Jostein Gaarder emphasizes the necessity of imagination in Sophie's World. Imagination, as we discussed in class, has the ability to create things that can take on reality. It is difficult to make distinctions about reality, and so whose to say that our imaginations are not reality, or just a separate reality; after all, thoughts in your mind always seem to be more distinct and clear before you express them to others.
Jordan made the reference to Plato's theory about the world of ideas that exists among us but it is up to us to perceive these perfect, flawless ideas. This world of ideas, if it contains more flawless ideas, can be its own reality and humanity can simply be the medium for perceiving and expressing these ideas in our flawed manner of conversing.
Perhaps an extension of Plato's world of ideas is perfect imaginations; clear and vivid imaginary worlds inside a mind gain their own life as do the ideas once they have been perceived and shared. When you read a "fictional" story, you create the characters' worlds and give life to the characters, who, in a way, are using you as a medium to live. If characters in books are using humanity as a medium for living, they are expressing their views and sharing their experiences with us; this is what humans do when they are writing books, express their views and share experiences. What if our imaginations are reality and what we believe to be reality is being controlled by the "imaginary" characters living in our minds?
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