SOPHIES WORLD

A Novel about the History of Philosophy

Jostein Gaarder

Translated by Paulette Moller

The Berkley Publishing Group, New York, 1994

Originally in Norwegian: Sophies Verden

Farrar, Straus & Groux, New York, 1991

BY: AIRA GATONG

The most intriguing questions about cradle, humanity, and the World some of many
questions in the world has been the debatable topics since the humans had curiosity, and for
a very long time in our history, many famous people, even those ordinary people who are just
walking along side of the road, have their own opinions and varieties of answers on those
interesting questions. While Jostein Gaarders Sophies World: A Novel about History of
Philosophy tries to let us, the readers, not just to read the book but also to let us be involved in
the story for us to know the answers to those questions by ourselves, not by what has some
famous philosopher said.

Days before our philosophy professor told us to read that strange book for our first
term, we had a seatwork. He asked us to answer three questions, first, Who are you? Second,
Where do you think you came from? and; Third, Where do you think youre going? I was
really surprised by those questions to the point that I added a fourth question which I intended
only for myself which is Saan naman kaya nahugot ni Sir ang mga tanong na yon? and
because of the book Sophies World, those questions got a space in my mind at the very first
fifty pages, and I also come to realized that its the answer to my fourth question, it was
obviously a hint to the book. Honestly, I was forced to finish reading the story in a roughly
month because: first, I also have other things to do, but I also read it during my free times and
before I sleep, though, skin under my eyes got darker than before. And second, I tried to absorb
the content of each chapter in the book. Instead of rushing through it, I let each chapter sink in
my mind before I go to another page.
Letting each chapter sink in my mind led me to write this book review in a simple but in
detailed style. I think, maybe I can reflect my thoughts in a way where Im going to breakdown
or at least to go in some chunks and pieces of each chapter and some philosophers and their
works which definitely left my mind thinking if i agree on that or if I dont or if I should seek for
more information by myself to fully understand if that certain philosophers belief is being
reasonable. I THINK THIS REVIEW ME HAVE MY OWN FACULTY OF WONDER, WHICH MAKES ME
FEEL LIKE IM ALREADY A PHILOSOPHER.

***ALSO FOR CONCLUSION: Gaarder has therefore come up with a brilliant solution to the key
problem that a novel like Sophies World must face if it is to be a novel about history of
philosophy then some way must be found to work the philosophy directly into the plot. For the
first several chapters it is enough that the philosophy is transmitted to Sophie through
mysterious means and by a mysterious person.

***On one of the walls hung two pictures. One was an oil painting of a white house which lay a
stone's throw from a little bay with a red boathouse. Between the house and the boathouse was a
sloping garden with an apple tree, a few thick bushes, and some rocks. A dense fringe of birch trees
framed the garden like a garland. The title of the painting was "Bjerkely."
*** THE MOST STRIKING WORD IN THE BOO IS THE: A GOOD PHILOSOPHER HAS A FACULTY OF
WONDER WHERE HE NEVER STOPS ASKING QUESTIONS.
***I cannot say that a belief of a theory is wrong or unacceptable because like Plato have said,
all things came from an idea and what I understood about it is that THERES NO WRONG OR
UNACCEPTABLE IDEA UNLESS IT IS VERY FAR FROM THE MAIN ISSUE OR SOMEONE IS BEING
HURT OR BEING AFFECTED IN A BAD WAY.

***Discuss 4 chapters each page with a bit of critizing and idolizing philosophers. DO NOT BE
SO NEGATIVE
***People, nowadays, are still arguing the mystery of the world
***CONCLUSION: So, Sophies World succeeds to show me that even Philosophy is intricately
complicated, it revolves around simplicity. It also let me think outside of my mind. And I also
liked the way the story was presented. It kept me from looking from the dictionary for every
word I dont know because he used simple words that really fit the young adults like me.

***Yes, i find it boring in the first 250 pages, were nothng happens, Sophie gets a new letter,
she reads it, she meets the weirdo, then discuss the philosophers view of what the world really
consists. Its only after the halfway pages that a real literary conflict arises and this book starts
to let me feel that i am reading it as a novel, not just as a philosophy lesson. Every question in
the story also allowed me to think deeply and make my opinions clearer and reasonable. As a
history, it fares much better as an introduction to Philosophy where it hits high points, starting
with the Greeks and movng forward all the way all through the 20 th century existentialism,
ending with a brief introduction to the universe such as the Big Bang Theory. It also succeed in
being known because its not very often that we came across a book that chnges the very basis
of our thinking.

