Sophie's World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy (Paperback)

by Jostein Gaarder (Author) "Sophie Amundsen was on her way home from school..." (more)
Key Phrases: unalterable ego, perfect entity, brass mirror, Middle Ages, Sophie Amundsen, Alberto Knox (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Wanting to understand the most fundamental questions of the universe isn't the province of ivory-tower intellectuals alone, as this book's enormous popularity has demonstrated. A young girl, Sophie, becomes embroiled in a discussion of philosophy with a faceless correspondent. At the same time, she must unravel a mystery involving another young girl, Hilde, by using everything she's learning. The truth is far more complicated than she could ever have imagined.

From Publishers Weekly
This long, dense novel, a bestseller in the author's native Norway, offers a summary history of philosophy embedded in a philosophical mystery disguised as a children's book-but only sophisticated young adults would be remotely interested. Sophie Amundsen is about to turn 15 when she receives a letter from one Alberto Knox, a philosopher who undertakes to educate her in his craft. Sections in which we read the text of Knox's lessons to Sophie about the pre-Socratics, Plato and St. Augustine alternate with those in which we find out about Sophie's life with her well-meaning mother. Soon, though, Sophie begins receiving other, stranger missives addressed to one Hilde Moller Knag from her absent father, Albert. As Alberto Knox's lessons approach this century, he and Sophie come to suspect that they are merely characters in a novel written by Albert for his daughter. Teacher and pupil hatch a plot to understand and possibly escape from their situation; and from there, matters get only weirder. Norwegian philosophy professor Gaarder's notion of making a history of philosophy accessible is a good one. Unfortunately, it's occasionally undermined by the dry language he uses to describe the works of various thinkers and by an idiosyncratic bias that gives one paragraph to Nietzsche but dozens to Sartre, breezing right by Wittgenstein and the most influential philosophy of this century, logical positivism. Many readers, regardless of their age, may be tempted to skip over the lessons, which aren't well integrated with the more interesting and unusual metafictional story line. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425152251
• ISBN-13: 978-0425152256
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (588 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,866 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

121 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Idea for the Right Person, March 13, 2001

By	Elizabeth Hendry (New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Sophie's World has an interesting concept, but it is certainly not for everyone. I have some criticism of the book, but also some praise. First the criticism. This is really a philosophy text pretending to be a novel. (Which, I believe is ultimately a good thing). The characters are not that believable and are really just devices Gaarder uses to get his point across. The dialog is not believable either. Another potential problem for certain readers is that the philosophy lessons contained in this book are, in the novel, aimed at a 15 year old girl. If you have studied philosophy at some point in your life, this will probably be far too simplistic for you.

I still would recommend this book and here's why. Sophie's World will be an excellent read for anyone with a curiosity about philosophy, but who finds the whole thing a bit intimidating. I think it's a wonderful introduction to philosophy because it is aimed at that 15 year old character. Even if you have studied philosophy, this book will be thought provoking, if only because it makes you think about what you once studied. I think this would be a wonderful book for parents of teenage children to read with their children. It would certainly make for some excellent discussions. The true strength of this book is the material it covers. Philosophy is a fascinating subject and Sophie's World is the perfect choice for anyone who would like to gently ease themselves into that subject.

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect intro to philosophy, November 29, 1998

By	Coriander O'Polis (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sophie's world: a novel about the history of philosophy (Berkeley Signature Edition) (Paperback)

I read through quite a few of the reviews here before writing my own, and was kind of surprised at what I read. I think I read Sophie's World through far different eyes than most of the people who posted reviews. I'm a 16 year old high school sophmore who's familiarity to philosophy is limited to what material I can borrow from my school library, not what I was taught at an expensive college. Sophie's World is delightful for it's purpose: to introduce people to the basics of philosophy and apply it to a fictional situation. Gaarder suceeds wonderfully in doing that. What the world needs is a clear concise history of philosophy that helps HUMAN BEINGS understand philosophy without having to spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars. Sophie's World is that book, not just another overanalysis of Kierkegaard or Sartre which might as well be written in Latin, because God knows most people wouldn't understand a word of it. Sophie's World is a book for PEOPLE who want to understand the world of philosophy, not a bunch of stuck-up intellectuals who think that only a select few should be able to enjoy such information. Yes, for people who know everything, this book would probably be a bore, but for your 99% percent of the country; this book would be a gem, and it is.

43 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Review of the History of Philosophy, September 2, 2002

By	richard_t "richard_t" (South America) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Gaardner, a Norwegian high school teacher, has created a wonderful and readable history of philosophy. The book is weakly constructed as a philosophy course taught to 14-year old Sophie by a mysterious stranger. But it is this "novel" side of the book that is the thinnest, for Sophie and the other characters in the novel are mere cardboard cutouts tacked on to the margins of the chapters to provide context for the the real book: the philosophy course.

The course chronologically covers thirty major periods, schools of thought, and philosophers from the pre-Socratics through Aristotle, Aquinas, and Hegel to the Big Bang. Each is presented in an accessible chapter of a dozen pages, with the philosophy teacher simplifying and clarifying points for Sophie. With the philosophers presented in chronological order, readers can track the trends of thought as each builds on those who came before. "Sophie's World" is not a great novel, but it is an excellent review of philosophy, and a quick 500 pages.