Name: Sophie's World
Rating: 3.762452107279694 (261 reviews)
ISBN: 9781857993288

Jostein Gaarder

The protagonists are Sophie Amundsen, a 14-year-old girl, and Alberto Knox, her philosophy teacher. The novel chronicles their metaphysical relationship as they study Western philosophy from its beginnings to the present. A bestseller in Norway.

A Novel about the History of Philosophy

Sophie's World

Sofies verden

Amelia

at some point something must have come from nothing

It contained only a slip of paper no bigger than the envelope. It read: Who are you?

You can't experience being alive without realising that you have to die, she thought. But it's just as impossible to realise you have to die without thinking how incredibly amazing it is to be alive.

The only thing we require to be good philosophers is the faculty of wonder.

But have you ever given any thought to the fact that you are a Martian yourself?

'I'm not playing!' Sophie retorted indignantly, 'I'm doing a very complicated philosophical experiment!'

Democritus called these smallest units atoms.

The word 'influenza' actually means a malign influence from the stars.

Wisest is she who knows she does not know.

The stupidest thing she knew was for people to act like they knew all about things they knew absolutely nothing about.

Ein inspirierenden Buch ,die Welt nicht als selbstverständlich anzusehen , sie mit ganz anderen Augen zu betrachten und nicht in den Komfort der Gleichgültigkeit zu verfallen. Kinder und Philosophen haben viel mehr gemeinsam ,als man denken würde

Vivien Luisa Seifert

Sie stellte fest ,dass man Philosophie im Grunde nicht lernen kann ,aber vielleicht ,dachte sie ,kann man lernen ,philosophisch zu denken.

fatiya

Actually, we are the white rabbit being pulled out of the hat. The only difference between us and the white rabbit is that the rabbit does not realize it is taking part in a magic trick. Unlike us. We feel we are part of something mysterious and we would like to know how it all works.

Empedocles believed that the eyes consist of earth, air, ire and water, just like everything else in nature. So the 'earth' in my eye perceives what is of the earth in my surroundings, the air perceives what is of the air, the 'fire' perceives what is of fire, and the 'water' what is of water. Had my eyes locked any of the four substances, would not have seen all of nature.

The essential nature of Socrates' art lay in the fact that he did not appear to want to instruct people. On the contrary he impression of one desiring to learn from those he So instead he spoke with. of lecturing like a traditional schoolmaster, he discussed.

Reminder to myself to stay longer with this explanation of plato's train of thoughts

In short, we can only have inexact conceptions of things we perceive with our senses. But we can have true knowledge of things we under. stand with our reason. The sum of the angles in a triangle will remain 180 degrees to the end of time. And similarly the 'idea' horse will walk on four legs even if all the horses in the sensory world break a leg.

Jessica Turner

'Everything flows,' said Heraclitus. Everything is in constant flux and movement, nothing is abiding. Therefore we 'cannot step twice into the same river.' When I step into the river for the second time, neither I nor the river are the same. org

Heraclitus pointed out that the world is characterized by opposites. If we were never ill, we would not know what it was to be well. If we never knew hunger, we would take no pleasure in being full. If there were never any war, we would not appreciate peace. And if there were no winter, we would never see the spring. Both good and bad have their inevitable place in the order of things, Heraclitus believed. Without this constant interplay of opposites the World would cease to exist.

In the garden everything was wonderfully clear and still. The birds were chirping so energetically that Sophie could hardly keep from laughing. The morning dew twinkled in the grass like drops of crystal. Once again she was struck by the incredible wonder of the world.

Adri

Nimm deine Sparbüchse und kauf dir für hundert Kronen Schokolade. Bei dieser Aufgabe kommt es darauf an, dass du die ganze Schokolade auf einmal isst. Etwa eine halbe Stunde nach Verzehr dieser vielen köstlichen Schokolade wirst du begreifen, was Epikur mit „Nebenwirkungen“ gemeint hat.

Anna Cassmer Ling-Vannérus

"Death does not concern Us, Epicurus said quite sim- ply, "because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist. 

Its a beginners introduction to philosophy where a girl starts recieving strange mails about philosophical ideas. The auther tries to blend in mystery with philosophy, the story follows how the young girl uncover the secret behind these letters, while also keeping the philosophical aspect of it.

A brief history of philosophy is presented through fiction so that it does not feel like you are reading a history textbook. You almost become 

 yourself because as the story progressed and things are revealed you are not only watching her discover them, you find yourself confronting the same questions alongside her. 

