Sophie's World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy (FSG Classics) (Berkeley Signature Edition)

by Jostein Gaarder

Paulette Miller (Translator) and Paulette Moller (Translator)

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.

• ISBN10: 0374266425
• ISBN13: 9780374266424
• Publish Date: 1 September 1994
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 16 June 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 403
• Language: English

Reviews

[Joséphine]

Initial thougths: When I was 9, I had this romantic notion about university that I would spend my days reading, writing and debating about literature and philosophy. Funnily, it wasn't until I picked out Sophie's World at 12 that I was first introduced to philosophical theory and history. Naturally, I didn't grasp all of the concepts yet, but I did enjoy reading the book for it made me feel a great deal smarter. Haha.

Fast forward to today, I've visited and revisited many of these ideas in high school, junior college and university classes in much greater detail. Going back to Sophie's World filled me fondness. Reading about Sophie as well as philosophers ranging from Aristotle to Socrates, to Locke, Descartes Nietzsche, and co. felt like visiting old friends. However, I've come to recognise that philosophy cannot be viewed only from the Western lens, and it's there where Sophie's World falls short.

As for the story surrounding the history of philosophy? I'd nearly forgotten that this one's a story-within-a-story, which aptly explores questions of how do we know what we know? Do we really exist or are we merely figments of someone's imagination, and even so, does it really matter?

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Sophie’s World is written as a novel but really dives into the history of Philosophy. The book is about a teenage girl, Sophie who keeps getting letters on philosophy in the mail. These letters spark Sophie’s curiosity and provide questions and answers to questions on life. Jostein Gaarder intended the book to be both a novel and a basic guide to philosophy, which made the book very easy to read.

Sophie started her studies with the natural philosophers, before moving onto the popular Greeks (Socrates, Plato and Aristotle) all the way up to Darwin, Freud, and Sartre. Though covering most of the major philosophers Gaarder didn’t shy away from the lesser known or even the controversial ones (Marx). He did a good job of showing the positive and negative points of each philosopher, while trying not to tell the reader which ones are better than others.

The novel aspect of this book is bizarre and intriguing, with little examples of philosophical theories along the way. It did a great job of breaking up the history lesson to bring the reader back to the feeling of reading a novel. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading it again. Next time I plan to read it slower and spend time exploring these philosophers in greater detail. Well worth the read and a good introductory point into the world of philosophy.

[inlibrisveritas]

This was a book that had me thinking from the beginning!

My honors world lit teacher recommended this and I knew that it was worth it at that point. Before this book I didn't really know much about philosophy and by the end I was asking why like a professional.
It is heavy on information and at times I literally got headaches reading it. But by the end of the book I was reading to read it again and again. I would really recommend this to those who like depth and thinking.