***ALSO FOR CONCLUSION: I have many questions too, but I think the question that really
intrigues me is that to whom, of those people mentioned in the book, Gaarder believes in?
What is his idea of the world? How the world did became what it is now? And, Why we are
here? If I could just ask him these personally, I would really do, but I think I have to let those
questions in the air because ...

***ALSO FOR CONCLUSION: I just want to left a hanging question: why did this book started
from the past if philosophy is about the present and the future? And I also like the way the
author used some tricks in the story because it kept me reading until the last page until where I
knew that Sophie and Alberto were just in the mind of Albert Knag who wrote it for his
daughter Hilde. I liked the way he presented the story, chronological then suddenly the point of
view changes and I felt like I was Hilde because I was just reading the book too, and like Sophie
and Hilde, I am thinking if they are both true or theyre just a part of someone elses idea but
the difference between me and those two characters is that my things arent missing and i am
always with father but in a serious notion, and for me, the best part of the story is when I felt
like I was a part of the story too.

***NOW I CAN SAY THAT THIS BOOK IS EALLY GREAT BECAUSE OF THE PLOT TWISTS.

***ALSO FOR CONCLUSION: SEE SAVED PAGES (TEEN INK.COM) ALSO SEE REVIEW OF
SOPHIES WORLD BY J. GAARDER BY RICHARD GEHR; AND ALSO SEE: SPARK NOTES- SOPHIES
WORLD CONTEXT

***ALSO FOR CONCLUSION: ...but seriously, even though my eyes got darker, Im still glad that
even in just a month, I felt like Im also a Phlosopher, I thought like a philosopher, and I was
introduced to Jostein Gaarders ideas.

***ALSO FOR CONCLUSION: this was merely another nice book for me because.....

So, first things first. The first chapter was titled as The Garden of Eden. Then Sophie
Amundsen, a 14 year old girl, walks from school with her best friend Johanna. She finds a letter
in the mailbox addressed to her, without a stamp, and contains only a question Who are
you? Then she returns to the mailbox and finds another letter, Where does the world come
from? question written inside then she goes to the den. Then she receives a postcard from
Lebanon, addressed to Hilde Moller Knag, c/o Sophie Amundsen where Hildes father, from
whom the letter came from, wishing her a Happy 15th birthday and telling her he had to send
the card through Sophie. Sophie was totally confused and looks for the name of Hilde in the
phonebook but there isnt.

The next chapter, The Top Hat, Sophie tells no one about the strange letters. After
school, she finds a big brown envelope in the mailbox labelled, Course In Philosophy. Handle
with care. She takes it to her den and finds typewritten pages asking, What is Philosophy?
The letter showed her the idea that the only thing needed to be a philosopher is the sense of
wonder, and states that as most people grow older, they lose the ability to wonder. Then the
mysterious philosopher compares the universe to white rabbit pulled out of a hat by a
magician.

Next is the chapter of The Myths. She finds a letter from her father, working far away,
and another letter on philosophy that describes that in all cultures, ancient people developed
myths because they always want explanations for why nature worked the way it did rather than
coming up with a scientific explanation. They invented stories of gods and goddesses, and the
philosopher used the Nordic mythology as an example. The chapter also focused on politics and
culture and how man should be governed.

