Sophie's World Paperback – January 1, 1996

Such a creepy story about an adult man pursuing a 14 year girl trying to teach her philosophy. I realize there is a bigger philosophical meaning here but I was not able to understand it due to how terrible the book is. Then it switches to something like sci-fi, then it switches to another story line and repeats what the first story line was. So then you have to read it all over again. This book is horrible. And I think the whole story line is perverted with the old man and the young girl. I'm sure I missed the point of the whole book but the book was impossible to get through.

Sophie’s World is a novel about the history of philosophy. It is also a novel about a young Norwegian girl named Sophie. I can’t give away too much of the structure without spoiling some of the mystery that unfolds over the course of the book, but suffice it to say there are some strange twists to the plot that make the story interesting, if a bit bizarre, and are actually useful in illustrating some of the points of the volume.I am not a philosopher, but I have studied enough philosophy to recognize when a named philosopher is being described accurately. Within the realm of academia, of course, there are heated debates about what Plato really meant and whether the Cynics were always in earnest. However, this book takes the entry level historical discussions of philosophers and presents their perspectives in a recognizable way. Leave it to the college professor to nuance the understanding, and deepen it with more data, but this is Newtonian physics in a quantum world: pretty close to accurate and simple enough to gain a foothold for later exploration.As a Christian theologian, the representations of Christian thinkers was the most distorted. The Christians depicted by Gaarder are flat and lifeless. This is probably the way a philosopher views the explanations of some of the different schools of philosophy. It isn’t debilitating, but it is unimpressive. Some students are likely to gain a little of the famous sophomoric skepticism from reading the book, but a rich immersion in theology afterward is likely to help reinforce sound doctrine.Sophie’s World also has strong preference for the myth of progress. The storyline of philosophy is presented as if each philosopher advanced on the theories of previous philosophers toward some future state when, if Gaarder got his way, everyone would be governed by the United Nations. Considering that this book was originally published by a Norwegian in 1994, that view of things is understandable, but that piece of the story gets a little preachy.Some parents may have concern about a few elements of the story, as well. Throughout the story, the young teenager Sophie lies to her mother (her estranged father is away at sea) and meets up alone with a middle-aged man who becomes her philosophy tutor. Parts of this read like the lead up to a 20/20 episode, but fortunately it doesn’t result in the tragic end that would have made the air. In the chapter on Sigmund Freud there is a reference to a boy dreaming about balloons that are said to represent a girl’s breasts, which is pretty tame as Freud goes.The last couple of chapters dip into the absurd. At Sophie’s philosophy themed birthday party the participants behave bizarrely, with one of Sophie’s friend pouncing on a male classmate with kissing implied and apparent sex in the bushes, off camera. The girl declares that she’s pregnant (absurdly) to reinforce just what’s going on. Of course, what the reader gets from some of these references will depend on what the reader knows, so parents are likely to read more into the stories than an innocent child. In any case, none of these concerns are enough to justify avoiding the book. The questionable content is not extreme, nor is it close to what is available in a lot of young adult literature, but it is easier to know in advance as a parent than to find out after your child points it out.As a vehicle for communicating the history of philosophy, this is an excellent volume. There are points where the text does turn a bit dry and the dialogue does seem more like philosophy notes than conversation, but the novel is a vessel for the content. As a novel, this would not be on my list of top stories, but there is enough story and character to make the drier content more engaging. Taken as a whole, this is a very useful tool for introducing a young student to philosophy in a manageable, reasonably entertaining format.Note: This is an edited version of a review posted at Ethics and Culture.

An enjoyable tour of philosophy that will save you many hours in courses. Everyone should take philosophy in some form. It strengthens the mind. Philosophy courses don't have "answers in the back of the book" and you can't look into the soul of the boy next to you (and risk expulsion like Woody Allen). Understanding philosophy will shake you to your foundations and make you ask "What is right?" "What is real?" "What is true?" Read the many attempts to answer and, if you can, get a friend to read it and argue!

My oldest brother was a philosophy professor at Penn State University. He suggested this book to me and I LOVE it. My own background is mostly science but my core is really philosophy. I love deep discussions and wondering.... I especially love to hear other peoples' ideas about the meaning of life...This would be a great intro to philosophy for anyone who has ever wondered how we all evolved to NOW

Wonderful introduction to the great philosophers, not only for teens but for grown-ups as well. The lessons captivated me and I was looking forward to them, but I was not fond of the Hilde/ the Major subplot. By the way, this book should have been named Happy Birthday, Hilde. There were just so many postcards and HBH one could take before starting to scream. And at the Red Riding Hood thing, and the idea that Sophie and Albert are nothing but thoughts in the Major's mind - there it lost me. Loved the first half of the book but this spoiled it for me.If you are interested in how the Universe works, and in the questions philosophers pondered ( and some got pretty close) from the beginning of time, and if it is for a child/ teen, look up the Sara trilogy by Esther Hicks. It is the culmination of all philosophy, and it seems as close to the Truth as we got so far.

Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder is, in my view, a highly successful attempt to write a history of philosophy together with a story. I wasn’t particularly interested in the story as such. But the history of philosophy is very well done and informative. A great book for learning about many of the ideas that have gone towards shaping western civilisation. Top marks.I hope you find my review helpful.

"It combined fiction and non fiction very well. Interesting plot could get a bit confusing but stick with It". This is what my daughter said about the book. She was recommended to read it in relation with her 'A' Level Creative Writing. On a personal point of view she LOVED THIS BOOK but you know what it is like trying to ask questions when they are texting friends, so I apologise it is not more descriptive.

It’s hard to find any real criticism of this, especially as it’s marketed at teenagers but surpasses most ‘grown up’ fiction with ease. Well, I’m 40 and not only thoroughly enjoyed the plot but as someone interested in philosophy in general found it extremely educational too. It simplifies the big ideas and I can see how it creates a spark of interest and could make the reader want to delve into the original detailed philosophical texts having grasped the basics from this. I suppose if anything I thought the vehicle of Sophie’s story was dumbed down a bit too much. The plot could have been delivered with the same elegance as the philosophical sections. Overall though, I was impressed with this journey into the realms of both fantasy and philosophy - It’s both a fictional novel and educational text and can recommend to young and old alike.

Certainly some sort of history of WESTERN philosophy. The new introduction for the 20th anniversary issue virtually apologises for the lack of any reference to ecology. Maybe an apology is in order for the complete lack of reference to "eastern" ontology/philosophy? Anyway, what little I read came across as a slow plodding progress through what could be called "western philosophical thought" with some attempt at a "story". I did not get far. Not exactly cutting edge.Eventually I entered "eastern" into the search facility and found some simplistic nonsense about different varieties of mysticism.Gave up.

I was captivated with this book for the first half (if not further) of this book. I found its story line and writing to be captivating and informative (for a fiction book). However, towards the end it gets quite surreal and difficult to read. I felt that the book dragged a bit to bring about a complete ending for all the characters. Nevertheless, it was a fun and informative read and worth a go if you are interested in philosophy and stories such as Alice through the looking glass.