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 lessons 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. "What a wonderful number of things I have no use for." We learn about Plato and his theories about the existence of an ideal world of which we see only the dim reflection. But, many mathematicians and scientists think they can catch a glimpse of that ideal world. Alberto then takes Sophie through Hellenism to the rise of Christianity and its interaction with Greek thought and on into the Middle Ages. We even learn about Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century Catholic Nun who was a preacher, physician, botanist, biologist, and composer. Even topics about the Renaissance, Baroque, Enlightenment and Romantic periods are given detail about and are taught to young Sophie. Other important figures presented are Descartes ("he wanted to clear all the rubble o

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, ideal world,
Approximate Word count = 872
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)