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What Wonderful Philosophy!

Two semesters I have read the book Sophie's World. I was wondering what on earth this kind of book should be. Just a best-seller novel? Or an adventure of philosophy?

Actually, Sophie's World is not only a novel but also a history of philosophy, so it is not strange that philosophy is its main theme. Sophie is the main character. She is the creation of Albert Knag. Along with Alberto Knox, Sophie is a part of Hilde's birthday present. Philosophy is presented not as some complex exercise to be performed by people with free time but rather as something integral to life itself. Sophie and Alberto need philosophy to understand their world, so do we. And we are the same. Their world is created by Albert Knag, but just because we don't know the answer to the question of where our world comes from, it doesn't mean that we are free from asking about it. Actually, as the writer stresses in the book, a philosopher never stops asking questions. Alberto tries to get Sophie to realize how amazing her own existence is. It does not matter that there may be no answer to our questions. The only question is what makes us human. Why we are here, what makes a good life, and all of the other philosophical questions raised in the book are the most important things we ask according to the writer. Once our physical well-being is taken care of, we must relate ourselves to our mental lives. Life is thrust upon us, and the only way that can mean anything to us is that whether we ask these questions constantly. Philosophy stands alone, outside of other disciplines, because in reality the writer regards it equal to living. If we live without philosophy, then we may deprive ourselves of the greatest pleasure and understanding that we would never come to. Philosophy is an ongoing, lifelong pursuit. We with all the creatures on earth can engage in philosophy. Although it may not make our lives simpler or offer us any easier answers, philosophy will fill us with a sense of wonder about our existence. The writer shows us that even when philosophy is intricately complicated, it revolves around simplicity.

基英读书工程 Sophie's World 读后感/ What Wonderful Philosophy!/ 2012-6-27 1/3

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In Alberto's letter to Sophie, he tells her what the aim of philosophy is and why it is important to our lives. Through the book, the writer repeatedly addresses the importance of philosophy and its relation to our everyday life. This is where Alberto first states that idea. Basically, once we have satisfied our basic needs, then we will have further needs that must be met, which are of our mind. We are able to think, and we can contemplate the universe, and if we do not think, it must be a tragedy. It is not simply good for us to ask important philosophical questions; however, it is necessary for us to do so because otherwise our lives to a large extent will have been in vain. The only way that we can find meaning in life is through philosophy. Someone who do not philosophize may think that they have found meaning but in fact they have just accepted meaning from someone or some theory. But these are things that each person must work out, and that is why it is so critical that all of us engage in philosophical thinking.

Not all the philosophical questions are for us to ask. The point is not just asking the questions but rather coming up with the solution. And that solution may be not easy. People have been trying to solve some of the problems for many years and we can consider what they already said, but in the end the answer must satisfy us personally. Also the role of history becomes more and more important. Freedom in ancient Athens meant something different from what it means now because slavery was an accepted part of life back then. There are all aspects of every historical period that if they are judged by current standards, possibly they may be wrong. And this means that someday we will be looked upon as unjust or immoral in certain ways. Philosophy moves with human history.

If one knows nothing, then he can ask questions about anything. Not knowing anything is the first step to have a glimpse of philosophy. Descartes doubted everything, and ultimately the only thing for him to know was that he knew nothing. From this he started to create a grand philosophy. The key is that in order to learn something it is better to take off what we think, what we know or what others have

基英读书工程 Sophie's World 读后感/ What Wonderful Philosophy!/ 2012-6-27 2/3

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told us. Certain knowledge is better to uncertain knowledge. Thus, the writer himself wants us to think about what we know and believe.

Thinking philosophically includes questioning. To be a philosopher, we must think and ask some questions. Then we must try to think some explanation for the questions that we asked before. So learning to think is the first step to be a real philosopher. But at the same time, the best way to learn thinking philosophically may be to read some examples from history. And when we study the problems that other philosophers have been faced and the solutions that they have come up with, then it is the process of learning philosophy. When we are young, before we grow into adult, we act like philosophers. That is because we often wonder about things, and are curious about anything anytime, but philosophers go a step further and try to think of an explanation for the mysterious thing. And it may be that thinking like a philosopher is a technique that we need being trained in. In that case, learning philosophy by examples will help us think philosophically and let us be philosophers.

( 968 words )

基英读书工程 Sophie's World 读后感/ What Wonderful Philosophy!/ 2012-6-27 3/3

第二篇：苏菲的世界 英文读后感

Some impression of Sophie's World

Sophie's World is a novel by Jostein Gaarder, published in 1991. It was originally written in Norwegian, but has been translated into English and many other languages.