The story shows how philosophy in general has evolved with time, how in 

 philosophers used to argue about matter, atoms and what we are made of. After 

 moral and ethical philosophical ideas was discussed more, then the transition from ethical philosphy to modern philosophy.

However, the book was weighed down by several elements of its story. The book is for absolute beginners or if you have nothing at hand to read. Some chapters are just way too vaguely discussed while some elements were completely unnecessary. The fictional aspect that is supposed to make the philosophy more engaging ends up getting in its way instead.

 It's a good read but only if you're an absolute beginner to philosophy and European history otherwise. I'd recommend saving your time and picking up something more substantial because you will get bored of it soon.

Yash Khatri

Its a beginners introduction to philosophy where a girl starts recieving strange mails about philosophical ideas. The auther tries to blend in mystery with philosophy, the story follows how the young girl uncover the secret behind these letters, while also keeping the philosophical aspect of it.


A brief history of philosophy is presented through fiction so that it does not feel like you are reading a history textbook. You almost become Sofie yourself because as the story progressed and things are revealed you are not only watching her discover them, you find yourself confronting the same questions alongside her. 


The story shows how philosophy in general has evolved with time, how in Pre-Socratic era philosophers used to argue about matter, atoms and what we are made of. After Socrates moral and ethical philosophical ideas was discussed more, then the transition from ethical philosphy to modern philosophy.

No philosopher will ever be able to take us behind the daily experience or give us rules of conduct that are different from those we get through reflections on everyday life.

However, the book was weighed down by several elements of its story. The book is for absolute beginners or if you have nothing at hand to read. Some chapters are just way too vaguely discussed while some elements were completely unnecessary. The fictional aspect that is supposed to make the philosophy more engaging ends up getting in its way instead.

My take: It's a good read but only if you're an absolute beginner to philosophy and European history otherwise. I'd recommend saving your time and picking up something more substantial because you will get bored of it soon.

a novel about the history of philosophy (Berkeley Signature Edition)

Sophie's world

My intro to philosophy. I've mostly forgot the story except the mind-boggling ending, but I'll never forgot your lessons, Alberto Knox. I can't thank you enough for Jostein Gaarder for making philosophy easy for beginners.

catto fishu

maitha mana

TW: the ending will definitely give you a major existential crisis, otherwise intensifying a pre-existing crises you have decided to repress.

The book follows a series of "lessons" given by an anonymous philosophical teacher. Sophie, only 14 years old, finds herself questioning her universe and her "reality". The book is a time traveling journal through various topics of spirituality, mythology, religion, science, logical reasoning, and philosophy.

'She would not be living on this planet for more than a few years. But if the history of mankind was her own history, in a way she was thousands of years old.'

Vicky  Nuñez 

This is a great book that I would recommend to those who have never appreciated Philosophy class. Or never found it entertaining. There was a point in my life in which this book would have been a blessing for me.

But unfortunately the timing is wrong for me. 

Before I could have loved this book, this is a Philosophy course disguised as a novel, but after taking a Philosophy class with a great teacher I found that class taught me the same things, but in a better way.

In short, the class was way better than the book. What can I say except that I had an awesome teacher. Maybe I will revisit this book once that class has been erased from my mind and I need a new dose of Philosophy.

Poco antes de cumplir los quince anos, la joven Sofia recibe una misteriosa carta anonima con las siguientes preguntas: 'Quien eres?', 'De donde viene el mundo?'. Este es el punto de partida de una apasionada expedicion a traves de la historia de la filosofia con un enigmatico filosofo. A lo largo de la novela, Sofia ira desarrollando su identidad a medida que va ampliando su pensamiento a traves de estas ensenanzas: porque la Verdad es mucho mas interesante y mas compleja de lo que podria haber imaginado en un principio. El mundo de Sofia no es solo una novela de misterio, tambien es la primera novela hasta el momento que presenta una completa - y entretenida - historia de la filosofia desde sus inicios hasta nuestros dias. 'Un nuevo y sorprendente exito literario, el mas importante desde el misterio monastico erudito de Umberto Eco con El nombre de la rosa.' Der Spiegel 'Queria Jostein Gaarder escribir una novela para jovenes que buscan el sentido de la vida, sin embargo ahora El mundo de Sofia es un libro de culto para adultos.' Stern

Novela Sobre la Historia de la Filosofía

El Mundo de Sofía

This book allows you do a travel through philosophy's history while other history happens.

