Then there was the next question: “Indicate some of the factors contributing to a
person’s philosophy of life.” Upbringing and environment were important here.
People living at the time of Plato had a different philosophy of life than many people
have today because they lived in a different age and a different environment. Another
factor was the kind of experience people chose to get themselves. Common sense was
not determined by environment. Everybody had that. Maybe one could compare
environment and social situation with the conditions that existed deep down in Plato’s
cave. By using their intelligence individuals can start to drag themselves up from the
darkness. But a journey like that requires personal courage. Socrates is a good
example of a person who managed to free himself from the prevailing views of his
time by his own intelligence. Finally, she wrote: “Nowadays, people of many lands
and cultures are being intermingled more and more. Christians, Muslims, and
Buddhists may live in the same apartment building. In which case it is more important
to accept each other’s beliefs than to ask why everyone does not believe the same
thing.”
Not bad, thought Sophie. She certainly felt she had covered some ground with
what she had learned from her philosophy teacher. And she could always supplement
it with a dash of her own common sense and what she might have read and heard
elsewhere.
She applied herself to the third question: “What is meant by conscience? Do
you think conscience is the same for everyone?” This was something they had dis-
cussed a lot in class. Sophie wrote: Conscience is people’s ability to respond to right
and wrong. My personal opinion is that everyone is endowed with this ability, so in
other words, conscience is innate. Socrates would have said the same. But just what
conscience dictates can vary a lot from one person to the next. One could say that the
Sophists had a point here. They thought that right and wrong is something mainly
determined by the environment the individual grows up in. Socrates, on the other
hand, believed that conscience is the same for everyone. Perhaps both views were
right. Even if everybody doesn’t feel guilty about showing themselves naked, most
people will have a bad conscience if they are really mean to someone. Still, it must be
remembered that having a conscience is not the same as using it. Sometimes it looks
as if people act quite unscrupulously, but I believe they also have a kind of conscience
somewhere, deep down. Just as it seems as if some people have no sense at all, but
that’s only because they are not using it. P.S. Common sense and conscience can both
be compared to a muscle. If you don’t use a muscle, it gets weaker and weaker.”
Now there was only one question left: “What is meant by priority of values?”
This was another thing they had discussed a lot lately. For example, it could be of
value to drive a car and get quickly from one place to another. But if driving led to
deforestation and polluting the natural environment, you were facing a choice of
values. After careful consideration Sophie felt she had come to the conclusion that
healthy forests and a pure environment were more valuable than getting to work
quickly. She gave several more examples. Finally she wrote: “Personally, I think
Philosophy is a more important subject than English Grammar. It would therefore be a
sensible priority of values to have Philosophy on the timetable and cut down a bit on
English lessons.”
In the last break the teacher drew Sophie aside.
“I have already read your Religion test,” he said. “It was near the top of the
pile.”
“I hope it gave you some food for thought.”
“That was exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. It was in many ways very