For my analysis of these first three chapters, I think the questions were easy to ask but
almost impossible to answer. So when I asked myself of those questions, I had answers to it in
relation with science and theology. But even I myself find it hard to answer because as far as I
know, philosophy concerns more on reasons and somehow separates, but not as whole, itself
from religion and science; I also come to realize that those questions never knocked on my
mind before until this book came to my consciousness. And like Sophie, I was so confused
because why would someone give a very personal letter to a strange person? If I was Hildes
father, I will probably address it directly to my daughter, not to someone who doesnt know
her, and if I was Sophie, it would be my problem how will I send the letter to Hilde for in fact, I
dont even have the idea who Hilde was. But this chapter made me read farther because I want
to know why it was given to Sophie, and what is her connection to Hilde. I also agree with
Sophie that there are more major problems that needed to be solved than memorizing irregular
verbs. However, I think those lessons that we learn from school are also important because it
will help us to earn money and sustain our needs, but we should also make a space for those
question for us to make things clearer and fulfil not just our needs but also our souls. I also
admire the way the author compare us to the microscopic insects in the rabbits fur being
pulled out of a hat by a magician. It made me understand the chapter. As people grow older,
they are contented of doing the same routine everyday and never wonder anymore, because I
think they focus more on earning for a living. But the third chapter made me feel a bit bored
because even those are just the first three chapters, it feels like I was in a three-day classes.

In the next chapter, which is The Natural Philosophers, in this chapter Sophie lets her
mother think that letters addressed to her are love letters to maintain her privacy about being
in a philosophy course with a strange teacher. The letter tells that this course will go from
ancient Greece up to the present moment and it also points out that it is important to assess
each philosopher to understand their projects. Sophie learned that the ancient Greeks believed
the world is eternal, so instead of asking where the world did came from, they are more
interested in the questions of change. While the natural philosophers believed that all things
were made of at least one substance. The three philosophers from Miletus were Thales, the
first philosopher, who believed that water is the source of all things. Anaximander said that the
source of all things had to be something and must be boundless. And it was Anaximenes who
thought that the source of all things must be air. There were also the Eleatics, Parmenides
believed more on his reasons than his senses and nothing can change, while Heraclitus said that
everything changes and our senses matter more. But it was Empedocles who said that nature is
consisted of not just one but four substance.

The next chapter is Democritus. As expected, Sophie received a letter again which asks
why Lego is the most ingenious toy in the world, then the next day, she received a letter again,
which was about Democritus, a Greek philosopher who believed that everything was made up
of tiny, invisible, and eternal particles called atoms. In this chapter, Sophie figured out how and
the time the mysterious philosopher leaves another letter for her, so she went up to her room
beside her window for a good view of the mailbox.

It was in the chapter Fate where Sophie realized that the philosopher tricked her
because he laid the letter on the step so that she cant see him. Then she put the letter she
wrote for the philosopher, inviting him/her to coffee. In that same night, she thinks she saw a
man getting the letter from the mailbox and put something in again. She then got the letter
from the mailbox and learns that the ancient Greeks were fatalists or who believes that
everything in life was predetermined. Then the next day, she wakes up and finds a red scarf
with the name Hilde on it.

As for my analysis in these chapters, I can say that its common for someone to believe
what one has seen because it goes against his reason or common sense. And again this chapter
contains much information, but Gaarder showed a detailed one. And I felt that the story has
development because from the usual routine of Sophie and her mysterious teacher, in this
chapter, Sophie has finally found a way to discover whos teaching her. So I assumed that the
mystery of that philosopher would be revealed sooner in the next chapters.

The next chapter is Socrates where Sophie went to her hiding place which she calls the
den and finds another letter which was a response to her own, then she discovered that
Alberto Knox was the name of the mysterious philosopher who will send his letters via a
messenger. He also mentioned that she should take care of a red scarf that belongs to someone
else. She was also confused because the letter was delivered directly to her secret place and
cannot think of what could possibly be the philosophers relation to Hilde. Then later on, a
Labrador came to her and brought another letter which tells that his messenger is a Labrador
named Hermes. She, then, learns about scepticism, the belief that we cannot have true
knowledge about the world. Then Socrates was introduced to her, and she knew that Socrates
who lived in Athens spent his time asking questions, which he pretends he doesnt know what
he was asking to random people in the city to get them to come to proper philosophical
conclusions on their own. Socrates was considered subversive and sentenced to die, but instead
of appealing for mercy, he drank hemlock and died. Socrates was known because he knew that
he did not know very much which made him much smarter and him never boasts about it, and
he also believes that if someone knows the right thing to does she will do it because it will make
him happy.

In the next chapter, Athens, Sophie receives a videotape which contains Alberto in
Athens where he tells her all about the way the city used to be and how Socrates would talk to
people roaming in the same place. Alberto speaks to Socrates and Plato, and then Plato gave
her a few questions. Sophie was astounded how great the video was because she thought it
was really Athens, and Socrates and Plato.