Martin Morales

Annika Arguemore

the plot was mind-blowing and had a lot of wonderful twists. it has a lot of facts about philosophical history and the greastest most well-known philosophers themselves. lovely.

roman om filosofiens historie

Sara

This book was definitely a challenge. I found the story very fun to follow along with however when it would go to endless pages about the history of Greece in 300 A.D. I would skim read. However this book was definitely fascinating and very cute. It also had some very good life advice. All in all pretty good story, very intriguing to make up for the history parts. Ciao!

Jonathan Tysick

Informative, intriguing and original. Sometimes it felt more philosophy textbook than novel, but eventually that was rectified albeit in a way I found a bit unsatisfactory. Still a good read!

Gavin

Ponderous and meta, sure, but it's also romantic about thinking and I'll forgive a lot for a drop of that. It is a long version of this beautiful idea of Gödel's:

  Engaging in philosophy is salutary in any case, even when no positive results emerge from it (and I remain perplexed). It has the effect that 'the colors brighten', that is, reality appears more clearly as such. 



This bit was moving: 
  Actually we are the white rabbit being pulled out of the hat. The only difference beween us and the white rabbit is that the rabbit does not realize it is taking part in a magic trick.

Jiahao Chen

Like all highly condensed treatises, the book gives just enough of a sketch of major themes in philosophy to whet one's appetite to find out more. It's also quite interesting to follow the plot that weaves the introductions together and then takes over the book.

When 14-year-old Sophie encounters a mysterious mentor who introduces her to philosophy, mysteries deepen in her own life. Why does she keep getting postcards addressed to another girl? Who is the other girl? And who, for that matter, is Sophie herself? To solve the riddle, she uses her new knowledge of philosophy, but the truth is far stranger than she could have imagined. A phenomenal worldwide bestseller, SOPHIE'S WORLD sets out to draw teenagers into the world of Socrates, Descartes, Spinoza, Hegel and all the great philosophers. A brilliantly original and fascinating story with many twists and turns, it raises profound questions about the meaning of life and the origin of the universe.

Arturo Hernández

This book is an overview of the history of philosophy in a very relatable way to interpret. You learn about Sophie, God, Athens, the Middle Ages, Descartes, Kant, even Jesus. And during this you wonder about the meaning of so many things. This is one of the best reads I’ve had during the whole year. Truly recommended!

Gayathri Jinesh

Sophie's World is a really good book. If only there was no Sophie in it. I'll tell you why. 
This is a crash course on Western philosophy for beginners. I had no idea about this. This was just a random book I picked up. And I don't regret it. 
Sophie's world is a gateway to western philosophy. Each chapter in the book is about a particular school of thought, arranged chronologically moving swiftly from one to next. We get a crisp and clear yet not too extensive idea of how each branch of philosophy was formed and what it put forward.
All this is explained, as conversation between a 14 year old Norwegian girl, Sophie and a 'philosopher' Alberto Knox. I'd recommend anybody who has the slightest interest in philosophy, or spends enough time inside their head to give this book a go. 
I found the chapters up to Descartes thought-provoking; the few chapters after that went totally above my head, let alone provoke any thoughts.(Spinoza, Locke, Hume, Berkeley, Bjerkely, Enlightenment, Kant - was awesome, romanticism, Hegel, Kierkegaard) My brain started picking it back up at Marxism. Yes, this book reads almost like a textbook. But as someone who has to read even more boring topics, I could wade through the tough pages. The language is easy, but the concepts were too complicated for my understanding at times.
'Remind yourself that you are only living a miniscule part of all nature's life. You are part of an enormous whole.'
'I think I see what you mean...'
'Can you manage to feel it as well? Can you perceive all of nature at one time-the whole universe, in fact-at single glance?'
'I doubt it. Maybe I need some lenses.'
'I don't only mean the infinity of space. I mean the eternity of time as well. Once upon a time, thirty thousand years ago there lived a little boy in the Rhine valley. He was a tiny part of nature, a tiny ripple on an endless sea. You too, Sophie, you too are living a tiny part of nature's life. There is no difference between you and that boy.'

 The rationalists had almost forgotten the importance of experience, and the empiricists had shut their eyes to the way our own mind influences the way we see the world
Dear Hilde, if the human brain was simple enough for us to understand, we would still be so stupid that we couldn't understand it. Love, Dad.

