Sofia’s World, An Approach To Philosophy
El mundo de Sofía is a work that synthesizes the history of Western philosophy in a novelistic format. This original claim is what has made it a well-known and highly recommended book. It is because of its pleasant, simple and close language compared to the classic manuals of long sentences and reasoning designed for the person who already has a prior knowledge of the subject.
Thus, we are talking about a work that does not pretend to be more than what it is, and what it is is very good. Especially for those people who want to get an idea of what scholars of thought have thought throughout history. In addition, it constitutes a magnificent door for people who later want to know more.
Before starting reading
El mundo de Sofía was published in 1991, assuming at that time a real revolution (at that time there were few texts that would descend to the philosophy of the heights and act as a bridge for the most curious). It is the work that led the Norwegian philosopher and writer Jostein Gaarder to be “one of the most successful authors in Europe”. It has been translated into more than fifteen languages and made into a film in 1999 with the same title by the director, also Norwegian, Erik Gustavson.
about the author
Jostein Gaarder has received different awards dedicated to youth literature and writing such as: the National Prize for Literary Criticism in Norway and the European Prize for Youth Literature, to name a few. His more than fifteen literary works attempt to address issues of existential and philosophical interest with an agile and simple style. For some people , “he was the best-selling writer on the planet during ’95 and ’96.”
About the work
Sofía’s world has more than six hundred pages in its Spanish version and is published in the Siruela publishing house (within the library dedicated to the author, since most of his books have been published in Spanish). It is divided into thirty-five chapters that dynamically and concretely expose more than two thousand years of philosophy and has, as a sign of its success, twenty editions.
El mundo de Sofía “A novel that became a cult book”
Have you ever asked yourself “Who are you?”; “What’s a human being?”; “Isn’t it unfair that life has to end sometime?”; “Isn’t it sad that most people have to get sick to realize how nice it is to live?” Where does the world come from?”.
These are some of the questions that invade the thoughts of little Sofia from a mysterious letter written by who, apparently, is a philosopher. Thus, the story unfolds around Sofia Amundsen, a girl of almost fifteen years old. He focuses on the formation of his identity from the conversations he has with the sender of the mysterious letters. With these he tries to answer your questions. We see a girl increasingly interested in the complexity of the human being and the world around him. They address topics such as:
“What is philosophy?”; “The philosophers of nature”; “Science of history and science of medicine”; “Who was Socrates?”; “Plato”; “Aristotle”; “Religion, philosophy and science”; “Neoplatonism”; “The romanticism”; among others. As you can see, it is not a novel to read in one sitting, since its content takes time for digestion.
A fragment of the book
For you to finish being interested in the work, I leave you some fragments that are part of the book that may be useful for you to know if, calling your attention the philosophy, is a style with which you would enjoy. In one of the letters where they talk about Hellenism:
After the cynics, there have been many philosophers who have returned to this idea of happiness. It is seductive to think that by reducing the number of elements that we depend on (need), we will be closer to feeling complete. In this way, it would be easier to determine goals or not feel overwhelmed by our own desire.
Anyway, these are just a few small strokes of a book that has seduced several generations. That has made many people end up studying philosophy, in addition to saving the pretense of many teachers who felt unable to bring the subject closer to their pupils.
