{"id":2833,"date":"2005-04-20T06:35:57","date_gmt":"2005-04-20T10:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=2833"},"modified":"2015-05-05T09:00:48","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T13:00:48","slug":"the-books-sophies-world-a-novel-about-the-history-of-philosophy-jostein-gaarder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=2833","title":{"rendered":"The Books: \u201cSophie\u2019s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy\u201d (Jostein Gaarder)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Moving right along with the excerpt-a-day thing<\/a>. Top shelf of Bookshelf # 3 in the kitchen (my science and philosophy books)<\/p>\n

\"SophiesWorld.gif\"Next to Hollywood Babylon<\/i> we’ve got the book Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy (FSG Classics)<\/a>\"\"<\/i>, by Jostein Gaarder. The book takes the form of mysterious letters left in the mailbox, for a little curious girl to read. She’s about 10, and just waking up to the beauty and wonder of the world around her. Letters from a mysterious entity start arriving, and each letter describes for Sophie (the little girl) a different philosopher or philosophical school of thought – a survey course. Because she’s a child, the letters are geared towards making things simple for her. (This is a device, obviously, to make things simple for the reader)<\/p>\n

Today’s excerpt is from the chapter about Socrates (every time I think about Socrates I think about that old Steve Martin sketch … it’s literally the first thing that comes into my mind when I hear the name – heh heh):<\/p>\n


\nEXCERPT FROM Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy (FSG Classics)<\/a>\"\"<\/i>, by Jostein Gaarder<\/b><\/p>\n

Socrates (470 – 399 BC) is possibly the most enigmatic figure in the entire history of philosophy. He never wrote a single line. Yet he is one of the philosophers who has had the greatest influence on European thought, not least because of the dramatic manner of his death.<\/p>\n

We know he was born in Athens, and that he spent most of his life in the city squares and marketplaces talking with the people he met there. “The trees in the countryside can teach me nothing,” he said. He could also stand lost in thought for hours on end.<\/p>\n

Even during his lifetime he was considered somewhat enigmatic, and fairly soon after his death he was held to be the founder of any number of different philisophical schools of thought. The very fact that he was so enigmatic and ambiguous made it possible for widely differing schools of thought to claim him as their own.<\/p>\n

We know for a certainty that he was extremely ugly. He was potbellied and had bulging eyes and a snub nose. But inside he was said to be “perfectly delightful”. It was also said of him that “You can seek him in the present, you can seek him in the past, but you will never find his equal.” Nevertheless he was sentenced to death for his philosopical activities.<\/p>\n

The life of Socrates is mainly known to us through the writings of Plato, who was one of his pupils and who became one of the greatest philosophers of all time. Plato wrote a number of Dialogues<\/i>, or dramatized discussions on philosophy, in which he uses Socrates as his principal character and mouthpiece.<\/p>\n

Since Plato is putting his own philosophy in Socrates’ mouth, we cannot be sure that the words he speaks in the dialogues were ever actually uttered by him. So it is no easy matter to distinguish between the teachings of Socrates and the philosophy of Plato. Exactly the same problem applies to many other historical persons who left no written accounts. The classic example, of course, is Jesus. We cannot be certain that the “historical” Jesus actually spoke the words that Matthew or Luke ascribed to him. Similarly, what the “historical” Socrates actually said will always be shrouded in mystery.<\/p>\n

But who Socrates “really” was is relatively unimportant. It is Plato’s portrait of Socrates that has inspired thinkers in the Western world for nearly 2,500 years.<\/p>\n

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