Sophie's World

Great introduction to Western Philosophy

If you're interested in the development of philosophical thought from the Greeks onwards but don't want to get bogged down in 'serious' reading this is the book for you. Well written, quite gripping and the narrator does a good job. Only criticism is that goes off at a strange tangent at the end.

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Great learning, Good story, Interesting twist

Where does Sophie's World rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is definitely one of my favorite audible books. Great learning, good story, and as the story continues there is an interesting twist to the plot.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wish I could have. Second best had to do, that is to say, as I was driving back and fort to work.

Any additional comments?

I found that the audio was broken in three places. In two places some audio was missing, in one place two sequences had been turn around. It hurt the story a bit but not too badly.

10 sur 10 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Enjoyable!

This was assigned for a class which I took, so I was rather worried about it being dry and dreadfully boring. I was surprised that it's actually well written and presents an interesting overview. Recommended as a great introduction to the history of philosophy.

8 sur 8 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Sophie's World

The side story is kind of lightweight, and I almost put the novel down because of that, however, Sophie's narrative provides the little breaks in the philosphical passages that allow you to digest the ideas presented. Hardcore philosphy scholars will likely dismiss this as merely a broad overview of philosophic thought. However, for readers/listeners who would like to learn a little bit about philosphy without getting mired in Aristotle's lecture notes, this makes the subject seem accessible and maybe even a little engaging.

12 sur 13 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Easy-to-Read, Broad Overview of Western Philosophy

If you've heard of names in philosophy like Nietzsche, Hume, Plotinus and the like, wanted to learn more and didn't know where to start, this is an excellent read. The book is targeted for the intellectual YA audience, but I think it's great for anyone looking for an introduction into this field.

I really appreciated the history of western theology present in the book as well--I wasn't expecting that to be present, but it's a very necessary component for what this book is trying to accomplish. Hearing someone talk about Jesus as just another philosopher in a historical context was very refreshing.

I found Spinoza, Kant and Kierkegaard and Sartre to be most interesting. And the pre-Socratics. And the Renaissance. And Marx. And the British empiricists. Heck, it's ALL interesting. Now there's a whole slew of other authors and titles that I want to read.

The fictional plot is a pleasant-enough vehicle for the book. I didn't find myself engrossed with the characters, but that wasn't why I read this title. I appreciated the acknowledgement of philosophy's male-centric history, and that more women are needed in the field. Perhaps that's why Gaarder chose his characters to be teenage girls, to encourage the girls of today to take up philosophy--nice touch.

Vance's narration was fine. It took a little while to get used to his "reading a storybook" intonation, but that actually fits the title well.

I wouldn't be surprised if I decide to read this title again in 2-3 years; a credit well-spent for sure.

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Interesting concept

What other book might you compare Sophie's World to and why?

There may be other books like Sophie's World, but it was unique to me, which makes it hard to compare to other books. It is probably possible to slip in knowledge that would normally be above a child's level using this writing style (i.e., a textbook wrapped in a fictional story).

In fact, I'm not sure some of Sophie's World wasn't above my head, and I've been listen to a some adult-level philosophy books lately.

The first half of the book was excellent. The second half of the book, not so much. For one, the ending felt rushed, and current philosophy was done horribly. It isn't that I might not agree that New Age philosophy won't get us anywhere, but there was little to no reasoning behind putting it down, other than the author just didn't seem to like it.

And I sort of see the need to include people like Darwin and Sigmund Freud, but some of this could have been dumped and more time spent on real current philosophy. And not only was too much time spent on this, but it was pretty much textbook, which as another reviewer pointed out, some information is now invalid scientifically.

In hearing the author lay it on heavy for not believing in the supernatural, toward the end of the book, I wondered what an updated version of the book might include about quantum physics, or something like The Field, by Lynn Mctaggart, where the "spooky action at a distance" is pretty scientifically solid?

In the future, I will probably listen to the first half of this book again, and it alone makes it worth purchasing, which is good because the second half was a let down.

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Sophies world

Some of the audio was missing, I had the actual book in from of me and I had to stop and read several pages.

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brief historical masterpiece of philosophy

If you could sum up Sophie's World in three words, what would they be?

artistic history of philosophy

What other book might you compare Sophie's World to and why?

another book that is difficult to compare to as it goes well beyond traditional writings of history that become ill in affect and redundant in nature....well thought out and expressed through the refreshing mind of a young adolescent.

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?

all of the characters were expressions of brilliance of intellect.....the relationship between sophie and alberto was equally brilliant and well developed...both characters, as performed by Vance were worthy of Oscars.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Although not able to because of time constraints; YES, i would have loved to have reveled in one sitting and may return for such an experience.

Any additional comments?

Sophie's World should be common place in Each and Every educational system....every teenage adolescent would benefit immensely from an the open mind of Jostein Gaarder and every mind should remain as inquisitive as the greatest of philosophers.

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A bizzare story hidden in a philosophy history.

If you could sum up Sophie's World in three words, what would they be?

fascinating then distracting.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

near the end the Author kept going off track and bringing random characters into the story. That added nothing and was just disappointing. Like hearing a symphony end with a rim-shot.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

At first, yes. but in later chapters the book really lost its footing.

Any additional comments?

while the overall book servers as a fantastic primer on the history of world philosophy, the story that rides the history, while certainly interesting, was far to distracting near the end.

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A Story within a Philosophy history overview

This was an awesome book. I've long been curious about Philosophy and the philosophers. I have the book to read but could only focus on a couple of chapters focusing on the details. Then listening I was in rap attention of each episode of the chapters and characters. What a surprise ending, or did it end? You will enjoy it for its story telling and what you learn of Philosophy as well.

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