Two Books for Philosophy Dummies

Philosophy has become a difficult word for most people. This might happened because philosophy been expressed mostly through difficult discourse and diction or ostensibly unrelated to actual realities. In other words, people considered philosophy as unimportant matters. Some people even emphasize this misleading claim by actually quoting Karl Marx " The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is, to change it" (Theses of Feuerbach, 158).

As absurd as the claim might seem, however, the complaints about the difficulties of philosophy is very understandable. Therefore with the intention to solve the complaint, I believe, Jostein Gaarder, wrote two timely novels for philosophy dummies, they are Sophie's world and Solitaire. These two novels are an easy access for all readers who want to start understanding philosophy.

Sophie's World

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This is one of my lifetime best philosophy novels I recommend if you are alien to philosophy. It tells a story of a young girl who in her 15th birthday starts to receive letters from a mysterious old captain. The letters contain a series of questions from "Could something come from nothing? What is philosophy? What was a human being? Where does the world come from?". These series of the question although might seem ridiculous, however, Jostein managed to put interesting dialog in which every reader reading it finds it fascinatingly.

This novel is basically a history of western philosophy from ancient age up to modern age suited for teenager or beginner of philosophy. But in addition to the description of the great western philosophers, this novel's plot is so captivating from the beginning and especially at the end of the novel. I personally have never guessed that the ending would be that intriguing.

The Solitaire Mystery

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Picking a different setting and topic but still related to philosophy, Gaarder, wrote this another awesome novel. It tells a story of a journey between Daddy and his son finding his long-lost wife. Along the journey, discussion about what life is, family, destiny, are the common theme throughout the novel. In this novel, Gaarder took a different approach to Sophie's world. Rather than talking the thought of past great western philosophers, He invites the reader to actually be one of the philosophers.

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One of my favorite discussions in the novel is about the "joker" character in the bridge Cards. He interpreted the character so timely that I'd love to be the Joker. But among all of the other unique feature in the novel, Jostein Gaarder's plot is always my favorite. It's creative and unique and unthinkable. Sometimes I wonder how come someone could actually have such creative and vivid imagination.

So, if you want to start philosophing while enjoying a great novel, these two books are the starting point. It will give you a general fun introduction to philosophy. Good LUCK!