Sophie's World Recommendation: A book recommended for all young people to read

The book "Sophie's World" uses forms such as letters, questions, and dialogues to provoke thinking, with vivid examples, and explains the entire history of Western philosophy in a clear and interesting way. The novel's genre makes it a suspenseful story itself, and in the second half, it integrates the story itself as the most important example into the philosophical ideas being introduced, such as the relationship between God and the world, and the influence of the subconscious on behavior, which is very ingenious. Compared with Russell's "History of Western Philosophy," although it is more comprehensive, rigorous, and profound, the universal value of "Sophie's World" as an introductory reader is by no means inferior to Russell's masterpiece.

Through Sophie’s World, we can see that the two major propositions of philosophers from ancient Greece to modern times are trying to explain the essence of the world and what the self is, which for a long period was essentially a dispute between reason and sensibility. Our understanding of the world comes from our senses, and all we can confirm is our sensory feelings, not the world itself. Perhaps all of this is illusory, not only the material and people around us, but even time and space. Empiricist philosopher Berkeley held this view, but he added that these illusions were created by God.

What is the meaning of self-existence?

There are various explanations among philosophers throughout history. Among them, Sartre's theory is the most convincing to me, or rather, it moved me. He said that there are no eternal values and norms in the world, and everyone must discover and create the meaning of the self and seek their own answers to each question. We do not have the freedom to choose whether to come to this world or not, but as free individuals, we must constantly choose and take responsibility for everything we do. Avoiding choices, or going with the flow, is self-deception.

Accepting Sartre's view in one aspect does not mean that he is "right." This is also a major change in thinking that "Sophie's World" brought me. At first, while reading the words of various schools of philosophy in the history of philosophy, I always tried to think about whose theory was "right" or most "reasonable," and even tried to combine the theories of different schools. Later, I found that this, like "whether the world is illusory and whether God exists," has no answer. There are more things in the world than I imagine that are similar, which is in line with Hume's skepticism.

In addition, this book had a great benefit to my mindset. I have read many books, but when I read about philosophers such as Socrates and Descartes who were the most knowledgeable people of their time and constantly marvel at their own ignorance, it touched me deeply. Wisdom is endless, and learning knowledge and thinking only slightly expands our known field, but it also makes us realize how ignorant we are.

Reading to the end, I couldn't help feeling that human technology may be insignificant to some advanced alien beings, but the efforts and achievements in philosophy are rich treasures. If humanity were to silently disappear, these philosophical achievements would be the most regrettable. However, when looking up at the stars, I feel, as the ending of the book says, that each of us and these stars come from the material at the beginning of the universe's big bang, and life and human history are just like a piece of stardust in the universe.