view release on metacpan or  search on metacpan

examples/smultron/moses-sophie/model/aligned.0.src  view on Meta::CPAN

across the field !
sophie regretted -- having been mean to her .
but what else could she have said -- ?
that she had suddenly become so engrossed in who she was -- and where the world came from -- that she had no time -- to play badminton ?
would joanna have understood ?
why was it -- so difficult -- to be absorbed in the most vital and , in a way the most natural of all questions -- ?
she felt her heart beating faster as she opened the mailbox .
at first she found only a letter from the bank and some big brown envelopes for her mother .
darn !
sophie had been looking forward to -- getting another letter from the unknown sender .
as she closed the gate behind her she noticed her own name on one of the big envelopes .
-- turning it over , she saw -- written on the back : " course in philosophy .
-- handle with care . "
sophie ran up the gravel path and flung her schoolbag onto the step .
-- stuffing the other letters under the doormat , she ran around into the back garden and sought refuge in the den .
this was the only place -- -- to open the big letter .
sherekan came -- jumping after her but sophie had -- to put up with that .
she knew -- the cat would not give her away .
inside the envelope there were three typewritten pages held -- together with a paper clip .
sophie began -- to read .
what -- is philosophy
dear sophie ,
lots of people have hobbies .
some people collect old coins or foreign stamps , some do needlework , others spend most of their spare time on a particular sport .
a lot of people enjoy -- reading .
but reading tastes differ widely .
some people only read newspapers or comics , some like -- reading novels while others prefer books on astronomy , wildlife , or technological discoveries .
if i happen -- to be interested in horses or precious stones , i cannot expect everyone else to share my enthusiasm .
if i watch all the sports programs on tv with great pleasure , i must put up with the fact that other people find sports boring .
is there nothing that -- interests us all ?
is there nothing that -- concerns everyone no matter who they are -- or where they live in the world -- ?
yes , dear sophie , there are questions that -- certainly should interest everyone .
they are precisely the questions -- this course is about -- .
what -- is the most important thing in life ?
if we ask someone living on the edge of starvation , the answer is food .
if we ask someone dying of cold , the answer is warmth .
if we put the same question to someone who -- feels lonely and isolated , the answer will probably be the company of other people .
but when these basic needs have been satisfied -- will there still be something that everybody needs ?
philosophers think so .
they believe that man can not live by bread alone .
of course everyone needs food .
and everyone needs love and care .
but there is something else -- apart from that -- which everyone needs and that -- is -- to figure out who we are -- and why we are here -- .
-- being interested in why we are here -- is not a " casual " interest like -- collecting stamps .
people who -- ask such questions are taking part in a debate that -- has gone on as long as man has lived on this planet .
how the universe , the earth , and life came into being is a bigger and more important question than who -- won the most gold medals in the last olympics .
the best way of -- approaching philosophy is -- to ask a few philosophical questions :
how was the world created -- ?
is there any will or meaning behind what -- happens ?
is there a life after death ?
how can we answer these questions -- ?
and most important , how ought we to live -- ?
people have been asking these questions throughout the ages .
we know of no culture which -- has not concerned itself with what man is -- and where the world came from -- .
basically there are not many philosophical questions -- -- to ask -- .
but history presents us with many different answers to each question .
so it -- is easier -- to ask philosophical questions than -- to answer them .
today as well each individual has -- to discover his own answer to these same questions .
you cannot find out whether there is a god or whether there is life after death by -- looking in an encyclopedia .
nor does the encyclopedia tell us how we ought -- to live -- .
however , -- reading what other people have believed -- can help us formulate our own view of life .
philosophers ' search for the truth resembles a detective story .
some think -- andersen was the murderer , others think -- it was nielsen or jensen .
the police are sometimes able -- to solve a real crime .
but it -- is equally possible that they never get to the bottom of it , although there is a solution somewhere .
so even if it -- is difficult -- to answer a question , there may be one -- and only one -- right answer .
either there is a kind of existence after death or there is not .
a lot of age-old enigmas have now been explained -- by science .
what the dark side of the moon looks like -- was once shrouded -- in mystery .
it was not the kind of thing that -- could be solved -- by discussion , it was left -- to the imagination of the individual .
but today we know exactly what the dark side of the moon looks like -- , and no one can " believe " any longer in the man in the moon , or that the moon is made -- of green cheese .
a greek philosopher who -- lived more than two thousand years ago believed that philosophy had its origin in man ’s sense of wonder .
man thought -- it -- was so astonishing -- to be alive that philosophical questions arose of their own accord .
it is like -- watching a magic trick .
we cannot understand how it is done -- -- .
a lot of people experience the world with the same incredulity as when a magician suddenly pulls a rabbit out of a hat which -- has just been shown -- to them empty -- .
in the case of the rabbit , we know -- the magician has tricked us .
what we would like -- to know -- is just how he did it -- .
but when it comes to the world -- it ’s somewhat different .
we know that the world is not all sleight of hand and deception because here we are in it , we are part of it .
actually , we are the white rabbit being pulled -- out of the hat .
the only difference between us and the white rabbit is that the rabbit does not realize -- it is taking part in a magic trick .
unlike us .
we feel -- we are part of something mysterious and we would like -- to know how it all works -- .
p.s.
as far as the white rabbit is concerned -- , it -- might be better -- to compare it with the whole universe .
but philosophers are always trying -- to climb up the fine hairs of the fur in order -- to stare right into the magician ’s eyes .
are you still there , sophie ?
to be continued ...
sophie was completely exhausted .
she could not even remember if she had taken the time -- to breathe while she read .
who -- had brought this letter ?
it could n’t be the same person who -- had sent the birthday card to hilde møller knag because that card had both a stamp and a postmark .
the brown envelope had been delivered -- by hand to the mailbox exactly like the two white ones .
sophie looked at her watch .
it was a quarter to three .
her mother would not be home from work for over two hours .
sophie crawled out into the garden again and ran to the mailbox .
perhaps there was another letter .
she found one more brown envelope with her name on it .
this time she looked all around but there was nobody in sight .
sophie ran to the edge of the woods and looked down the path .
no one was there .
suddenly she thought -- she heard a twig snap deep in the woods .
but she was not completely sure , and anyway it -- would be pointless -- to chase after someone who -- was determined -- to get away .
sophie let herself into the house .
she ran upstairs to her room and took out a big cookie tin full of pretty stones .
then she hurried out into the garden again , -- holding the tin securely with both hands .
before she went she put some food out for sherekan .
" kitty , kitty , kitty ! "
once back in the den she opened the second brown envelope and drew out the new typewritten pages .
a strange creature
hello again !
as you see , this short course in philosophy will come in handy-sized portions .
here are -- a few more introductory remarks :
did i say that the only thing -- we require -- to be good philosophers is the faculty of wonder ?
if i did not , i say it now : the only thing -- we require -- to be good philosophers is the faculty of wonder .
babies have this faculty .
that is not surprising .
after a few short months in the womb they slip out into a brand-new reality .
but as they grow up the faculty of wonder seems -- to diminish .