The next chapter is Plato. After that day, Sophie thinks about the questions Plato gave
her, she receives a letter and learned that Plato set up a school, called the Academy, and most
of we know of Socrates came from him. He believed that everything in nature changes, but
theres an eternal world of ideas outside the natural world. He also believed that we cannot
have true knowledge of the world, so we cannot know the real world, but we can have true
knowledge about things we perceive through our reason, and he suggested a few ways of
ordering human civilization, based upon ruling through reason, and he also believed that
women were just as capable of reasoning as men.

My analysis for this part is that in every chapter, I always felt like Im Sophie, because I
am confused as her of what was going on, but still I managed to answer each question by
myself by thinking simply but reasonably at the same time, and it made me feel like Im the
second student of Alberto, Hi Sophie, I was your classmate! Just saying hi to her. But kidding
aside, to summarize what I learned here, Socrates, in my opinion, was really great because he
presented the principle of man, which is standing for what he believes in no matter what may
happen. I also realized that in this chapter, Gaarder seems to be suggesting, through Alberto
Knox, that sacrificing ones life for ones principle is the right thing for a philosopher to do.
While for Plato, he focused more on ideas, and I really agree to that because like this book, this
story could not have been written if it wasnt for Gaarders idea. And as Alberto teaches Sophie
of other philosophers chronologically, Ive come to realize that even if Socrates beliefs has
been the basis of others, each philosopher is an individual thinker capable of coming up with
new ideas.
***Like this paper Im writing on, I dont know where it was made from but what I know is that
it came from a tree then processed as a paper where something can be written on.

The next chapter is The Majors Cabin where Sophie followed Hermes, the dog
messenger, into the woods that led her to a little lake and went inside the red cabin at the
other side of the lake by using a rowboat. She saw paintings entitled Berkeley and Bjerkely.
By looking around, she found out that the cabin belongs to Alberto and Hermes. Then when she
looked at herself in a mirror, she thought that her image blinked back at her. She also saw
Hildes wallet and an envelope addressed to her which she took. She ran away when she heard
Hermes barking but she went home wet. Then she explained to her mother about the cabin,
without mentioning Alberto, which her mom called The Majors Cabin. Then she wrote
another letter to Alberto apologizing for what she has done.

After that chapter is Aristotle. Sophie received a package containing info about Aristotle
and a small note saying that Alberto was not upset. She then learned that Aristotle was a
student of Plato, and that eternal idea is in our minds but it comes from the natural world. He
believed that we dont have innate ideas, but innate reason. He also formalized the 4 causes in
metaphysics, categorized nature and also founded logic. Aristotles ideas affected Sophie so
much that made her organize her room after reading the letter. And mother thought that
Sophie is becoming stranger.

I think, in this chapters, it really showed that everything happens to Sophie are
somehow connected with what her reasons tells her could be possible. Aristotle also discussed
the forms of government which are all have been tried in different parts of the world, but it is
still clear which is better. I also cannot say that Aristotle is greater than Socrates and Plato and
others just because he was more organized because as far as I can remember from the previous
chapter, all philosophers are different in their own ways, but the only thing that resembles
them all is that they never stop asking questions and seeking answers for understanding things.
But I admire Aristotle for organizing and putting system in philosophy. And because of Sophies
mother, who is very good example provided by Gaarder, I understand the irony of philosophy,
which is something that everyone should be interested in because the questions it addresses,
applies to everyone yet many people are not interested.
 Next is the chapter of Hellenism, Sophie found another postcard addressed to Hilde,
postmarked June 15 which is also Sophies birthday, on Monday morning where Hildes father
wishing her happy birthday again and he was sure she knows now why the postcards must be
sent through Sophie. She cannot understand what was going on but she knows that something
is very wrong. Then she ran to school and took her exam in Religious Knowledge, where the
questions were somehow related to the philosophy course shes secretly taking up so she
answered those questions by incorporating the things that Alberto has taught her, and her
teacher was very satisfied and amazed because of her young age, she already knows those
things. However, because she spent her weekend reading her philosophy lessons, she didnt
have time to do her homework. After school, Sophie received a package from Alberto on
Hellenism, a period of several hundred years after Aristotle when Greek culture spread.
Philosophy became concerned with living a good life and intertwined with religion. Alberto also
described the Cynics, who believed that happiness had nothing to do with material goods. After
them was he Stoics, believed that there was a universal natural law that governed all
mankind. The Epicureans were less interested in political affairs and felt that pleasure should
be sought in life. Plotinus, most famous of the Neo-Platonist, believed that the world is
characterized by opposite poles, the light or the One or God, and the darkness which is defined
by an absence of light. Sophie also learned about mystics, who believed in personal experiences
in which they lose themselves with a supreme being.

