A Novel About The History of Philosophy

Do philosophical questions remain the same for all time? Yes and no. Many of the fundamental questions about the nature of the universe and our place in it have occupied our thoughts for thousands of years. There is something about our world which demands investigation by philosophers. Human beings will never cease to wonder about their own existence.

New questions may also emerge from radical changes to our surroundings. One example is artificial intelligence. Will a robot ever achieve consciousness or self-awareness? How does the human brain function? What is the difference between a human and a machine? Another example is modern natural science. Age-old questions, about what plants and creatures are made of, are well on their way to being answered. Today we ask: what was the Big Bang and how did it bring about the necessary conditions for life?

Jostein Gaarder’s World Bestseller Sophie’s World is a book about philosophy, (as you may have guessed from the title of this article.) Published in 1991, the book was a resounding success – selling millions of copies and being translated into over 50 different languages (the original book was written in Gaarder’s native Norwegian).

The idea of philosophy itself had always interested me, but prior to this book I can quite categorically describe my knowledge of the topic as rudimentary. I had skimmed over certain concepts here and there, particularly since coming to University, but I never really felt like I had the chance to fully get to grips with it. The distinguishing feature of this novel, as I have already touched upon, is the unique way in which Gaarder presents such concepts, making them at the same time easier to understand and showing how they can be applied in real life. He also intertwines our philosophical journey with a second story within the story, which immerses you even further into Sophie’s mysterious world, and encourages you to continually question and reflect upon what you are reading.

I really enjoyed this book, and would certainly recommend it to anyone who is interested in gaining a general insight into philosophy, but perhaps has previously found the idea of grappling with the primary texts a bit daunting. On a personal level, I feel like on finishing the book I have come away with a much better grounding with which to build upon my philosophical knowledge. Not only that, but the chance to think about such far-reaching questions as “Where does the world come from?” is quite refreshing – particularly when it feels like the world revolves solely around the stresses of examinations and coursework deadlines.

Hilmi Muhammad Fachrian
183211057
Sastra Inggria 1B

Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder

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