Le Monde De Sophie, An Approach To Philosophy
Le Monde de Sophie is a work that synthesizes the history of Western philosophy in a novel format. This original claim is what made it a well known and recommended book.
It is thanks to its pleasant language, simple and close as opposed to classic textbooks, clad with long sentences and distilling a thought made for those who already have a prior knowledge of the subject.
So this is a job that does not pretend to be more than it is, and that is already very good. Especially for those who want to get a feel for what the greatest thinkers throughout history have been thinking about. It’s also a great entry point for those who want to learn more later.
Before you start reading
Le Monde de Sophie was published in 1991, assuming a genuine revolution at the time. Indeed, at that time, there were few texts that descended philosophy from its pedestal. Or, to put it better, that made it accessible to everyone. This novel has thus been translated into more than fifteen languages. An eponymous 1999 film also traces the novel. It was directed by Norwegian Erik Gustavson.
About the Author
Jostein Gaarder has received several awards devoted to children’s literature and writing, such as the National Prize for Literary Criticism in Norway and the European Prize for Children’s Literature , to name a few. His literary work, numbering about fifteen works, seeks to address questions of existential and philosophical interest with an agile and simple style. For some, “he was the best-selling writer on the planet in 1995 and 1996”.
About the work
Le Monde de Sophie has more than six hundred pages in its French version and is published by the publishing house of Le Seuil. It is divided into thirty-five chapters which dynamically and concretely expose more than two thousand years of philosophy. Currently, the book has been republished more than twenty times, which testifies to its success.
Le Monde de Sophie : “A novel that has become a cult book”.
Have you ever wondered:
- Who am I ?
- What is a human being?
- Isn’t it unfair that life should end someday?
- Isn’t it sad that most people have to get sick to realize how good it is to be alive?
- Where does the world come from?
These are some of the questions that invade Sophie’s thoughts in a mysterious letter written by one who appears to be a philosopher. Thus, the story unfolds around Sophie Amundsen, a young girl of almost fifteen. She focuses on forming her identity from the conversations she has with the sender of the mysterious letters. She thus tries to answer his questions. We see a girl more and more interested in the complexity of human beings and the world around them. They deal with topics such as:
- What is philosophy ?
- Philosophers of Nature
- The science of history and the science of medicine
- Who was Socrates?
- Plato
- Aristotle
- Religion, philosophy and science
- Neoplatonism
- Romanticism
- Etc
As you can see, this is not a read all at once novel because one needs time to digest its contents.
An excerpt from the book
To get you interested in the work, here are some fragments which are part of the book and which may be useful to you to know if, drawing your attention to philosophy, it is a style which you would like. In one of the letters where they speak of Hellenism:
After the cynics, many philosophers returned to this idea of happiness. It is appealing to think that by reducing the number of things we depend on (need), we will be closer to feeling complete. That way, it would be easier to set goals or not feel overwhelmed by your own desire.
In short, these are just a few brushstrokes from a book that has won over several generations. Many people have taken an interest in philosophy through this work. He was able to reconcile teachers eager to pass on their knowledge and students in search of didactic discourse.
Our thoughts In martial arts, you learn to fight masterfully, not to know how to attack, but to know how to defend yourself.
