《Sophie's World》读书笔记

The German poet Goethe once said that "he who cannot draw on three thousand years in living from hand to mouth." I don't want you to end up in such a sad state. I will do what i can do to acqaint you with your historical roots. it is the only way to become a human being. It is the only way to become more than a naked ape. It is the only way to avoid floating in a vacuum.

If the history of mankind was her own history, in a way she was thousands of years old.

“Nobody asked you to like it. But philosophy is not a harmless party game. It's about who we are and where we come from. Do you think we learn enough about that at school?”

"Nobody can answer questions like that anyway."

"Yes, but we don't even learn to ask them!"

When does the child get its free will, then? At the ago of two, she runs around and points at everything in sight. At the age of three she nags her mother, and at the age of four she suddenly gets afraid of the dark. Where's the freedom, Sophie?

原来每个孩子在3岁的时候都会让妈妈很烦，不只是我。妈妈总是说我从小就很呕人，“呕人”就是这里说的 “nags her mother”。这让我从小对此都有点羞耻，这种羞耻感若有若无的存在着，更不用说妈妈这样提起的时候。

Two equally old trees are growing in a large garden. One of the trees grows in a sunny spot and has plenty of good soil and water. The other tree grows in a poor soil in a dark spot. Which trees do you think is bigger? Which of them bears more fruit? It has its full freedom to develop its inherent abilities. but if it is an apple tree it will not have the ability to bear pears or plums. The same applies to us humans. We can be hindered in our development and our personal growth by political conditions, for instance. Outer circumstances can constrain us.Only when we are free to develop our innate abilities can we live as free beings. But we are just as much determined by inner potential and outer opportunities as the Stone Age boy on the Rhine, the lion in Africa, or the apple tree in the garden.

限制我们的除了我们本身之外，还有环境因素。对于不同的人需要注意都不同的角度。有的人总是怨天尤人，什么挫折都归咎于别人，他可能需要考虑到自己的因素。不过也有很多情况，有的人总是责怪自己不够优秀，很多时候他需要看到也许同样作为一棵树，他只是没有的到更多的阳光，没有合适的土壤，没得到适宜的灌溉而已。这种情况就不能总是责备自己，而是要给自己足够的自信心。因为本身外界条件就已经够糟糕，如果连自己都失去的话，那就更加困难了。对此我深有感触。因为在读研究生期间，同门同级的同学实验文章稳步进行，做什么事情都井井有条，未来也似乎很光明，而我却毫无头绪，没有进展，每天都再怀疑自己。直到毕业以后一个师姐的话让我开始重新思考这个问题。师姐说，你不要总是怀疑自己，你要去怀疑你的导师，他有没有给到你足够的指导？当时还不能接受，觉得这是给自己找借口。现在越来越明白，我确实太苛责自己了。在那样艰难的环境下，就像没有足够的阳光，肥沃的土壤和足够的浇灌的情况下，我依然坚持了下来，本身已经很不容易。