Ooh, don't I hate Sophie. That is one irritating, obnoxious girl. The way she talks to her mother will make you want to slap her. And sometimes you'd see that she contributes absolutely nothing to the conversation. Alberto keeps on spouting profundities and she she keeps on spouting bits of nonsense in between. It gets worse later on, but you'll get absorbed into the matter of the book and the 'Sophie part' becomes sort of an annoying fly that you just can't swat. If you can bear with the horribly failed fictionalization of philosophy, this would be a simple yet substantial read.

The book was great, I was really enjoying it but the end kind of let me down. Also, halfway through the book, they start paying more attention to the plot and the philosophers fall to second place. They begin to talk in general about the time's ideas and don't talk in-depth about the philosophers' views and ideas.

Anabel Romero 

Nicole Dykeman

DNF. This was an assignment for AP Lit, and we only had to read to page 250. I really didn't like this enough to finish it out. It's basically nonfiction disguised as fiction. Not my style.

The international bestseller about life, the universe and everything. When 14-year-old Sophie encounters a mysterious mentor who introduces her to philosophy, mysteries deepen in her own life. Why does she keep getting postcards addressed to another girl? Who is the other girl? And who, for that matter, is Sophie herself? To solve the riddle, she uses her new knowledge of philosophy, but the truth is far stranger than she could have imagined. An addictive blend of mystery, philosophy and fantasy, Sophie's World is an international phenomenon which has been translated into 60 languages and sold more than 40 million copies.

Charlotte 

A book set in the decade you were born (90s) ✔

Kolle

In-Genre Rating: 7
Global Rating: 6.5
Reading Fun: 6


Well structured, didactically and literarily strong. However, some chapters are quite dry or go off too far to the other end by being too absurd.

Erfan Abedi

اگه فصل آخرش نبود، اصلا نمی‌تونستم به چشم داستان نگاه کنم بهش.
چرا این‌قدر فضاسازی بی‌استفاده داشت؟
اومده می‌گه باغ سوفی فلان چیز و بهمان چیز رو داره؛ پنجاه صفحه بعد همون توصیف رو برای باغ هیلده می‌کنه، آخرش می‌گه باغ‌هاشون عین همه.
از لحاظ داستانی، راز فال ورق کاملا ازش سر تره، ولی از لحاظ تاریخ فلسفه خوب بود، اون‌م برای یکی مثل من که حالاحالاها حال نداره سراغ کتاب ویل دورانت بره!

Wer bist du? "fragt eín unbekannter Absender Sofie in einem Brief. Noch am selben Tag kommt ein Zweiter. "Woher hommt die Welt?" will diesmal der Schreiber wissen

Roman über die Geschichte der Philosophie

Sofies Welt

Flavia Louise

This is a great book which I really recommend for anybody wanting to learn the basics of Philosophy but I didn't think it was life altering this time around and I did not like the ending at all.

novela sobre la historia de la filosofía

El mundo de Sofía

María José Gil

Es el libro perfecto para entender las bases de la filosofía occidental de una manera muy didáctica, divertida y clara.

Gerardo Rodríguez

Sofia Kim Gordillo 

3.5

un muy buen libro de filosofía, aborda los temas con facilidad y se explica de una manera simple y fácil de comprender. 

No es un libro para todos, además de ser bastante pesado, pero es increíble si lo que quieres es sufrir una crisis existencial y preguntarte muchas cosas que jamás habías contemplado.

p.d. Gracias a Sofia y Hilde dudo de mi propia existencia.

Anna Pinto

This book was a big part of my teenage reading years.

The international bestseller about life, the universe and everything. When 14-year-old Sophie encounters a mysterious mentor who introduces her to philosophy, mysteries deepen in her own life. Why does she keep getting postcards addressed to another girl? Who is the other girl? And who, for that matter, is Sophie herself? To solve the riddle, she uses her new knowledge of philosophy, but the truth is far stranger than she could have imagined. A phenomenal worldwide bestseller, SOPHIE'S WORLD sets out to draw teenagers into the world of Socrates, Descartes, Spinoza, Hegel and all the great philosophers. A brilliantly original and fascinating story with many twists and turns, it raises profound questions about the meaning of life and the origin of the universe.

Erlank Pienaar

Mind bender. Excellent story telling. Must read.

Sophie's World A Novel about the History of Philosophy

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