Sometimes questions are more important than answers

Assignment 1 – In Chapter 2, Albert Knox states that "It seems as if in the process of growing up we lose the ability to wonder about the world." What does he mean? Do you agree with him? Explain why or why not, using examples from this first section of the novel (pp. 1-120) and your own life experiences.

"It seems as if in the process of growing up we lose the ability to wonder about the world." I believe this statement made by Albert Knox implies that as we grow older, we think less about the matters in life that might not necessary concern or affect us. Most people nowadays are so caught up with their own problems and daily routine, that we give less thought to philosophical questions like our ‘existence’ in this world and ‘where the world came from’. The older we are, the longer we would have spent living in this world; hence our sense of belonging would also be stronger. For this reason, most of us would not give such questions much of a thought. Like Knox mentioned himself, ‘it all has to do with habit’.

To some extent, I agree with Albert Knox’s statement. As mentioned earlier, I agree that our curiosity about the world gradually disappears as we grow up. However, this does not necessarily mean we lose our ‘faculty of wonder’. I agree that as we are younger, we are more inquisitive about life’s big questions. Knox mentions in the novel, that ‘to children, the world and everything in it is new, something that gives rise to astonishment’. This suggests that because children’s minds tend to wonder and are more imaginative, they are more comfortable with learning about the world from all points of view. I remember my very first lesson of ‘philosophy’ in Religious Studies in year 9. ‘Where did the world come from?’ ‘How did we get here?’ ‘Does God exist?’ These questions hit me hard, yet I found it all very interesting. Till now, 3 years later, I still do not know the answers to these questions. Is it really God that gave us life? Did he really create the universe? Or was it the Big Bang theory? Humans nowadays do not like these questions, let alone the answers, as they just lead to more and more questions. As embarrassing as this may sound, when I was young I use to wonder where heaven was. ‘Is it above the Earth? The universe?’ I would then make up stories that made me understand these things better without knowing whether I was right or wrong, because no one could answer my question, just like Sophie did on page 27, where she made up a story about ‘Princess Sikita’ to explain ‘where the snow went and why the sun rose in the morning.’ Another example of ‘making up stories’ are the Greek myths that are frequently brought up in the first section of the novel. These writers such as Homer and Hesiod all came up with mythologies in the 700B.C. Even one of the earliest philosopher, Xenophanes (570B.C.), came up with the fact that ‘men created the gods in their own image’. We can therefore conclude that so much was made up before ‘science’ existed, which argues against the fact that 'men lose their faculty to wonder as they grow older' , because these people mentioned above are obviously in their adulthood.

I believe that Knox uses a metaphorical idea of ‘crawling deep into the rabbit’s fur, snuggling down comfortably, and staying there for the rest of their lives’ which is an example that we humans think less about the world as we grow up. We are insecure and afraid to face the truth (or what we think might be the truth) of such important matters and big questions of life, like our existence in this world for example. Therefore, we would rather not question this, if it means giving ourselves a feeling of belonging and security. An example of this is shown by Sophie’s conversation with her mom on page 20, when Sophie just showers her with philosophical questions and made her point about her mom being ‘comfortable deep down in the fur of a white rabbit’ and her mother’s reaction being ‘You haven’t gotten yourself mixed up with drugs, have you, dear?’ as well as the ‘anxious expression’, showing insecurity and fear. This reflects on what Knox said, that ‘most adults accept the world as a matter of course.’ Humans also tend to not question these things, for as we grow up, we become more knowledgeable through education. And as the world develops, science and technology provides us with more accurate information that we can use to retrieve the answers to these questions. But then again, this comes back to my previous statement about our fear of the realization of the truth. What if we cannot control what might be coming in the future? To stay oblivious of the cause of our world, our universe, we realize we are much better off on the safe side.

As we grow up, we may also become so caught up with our own lives, that we just cannot find time to think about these philosophical questions. An example of this is shown again by Sophie’s conversation with her mom on page 20, when Sophie lists out her mother’s daily routine – ‘and in a minute you’ll put the potatoes on. Then you’ll read the paper and after half an hour’s nap you’ll watch the news on TV’. The fact that this actually came true shows pure ignorance of the fact that there is more to life than what people nowadays see as important, like money, power and fame.

However, a point to question about Knox’s statement - if we really do ‘lose the ability to wonder’ as we grow up due to our busy lifestyles, then wouldn’t people who are, say, retired or unemployed have time to wonder about these things?

To conclude, I believe that every human being has the ability to wonder. As mentioned on page 114, 'all living things have the ability to absorb nourishment... all "living creatures" have the ability to perceive the world around them...' However, only humans have the ability to process their perceptions into such complex categories. It is as if we humans are given the job to think about these things. It is merely a question whether we are brave enough to do so or not, but based on a variety of reasons, the majority of us choose not to. We take things in our lives for granted as we struggle to fit in this world. After all, there is no point in chasing after questions that we may not have answers to. Ignorance is bliss.