The next chapter is The Postcards; It was Wednesday, a day before May 17th, when a
national holiday in Norway, Joanna convinced Sophie to go camping. Sophie convinces her
friend to go to the majors cabin where they found postcards which were all postmarked from
Lebanon and addressed to Hilde, care of Alberto. They were all from her father, and one of it
tells Hilde to be prepared to meet Sophie. Joanna was also mentioned in of the postcards. They
got very scared, and then Sophie took the mirror back with her. Then she found a new package
the next morning.

I think, its getting clearer for me what Gaarder suggests. Although we learn lots of
things in school, the use of common sense is not a part of it. And I think that Sophie answered
those questions because her philosophy lessons taught her to come up with a good answer
with nothing more than common sense. Common sense is very important, learning how to
think is better than learning specific facts.
 Next chapter is the Two Cultures, where Sophie read the new letter from Alberto. He
explained that he left the postcards in the cabin because he knew that she would return and
also referred to June 15th as a special day. He says they will meet soon. The next lesson was
about Jesus of Nazareth. He explained that the Greeks and Romans are part of Indo-European
culture while the Jews belong to Semitic culture. He also said that in Indo-European culture,
people believed in many gods, or what they called Pantheism. The Semites, on the other hand,
are characterized by monotheism, the belief in one god. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are
Semitic religions. Sophie learned that a thousand years before Jesus was born, Jews in Israel p
believed in a Messiah, then Jesus became the Messiah, not only to Israelites but for all
mankind. He showed that one could not earn salvation but that God is merciful and will forgive
all who ask for forgiveness. Alberto told her that the reason why he teaches Sophie of the
history is because he wants her to be aware of her roots which will enrich her.

In the chapter The Middle Ages, after a week of hearing nothing from Alberto, on Friday
May 25th, a postcard from Hildes father lands on her windowpane. It dates from June 15 th
which he was not sure of what was the date, and also to say hello to Sophie, who does not
understand everything yet as well as Hilde. Then, Alberto called Sophie who told her that they
must meet in person since Hildes father is getting too close to them. She slept over at Joannas
and then met him from her house. Although she did not know whats his talking about, he says
that Berkeley will be the key figure and that they must get Hilde on their side before her father
returns. The next morning, they met at a church where he tells her about the Middle Ages or
also called as the Dark Ages. Schools and universities were established; nation-states became
established, with their major cities. Feudalism set in and bartering became the form of
payment. The Pope was the head of the Church, kings became very powerful. St. Augustine, a
Christian Platonist and brought Platos philosophy into Christianity, unite the Greeks and Jewish
thought in his great book, City of God. While St. Thomas Aquinas brought Aristotle into
Christian religion and tried to show that reason and faith do not come into conflict. She also
learned that one of the female philosophers at that time was Hildegard who had a vision in
which she saw Sophia, the female side of God.

