In Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder teaches philosophy and it explains basic philosophical ideas better than any other reading book or textbook that I have ever read. The many philosophical lessons of the diversified thinkers of their own time were dexterously understood. The author has a wonderful knack for finding the heart of a concept and placing it on display. For example, he metamorphoses Democritus' atoms into Lego bricks and in a stroke makes the classical conception of the atom dexterously
philosophical thinking to its reader. Born on August 8, 1952 in Oslo, Norway, Jostein Gaarder has dedicated much of his life to the dissemination and teaching of philosophical and religious ideas to young students and readers worldwide. Gaarder’s philosophical career began after graduating from the University of Oslo, where he studied the history of philosophy, religion, and Nordic literature. Upon completing his studies in 1976, Gaarder chose to work as a secondary school teacher of philosophy, religion,
Jostein Gaarder is a Norwegian intellectual and author of several novels, short stories and children's books. Gaarder often writes from the perspective of children, exploring their sense of wonder about the world. He often uses metafiction in his works, writing stories within stories. Gaarder was born into a pedagogical family. His best known work is the novel Sophie's World, subtitled A Novel about the History of Philosophy. This popular work has been translated into fifty-three languages; there
Sophie's World Looking in her mailbox one afternoon, a fourteen- year- old Norwegian schoolgirl named Sophie Amundsen finds a surprising white envelope containing a piece of paper. On it are written two questions: "Who are you?" and "Where did the world come from?". And at the same time she is also receiving letters for a girl named Hilde Moller Kang and Sophie also finds a silk red scarf in her bedroom, not belonging to her, but to this girl Hilde. The writer is an enigmatic philosopher
neglect it. Each decision being made has a cause to its effect. In the novel In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, demonstrates the idea of consequences in one’s responsibility, however only under certain circumstances. Similarly, in Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder, Spinoza explicates when we live freely, we develop our natural abilities however one must accept the consequences of such abilities accordingly. Spinoza was an excommunicated Jew. He viewed aspects from the “perspective of eternity”. He states
connect the dots. They are both characters in a book Albert is reading to Hilde, inside this novel. Jostein Gaarder shows us the twist
of life is pleasure. He said that "The highest good is pleasure, the greatest evil is pain." (Gaarder, 132) Epicurus expanded his ideas around 300 BC, saying that the pleasurable results of an action must always be weighed against its possible side effects. He believed that momentary pleasure should be weighed against the possibility of greater, more lasting, or more intense pleasure in the future (Gaarder, 133). For example, rather than smoking cigarettes everyday for a year, you could save your money
Sophie’s World is a book by Norwegian author Jostien Gaarder which is an introduction and a history of Philosophy novel. It is set in the 1990’s in Norway and follows Sophie Amundsen as she embarks on a journey to learn about the various Philosophers and their projects with a man named Alberto Knox, who was the one that sent Sophie the letter with the following questions: “Who are you?” and “Where does the world come from?” along with a letter to a girl named Hilde Moller Knag from Hilde’s dad that
In the comprehensive history of philosophy, Sophie’s World, by Jostein Gaarder, beliefs of three well known Greek philosophers, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, are discussed. According to the book, Plato’s philosophy consisted of the idea that all beings were formed from a universal “cookie cutter” which resembles its perfect form derived from a higher state of being. Aristotle, Plato’s most famous pupil, did not accept his teacher’s philosophy. Instead, Aristotle claimed that each being stands alone
discover an unhappy experience that the patient has tried to suppress for many years […] gnawing away at the patient’s resources. By bringing a ‘traumatic experience’ into the conscious mind […] he or she can help the patient ‘be done with it’” (Gaarder 427). Freud believes that the best way to treat a mental disorder caused by trauma in the subconscious is to face it. In the episode “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” Sam is locked within himself and forced to face the part of his soul that had served
Individualism Romanticism is the cult of the individual – the cultural and psychological nativity of the self, the inner spark of divinity that links one human being to another and all humans to the Larger Truth. Artist became preoccupied with articulating the personal experiences they become, in turn, a representative one. The artists takes on a quasi-religious status not only as a prophet and moral leader, but also as a divinely inspired vehicle through which nature and the common man find their
In Jostein Gaarder’s novel Sophie’s World we are introduced to fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen, we follow along with Sophie as her world gets flipped upside down by a series of letters written by a mysterious teacher. Sophie finds little white envelopes posing thought- invoking questions such as “Who are you?”. Big brown envelopes introduce Sophie to great philosophers like Democritus and Plato, as well as introducing philosophical concepts like fate. Sophie also learns of a mysterious Hilde Møller
pedestrianism, The Office forces viewers to wonder whether if they, like the characters they see on screen, have resigned themselves to a lost existence. Works Cited Burton, Neil. “Hide and Seek.” Psychology Today. 20 Mar. 2012. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. Gaarder, Jostein. Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1994. Print. “Pilot.” The Office. Writ. Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Greg Daniels. Dir. Ken Kwapis. NBC. 24 Mar. 2005. Television.
need to concentrate on what we know.” A decision not to decide but to leave the question open is in itself a decision and this will lead to the risk of losing truth. Metacognition. Skepticism also plays a big role in this life long argument. As Jostein Gaarder said in SOPHIE’S WORLD, “…man cannot know the truth about the riddles of nature and of the universe. In philosophy a view like this is called skepticism.” People tend to be skeptical, where knowledge is uncertain. They want to avoid error.
paralleling the experiences of its literary figures. The philosophy of existentialism had its roots in late nineteenth century philosophers such as Kierkegaard and Nietzsche (Crowell), but wasn't popularized until after World War II, and Sartre (Gaarder 455). After two world wars and countless civil disruptions throughout Europe, the populace was disillusioned with the senseless violence. Recent developments in science had cast religion into doubt, but even if there was a God, according to Sartre
Critique of Plato’s Theory of Form: Shortcomings and other conflicts and problem The world according to Plato is divided into two worlds: The Visible: The world we live in, the world we taste or touch. The Intelligible: We can only grab this with our mind. It is made up of Abstract forms, which are absolute and this exists in the permanent relation with the visible realm and makes the visible realm possible as all our knowledge of the visible world is derived from here. Because only they possess
The Unambiguous Use of Symbolism in A Rose for Emily “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town” (Faulkner 1). Emily, a member of the town’s elite class, relied upon her father when growing up and after his death, she refused to pay her taxes stating that her father contributed much to society. But it was evident that she didn’t pay them because of a lack of maturity - financially and socially. When she was younger, she pushes herself
Democracy Democracy first appeared in ancient Greece. First, they had no word “Democracy”. Democracy system was just the ideal that they agree to use for ruled people. Before they ruled by democracy system they used to rule by monarchy. But Lord took advantage of people so it made people have much debt. Solon, who was one of Lord, he helped people by cancelled all the debt and cancelled contract of slave. He gave the right to people. Everybody was equal. People can go to parliament and vote
cliché idea, and Howe has no original insight to add to it; but like most cliché ideas it is eternally popular with the slow-witted (this is also the life lesson that begins the universally approved book of modern philosophy Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder).
Sydnei Young AP Lit. Jiles 3 Aug. 2014 Chapter 1 Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not) Summary: The quest or adventure has many components. The quester is a person who goes on a journey in the book. The quester has an important place to go because there is some reason for the character to go there, whether another character told them or it’s just fate. On this journey there are some challenges along the way that the quester endures. “The real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge” (Foster