"It seems as if in the process of growing up we lose the ability to wonder about the world."

When we are children, we are born in a world where everything is new to us. We start questioning everything, touching things that may hurt us, eating things that are not edible, and playing with things that are risky. This is all because we are unaware of what those objects can do to us, and the damage they can cause us. Our curiosity at that age only exists because of the new experiences we are facing, and the new ideas, objects, and people we are coming across. However, when we grow up and start realizing that everything around us is part of life, we start to become very familiar with it, and start treating it like it is basically a necessity of every human to interact with the world and technology.

Knox is correct to say that the growth of a child leads them to live in the world without wondering where it came from, as this book is written to create an awareness of the philosophical side of life, and raise questions which concern our presence in the universe today, such as ‘where did the world come from?’. However, I believe that in the process of growing up, there are other situations that confront us, which lead us to become totally engrossed in it, and stop us from wondering about the big questions of life. This shows how we have not ‘lost the ability to wonder about the world’, but instead illustrates how the thought of the world existing is suppressed behind the cloud of responsibility, which is proven by the opening pages of Sophie’s world, where they talk about her school life and best friend, Joanna.

The story line of this book starts with her daily routine life, and then slowly links to the anonymous mails from a philosopher who throws questions at her about the world which she had never really thought about. This illustrates how the stimulation is needed to think about the world, as normal people are just buried under a busy schedule. Complimenting this, the book clearly states how Sophie has to ‘forget everything she had learnt’ which clearly shows you need an idle mind to wonder about these big questions, and gain that curiosity back that you first had when you were a child. These references support my view on how growth adds responsibility, and responsibility is the key feature in neglecting the questions on the existence of the word.

To conclude, to balance a hectic life with questions about the world is mind-boggling. The questions thrown at you about the world’s existence is very broad to get an answer in seconds, and therefore requires time and dedication which many people in the world are not ready to give. Therefore, the people in the world have not ‘lost the ability to wonder about the world’, but instead have chosen not to use it.