I think, the idea that Gaarder used a young girl as a subject for this story is great
because young ages have more curiosity than the adults. Children would not mind if they dont
know who or what kind of person they are talking to as long as that person gets their attention
or as long as they are really interested in what they are talking about. But for the adults, if
someone who they dont really know talks to them, they would think that that certain person is
a stranger and they will not be talking to them. I admire Gaarder for that because adults always
think that they know all things so they tend to not to listen to others especially to those who
they dont know, and as they grow older, their ability to wonder is sinking deeper and deeper in
their minds until they forget and ignore it because as their life goes by, many things or
responsibilities are coming upon them such as how to earn money, how to get a job, and many
others, which makes them to think that those are more important than having a faculty of
wonder. But for the young ones, they are just starting their life so they would want to know
many things, and its very good to plant this philosophical knowledge on a young mind for she
will bring it when she grew up, and she will understand things clearer. Although, I dont know
how Alberto knew that Sophie would come back to his cabin, and the mystery of Hilde seems to
grow larger, and how Alberto has figured out more, and it seems that it is Hildes father whos
in control. Gaarder is using interesting technique to the suspense and it really made me read
further. But even though there were parts that I felt so boring and by periodically making it
appear as some of the tension in the plot is not really as critical as it is, I admire how Gaarder
relates the lessons of Sophie in philosophy in the story itself. And as Alberto told her that
Berkeley would be the key to figure things out, Sophie cannot skip ahead to it because she must
get to him with knowledge of the historical and philosophical context behind Berkeley, which I
think that also explains one of the rules in philosophy, to not to skip into conclusions. And it is
somehow related to the readers like me, I can skip to the chapter where Berkeleys thought
explains everything thats happening to Alberto and Sophie, but because this book explained
me the history first, I have to read it chronologically to fully understand the story, and it kept
me from skipping the chapters.

***Getting a good job to support my family is one of my goals, but his book made me
realize that achieving goals without having.... is nothing compared to what you know..........

In the next chapter, The Renaissance, Sophie gets back to Joannas house and then
heads home. Just before she slept, she looked in the mirror from the majors cabin and saw the
image of Hilde. She dreamt of Hilde met her father and that her father looked a lot like Alberto.
She also found a golden crucifix which she found under her pillow when she woke up. The next
morning, Hermes came and guided Sophie to Alberto. Before going inside, she found another
postcard addressed to Hilde from her father, postmarked on June 15 th. He tells his daughter
that Sophie was going to the philosophers house and tells her sorry for her golden crucifix. She
went to Albertos house and was angered by the postcards which made him tell Sophie that
Hildes father has a tremendous power. Then he told her about the Renaissance, a time
characterized by a belief in humanity. It was the time when the idea of an empirical method
was born, resulted in an emphasis on investigation and experimentation which led to scientific
innovation that has continued to the present day. Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo paved the
way for Newtons full description of the physical universe. Peoples relationship to God became
more personal. At the end of Albertos talk, he twice called Sophie Hilde, and he tells her that
Hildes father was putting words in their mouths. Sophie asked him if she was Hilde, but h
avoided her. Sophie suddenly found ten crowns, exact amount she needed to get on the bus,
and then wondered how and why it got there.

The next chapter is The Baroque. On Tuesday, May 29th, a major in the Norwegian UN
Battalion is killed in Lebanon and Sophie thought it was Hldes father. While her Mother tried to
find out what was wrong but it just led them to argue. Then they decided to have birthday
party for Sophie on MidSummers Eve. Then Sophie finally told her mother about Alberto and
the philosophy course and convinced her to invite Alberto o the party. In school on Thursday, a
postcard fell from her exam booklet which states that Hildes father tells his daughter that
when she read the card, they will have already spoken about the tragic in Lebanon and also tell
her that he is glad that she has lost nothing but ten crowns. That afternoon, Hermes came and
took Sophie back to Albertos house then she found another postcard at the same place she
found ten crowns. It tells his daughter that the money she lost may have founded by a girl who
needed it. Alberto got angry again and then described The Baroque when philosophy was
characterized by conflict between idealism and materialism.

I understand in these chapters that it becomes clearer that Hildes father has some sort
of powers. And it sorted some things out such as the connection of Alberto and Sophie to Hilde
and her father. But it is still not so clear. The problem is that we cannot possibly reason out the
events that have taken place. Yet, since the story revolves around philosophy, it could be
possible that there must be a philosophical explanation to it. And the novel stayed focused on
the major questions introduced in the beginning Who are you? And where does the world
come from. Sophie and Alberto have already discussed a lot of philosophers but still couldnt
have answers. And I think Gaarder suggested that philosophy asks questions that science
cannot answer even if philosophy and science came from same roots. There are some questions
that were answered by science, but not all and those are the questions that this book concerns.
 In the next chapter, which is Descartes, Alberto and Sophie continued the course,
described Descartes, who is quite similar to Socrates, did not know very much. He doubted
many philosophical works and set his own. He was the first philosopher to attempt to bring all
knowledge into a coherent philosophy. He decided that the existence of God is certain based
from the way he doubts everything. He went on to define the world in terms of thought and
matter, which he called extension. Then Alberto showed Sophie an artificial intelligence
program where Sophie had a conversation with it. It was Major Albert Knag, Hildes father, who
talked to them briefly.

