Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy (FSG Classics)

Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy (FSG Classics)
by Jostein Gaarder

Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy (FSG Classics)
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Book Summary Information

Author: Jostein Gaarder
Translator: Paulette Moller
Edition: Paperback
Published: 2007-03-20
ISBN: 0374530718
Number of pages: 544
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Book Reviews of Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy (FSG Classics)

Book Review: A delightful intriguing intro to history of philosophy
Summary: 5 Stars

This is my first philosophy book. I'm no 14- or 15-year-old, but I was so delighted and intrigued by the way an abstract subject is explained with such concrete examples, occasional good humor as well as the story within story technique used to illustrate some of the contemporary philosophical ideas towards the second half of the book. As a result, I've gone on to purchase my second philosophy book. And looking forward to learning more through more books and discussion with others.

I would certainly recommend this to anyone (young or old, male or female) who's new to philosophy and wants to learn it in a relatively painless way. By the way, the story (or history) is long, over 500 pages. And the book makes no pretense (in any way) to be literature. The subtitle says it all: A Novel About the History of Philosophy.

Summary of Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy (FSG Classics)

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.
A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Sophie’s World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print.

One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: “Who are you?” and “Where does the world come from?” From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning—but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.

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