I have to admit that I chose this book because of my curiosity. I have heard that Sophie's World is a book with many difficulties because it’s a philosophy book. This book relates to some philosophy knowledge that we have not learnt form our textbooks. I have planned to spend plenty of time to study this book, but because of the limit of time, I can only take several days to finish it during the National Day holiday. So there are still some theories that I can’t understand.

In this book, Sophie Amundsen is a fifteen year old girl living in Norway in 1990. She lives with her cat, her goldfish, a tortoise, two budgerigars and her mother. Her father is a captain of an oil tanker, and is away for most of the year. He does not appear in the book. Sophie's life is rattled as the book

begins, when she receives two anonymous messages in her mailbox (Who are you? Where does the world come from? ). Shortly afterwards she receives a packet of papers, part of a course in philosophy. With these mysterious

communications, Sophie becomes a fifteen-year-old philosopher. Alberto Knox teaches her about the history of philosophy. Sophie learns about philosophy while being lectured by Alberto, dressed as a monk, in an ancient church, and she learns about Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Various

philosophical questions and methods of reasoning are put before Sophie, as she attempts to work them out on her own.

I thought philosophy is an unreasonable study. However, after reading this book, I find that philosophy is a study which is closest to our lives.

Philosophy is a subject relates to some questions that everybody in the world want to know. The aim of philosophy is to solve some problems that can not be proved by science, like good and evil, beauty and ugliness, life and death. I think philosophy is not a kind of science because it can not be measured and calculated. Philosophy is a hypothetical interpretation about something that we never know and something we are not sure. It’s also the first step to pursue truth. In our world, we can not avoid disaster and despairing only with science. Science brings us knowledge, but only can philosophy bring us wisdom. This is a good guide book to philosophy which is different from many other philosophy books. When I was reading it, it feels like a detective book. It let me think following Sophie unconsciously and discuss the philosophy problems also call on some famous philosophers and understand them, walk into their world. This book has many contents but it is not confused. Writer divided the book into some chapters and every chapter has its theme. And

every chapter can present several questions. This made readers can understand easily.

From hundreds of years ago, people from every ages and every nations are asking the same questions, as who am I? Where does the world come from? Just because of people’s curiosity, there is philosophy. But, regretfully, people’s curiosity started to decrease progressively because of their habits. When we are growing, we accept this world gradually and take everything around us for granted. Of course, our curiosity will die out. From this part, our curiosity about the world is not match to children. However, philosophers are different because they will never get used to the world. To them, there are still something unreasonable in the world, as well as something complex and something mysterious. They watch this world in children’s view. So they can come up with many deep questions. So they are called wise men. I always think about myself whether I have lost my curiosity and whether I have to

watch this world in a new way. Maybe I can not think like children, but I can ask some more questions about the world.

There are many ideas in my mind, but I don’t know how to express them clearly. After reading this book, I acquire much knowledge about

philosophy and gain some enlightenment from it. Maybe I should change my attitude towards life.

This book isn’t too difficult to understand. Actually, it’s easy and

amusing. In each chapter, a fifteen-year-old girl asks questions to some famous philosophers that she doesn’t know. In the beginning, it is not

necessary to have many dialogs. So the writer used the way of letter to tell the story. Since middle ages, it began talking face to face. These questions and answers are so natural that I always think it is true when I was reading. Sophie was truly hiding in an Eden filled with bush and experienced rainstorm and lightning on the square. The most important point is that these philosophers are wise but not sophisticated. Every word and every example of them are so realistic. Because of this, many abstract and dry theories are filled with the air of wisdom and beauty. However, the girl’s characters and qualities are not covered by these masters’ light. She is like a boat on the sea, tiny and tough. She has many her own ideas about these great theories, and it’s very special.

However, it is not enough to let this book be a guide of philosophy only by this. The author uses several clues in this book. In the beginning of this book, we read the story about Sophie, then philosophers. But, suddenly, there is an imaginary girl called Cid, as well as her father who is working Lebanon. Cid’s father is like a god that can be everywhere. He uses every way to show that he exists, but he never let anybody see him. Sophie’s world is very miraculous and fantastic. When she is studying philosophy, Sophie is thinking about her own world at the same time. Finally, they find the world which she has lived in for 15 years is only an imaginary world by a philosophy book of her

father. Her families, classmates, house, pets, garden, and all kinds of feelings and thoughts are created by her father. Her world is just somebody’s illusion and shadow.

To many Chinese students, philosophy is hard to understand. But Sophie's World this book makes philosophy easy to understand. It’s deep and amusing. After finishing the happy travel in this book about philosophy, readers can find the beacon in their lives. This is a world full of wisdom and dream. We can meet those famous philosophers, talk to them and understand them easily. Every time when we meet them, we will be shocked by their great thoughts.

This book also tells me that result is less important than the process we get the result. In our lives, we should always ask but not accept. We should find the beauty of thinking.