While in the chapter Spinoza, their lesson went through Spinoza, who was the first to
suggest that the bible be read critically. He was persecuted for his beliefs. He viewed the world
itself as a part of God. Then, when Sophie peeled the banana, she found a message from Hildes
father which tells his daughter that he is everywhere and greeted her a happy birthday, ad
Sophie suggested that perhaps he may be orchestrating all that they say, but Alberto tells her
not to jump to conclusions, and then he called her Hilde again as she left.

And in the chapter Locke, Sophie told her mother a little about Alberto and Hildes
father which made her mom worry more. Sophie heard nothing from Alberto for two weeks.
Sophie received two birthday cards for Hilde. Then, on June 14 th Hermes took her to alberto
and their lesson was about Locke, Berkeley, and Hume who are the most important critics of
the rationalists.

I think the part where Albert sneaked into the computer suddenly, was against the idea
of reasoning, and also the message in the unpeeled banana, Hermes, a dog, spoke to her. But,
perhaps there is a reasonable explanation to all of those. And, part of what makes Gaarders
way of relating the ideas of the great philosophers with Sophies life is the fact that their ideas
can fit in sophies circumstances. Gaarder forces us to consider more deeply the implications of
the philosophy that Sophie learns. It gives the readers, like me, a greater understanding of the
philosophies involved and also demonstrates the importance of the philosophers. He also
shows that philosophy is a part of our everyday lives and philosophers of the past will always b
connected to the present.
 The next chapter is Hume, where Alberto told Sophie that Hume was the greatest of the
empiricists who was concerned with impressions, or how we experience the world, and ideas
are what we call simple or complex. And he also pointed out that are actions have accordance
to our feelings, not our reason.

Berkeley, the chapter where a plane with a banner wishing Hilde a happy birthday.
Then, Alberto began to discuss Berkeley who felt that all of our feelings and ideas can stem
from our souls just like when we are dreaming. Berkeley believed that we exist only in Gods
mind. And alberto thinks that they exist only in Albert Knags mind, and that is the explanation
for everything that has been happening to them. He thought that hildes father was telling their
story for his daughters amusement. Alberto called Sophie Hilde a few more times and then
lightning flashes and Sophie runs out of the house.

In the Chapter Bjerkely, Hilde Moller Knag wakes up on Friday June 15th whos very
excited for her birthday and eager for her father to return in a weeks time. She looked at her
reflection on the mirror and remembers how to wink at it with both eyes because her father
told her that it was possible in this magic mirror. She saw a package by her bed and opened it,
contains a ring binder filled with typed pages. The title was Sophies World. She began to read
it. The book tells Sophies story and as she read halfway through, she realized that sophie must
have been very confused, and she also wondered about the red scarf that sophie found and she
thought that it must actually be someone, not just in the book. Her mother came in to greet her
but she couldnt look away from the book kbecause she was annoyed with her father for
confusing sophie, Alberto, and Joanna. When Sophie found her gold crucifix she became very
confused because she doesnt know how her father knew it was lost and she became certain
that sophie actually exists.

Gaarder connects the ide that Sophie is a part of Albert Knag;s imagination to Bjerkelys
philosophy. We know all along that Sopie is a character in a book, because we can read that
book. Her life does not continue unless I decided to farther. It can be fun and interesting to
think of the possibility that life itself can be a dream or an active construction in someones
mind but Gaarder does not say how that thought affects the way we live. And honestly, these
chapter cleared my mind of thinking what was really happening between Sophie And Hilde now
that the point of view of the story is in Hildes.
In the chapter of The Enlightenment, Hilde skipped school to read Sophies story and she gets
through the chapter on Berkeley where she found herself agreeing with Alberto that her father
has gone too far, and then wonders whom she really agreed with, since it was her father who
wrote it. She also found out that her mother found her crucifix but when she asked for it, her
mom cannot find it again.