What Is Human Error In Sophie's World By Rene Descartes

A universal characteristic among humans is the need to make errors. Humans are born to make mistakes, it is how we learn. René Descartes was a philosopher who studied the art of free will. Within this topic, human error was something that impacted and interested him. As humans, we are imperfect. The only perfect being in the universe is God, as Descartes said. Ohio State undergraduate student, Thomas Reid, is a philosophy student. Reid analyzes Descartes and writes his interpretation of Descartes’ human error; “Descartes believes that human error arises because the scope of the will is wider than that of the intellect: the will is infinite, but the intellect is finite” (Reid). Descartes is saying that as long as there are humans, mistakes will be made. A quote from Descartes stuck out to Reid and peaked his learning interests. The quote was “As intermediates between God and nothingness, human error does not have to come from God: it is merely a defect that comes from being an imperfect being." Reid wanted to know what the late
philosopher meant by this. He concluded that God does not make mistakes because he is a perfect being, but the imperfect beings he put on Earth were put on Earth to make mistakes for him. Baruch Spinoza is another philosopher who studied the same concept as Descartes.
However, Spinoza went deeper into to free will. In Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder, the narrator teaches Sophie about the world around her and what philosophy and literature do for the human condition.
You may have the right to move your thumb any way you choose. But your thumb can only move according to its nature. It cannot jump off your hand and dance about the room. In the same way you also have your place in the structure of existence, my dear. You are Sophie, but you are also a finger of God’s body. (Gaarder 249)
Gaarder is saying everyone has free will, but that free will is limited to what the human body is capable of. Another way to look at it is the choices you make. Everyone has the right to make choices, but the consequences that follow will limit your choices. This is exactly what Spinoza wants us to understand and take into
consideration. Literature helps us to be human by making us wonder. Curiosity is what leads people to wanting to learn and literature influences learning. Reading in general can broaden a person’s horizons of experiences. When we read we experience new places, new people, new ideas, and new ways of thinking. By reading these experiences and discussing them with others, humans learn. They are adding new tools to their toolbox like learning how to conform and how to be different. Human nature is being different, it defines everyone from the rest of the crowd. By reading, you are discovering what you like, what you do not like, and developing your personality. This is human condition! Literature is human condition. Literature is human! Philosophers from hundreds of years ago know this first hand and studying things like free will and human error prove to the world that literature makes us human, it teaches us and compels us and provides a richer lifestyle. Literature is also a way to connect the past with the present. A large amount of literature read throughout school is from hundreds of years ago. Reading these stories and finding relevance to today can be challenging, yet empowering. It’s satisfying to know that the material being read can be applied to things happening in the present world