Sophie's World
Sophie's World presents the history of philosophy in the form of a novel. A young girl learns about life and philosophy. One day a few weeks before her fifteenth birthday Norwegian schoolgirl Sophie Amundsen looks inside her mailbox and finds a mysterious letter addressed to her. Opening it, she discovers a single piece of paper with two questions written on it: Who are you? And where does the world come from? Sophie is surprised and intrigued and begins to ponder these questions, first with frustration at their apparent childishness and then with a growing interest. Soon the first letter is followed by more communication from this mysterious correspondent, this time in the form of a whole chapter from a book on introductory philosophy. Strangest of all, the book seems to be written specifically to her. Soon Sophie finds herself taking a complete course in philosophy from an anonymous philosopher. Then, Sophie and the philosopher finally meet and he reveals his Secret Purpose to her. Suddenly, Sophie's whole world is turned upside-down and the fun really begins. The teenage girl, Sophie leans so much from the philosophy that is given about each philosopher from long ago with each of the les
Occasionally he seems to over-mythologize his material, reducing to painlessly digestible, bite-size chunks (i.e. pieces suitable for a fourteen-year-old) ideas that really cannot be grasped until they are mentally manhandled in all of their philosophical prickliness and gulped down whole. He is at his very worst when dealing with the Romantics, whom he reduces to one overly simplified strain of hocus-pocus thought. But, Gaarder's worst explanations of philosophy are still fair. When he deals with the classical period and with Hume he can wax sublime. The book approaches its conclusion at a philosophical garden party, which Sophie throws to celebrate her birthday. But alas, it turns into a rather sordid affair where Alberto finally speaks the plain truth and then he and Sophie use the confusion to escape to their true identities. Having revealed to us that Sophie and Alberto are literary creations within a fiction, it is nice to see them progress into the real world of the novel. I think it is Hilde's belief in the reality of their universe, once she understands the philosophical reasons why the two characters are aware of their lives being a novel that solidifies them in the world. Also, the tricks that Hilde plays on her father are funny, and a just reward for having turned Sophie's world upside down. sons that she is given from her teacher/philosopher, Alberto. Sophie learns about medieval philosophy while being lectured by a monk in an ancient church, and she learns about Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir in a French cafe. It all begins with a quotation from Goethe: "He who cannot draw on three thousand years is living from hand to mouth." Could the world have come from nothing? It all seemed so illogical until Democritus invented the most ingenious toy in the world. Next we see Socrates standing in front of a market stall packed with various goods. "Wha
Some common words found in the essay are:
Sophie's World, Beauvoir French, Sophie Amundsen, Sophie Alberto, Darwin Freud, Suddenly Sophie's, Soon Sophie, Enlightenment Romantic, Alberto Sophie, Catholic Nun, sophie's world, reading book, type book, ideal world,
Approximate Word count = 1277
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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