of a little flight over the breakfast table makes no
difference to him. Every day Dad shaves with a funny machine, sometimes he
climbs onto the roof and turns the TV aerial—or else he sticks his head under
the hood of the car and comes up black in the face.
Now it’s Mom’s turn. She hears what Thomas says and turns around
abruptly. How do you think she reacts to the sight of Dad floating nonchalantly
over the kitchen table?
She drops the jam jar on the floor and screams with fright. She may
even need medical attention once Dad has returned respectably to his chair.
(He should have learned better table manners by now!) Why do you think
Thomas and his mother react so differently?
It all has to do with habit. (Note this!) Mom has learned that people
cannot fly. Thomas has not. He still isn’t certain what you can and cannot do
in this world.